​CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 22: Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland (84) talks with quarterback Caleb Williams (18) and tight end Cole Kmet (85) during the preseason game between the Chicago Bears and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium on August 22, 2026 in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The regular season is back and that means weekly interviews with our fellow, opposing bloggers. This week I spoke with Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron for all things Caleb Williams, Colston Loveland, and Xavier Woods. Read on for the other side’s perspective on the Carolina Panthers vs the Chicago Bears in Week 1.I have a long running deal with the Panthers where if they play actually good football then I will ask actually serious questions. Since this is the start of the season I struck a largely respectful tone. We’ll see where things go from here.The Carolina Panthers are going to need to start and finish on the ground for most of their wins this season, which gets tricky when their two starting offensive tackles are out for extended time to start the season. How was the Bears rushing defense in 2025 and what has changed about it with this year’s roster?The run defense was not good in 2025. By season’s end, the Bears found themselves 27th in rushing yards allowed per game, and 29th in yards per attempt (5.0). They struggled to stop the run for most of the season. They did a better job against the run in the playoffs, but the Packers and Rams still had moments of success.Not a lot has changed with personnel. The Bears traded Gervon Dexter, who was a weaker run defender, away for secondary help and a draft pick, and they replaced Andrew Billings with Neville Gallimore, who, again, I think is a weaker run defender than the player he’s replacing.TJ Edwards is a solid run defender, and he returns, but they let Tremaine Edmunds walk and replaced him with Devin Bush. It’ll be curious to see how Bush defends the run in Dennis Allen’s scheme.The defense is definitely faster, and hopefully with that added speed they can swarm to the ball faster than they did last year, but other than Montez Sweat, who I would call a strong run defender, there are going to be plenty of opportunities for the Panthers’ running backs to get some yards through large holes.Ironically, one of the Panthers few bona fide strengths is their wide receiver corps. What is the strength of the Bears secondary?I think the strength of the Bears secondary is simply Jaylon Johnson. This defense is probably going to struggle in all facets of stopping opponents. Kyler Gordon is an excellent Nickel, but he’s on IR and won’t play. Coby Bryant was brought in to replace Kevin Byard, but he was also injured and is also on IR.The Bears’ starting secondary after Jaylon Johnson is definitely beatable. Johnson has had an excellent camp and looks like he’s a lot closer to his All-Pro year than last season,