4 big takeaways from Panthers loss vs the Bears in Week 6
By Dean Jones
The Carolina Panthers missed Christian McCaffrey for the first time
This is probably the first game since Christian McCaffrey went to the reserve/injured list that the Carolina Panthers noticeably missed his presence on the field. The All-Pro is due back any week now, but their game against the Bears simply came too soon.
Looking back on the game, this would’ve been a nice matchup for McCaffrey. Chicago brought some significant pressure in Teddy Bridgewater’s direction for the entirety of the contest and not having a nice outlet underneath that was lacking for large parts of the game.
That being said, the Panthers won’t be coming up against defenses of this standard much this season. The Bears were exactly as advertised and did a nice job of limiting Carolina’s threat, which would have made an elite player such as McCaffrey even more beneficial in hard-fought games such as this.
Mike Davis has been a nice foil in passing situations during his time as a starter, but this is a trend that didn’t continue against his old team. There will undoubtedly be a role for the veteran once the face of the franchise returns. However, talk of Carolina being better without McCaffrey is now a moot point.