Bears news: Andy Dalton revenge game, Bears offensive improvement, NFC North race heats up

It's a new week at Halas Hall, and the Chicago Bears are in good spirits after knocking off Sean McVay, Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4. On paper, the schedule sets up nicely for the Bears to build off their recent success, though even the Carolina Panthers, whom the Bears will host on Sunday, have looked at least semi-competent lately.

Panthers fans haven't had a lot to look forward to on Sundays for a while now, but they're really dreading this matchup because it serves as a reminder of how badly Bears GM Ryan Poles fleeced them in the trade that ultimately resulted in Bryce Young being drafted number one overall.

Young's struggles since being anointed the franchise quarterback in Carolina are well-documented, and they serve as the perfect jumping-off point for our Bears news roundup this week.

Get ready for the Andy Dalton revenge game

There are too many quarterback storylines to count in this game. Caleb Williams has soaked up much of the attention from the Chicago media, and for good reason, but we'll get into his situation shortly. On the other side, Bryce Young won't get the chance to prove the doubters wrong, as he's expected to serve as the Panthers backup QB behind veteran Andy Dalton for the third straight week.

Young was benched on the heels of two anemic performances to start the season in which he failed to throw a single touchdown and the Panthers were outscored by 60 points by two teams that are a combined 2-4 outside of those games. New Panthers head coach Dave Canales was tasked with molding Young into a real NFL quarterback after his disastrous rookie year, but the fact that he's pulled the plug after only two games suggests that the Panthers will be looking for a new franchise savior sooner rather than later.

That means that Andy Dalton will make his return to Soldier Field as the Panthers starter. Dalton filled in for injured rookie Justin Fields to make six starts for the Bears in 2021, and as you would expect from a veteran quarterback, he played competently in leading the Bears to three wins in six games (as many wins as they managed the entire rest of the season).

Dalton has been in Carolina since last year, and he's played well since being named the starter in advance of Week 3. He already has five touchdowns compared to only one interception, and the 60 points he's led the Panthers to in two games is more than Young has managed in any three-game stretch in his young career.

Dalton has established an early rapport with former Steelers wideout Diontae Johnson, as the two have hooked up 15 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns. How the ball-hawking Bears secondary is able to defend that connection will be integral in determining the outcome of this game.

Can the Bears continue their offensive improvement?

The Bears have had their share of offensive struggles through the season's first four weeks. Slowly but surely though, Shane Waldron's unit appears to be turning a corner. Caleb Williams has looked sharper each week, and against the Rams, the run game finally got on track.

Caleb put up gaudy numbers against the Colts in Week 3, but in addition to his 363 yards through the air, he also threw two picks and lost a fumble. For a team that's still working on putting drives together, mistakes like that can be a killer.

Against the Rams, Williams was decisive and sharp, even if he wasn't asked to throw it nearly as much (23 times compared to 52 in Indianapolis). The resulting stat line was pretty pedestrian, but I'd argue that Caleb's 157 yards in Week 4 were more impressive than what he did the week before. He was quick with his reads, and he picked the Rams apart in the second half. He also protected the ball, allowing punter Tory Taylor to work his magic on drives that didn't result in points. That's huge for the defense, which has been doing tremendous work despite being put in precarious situations over and over through the first month of the season.

Caleb was helped by a real, honest-to-goodness running game for the first time all year. The offensive line looked much better, and D'Andre Swift came alive after looking like he might be losing his hold on the starter's role just a week ago. Swift showed off his open-field running ability in tallying 165 all-purpose yards, and he became the first Bear to go over 70 yards rushing and receiving in the same game since Jeremy Langford did it in back-to-back games in 2015.

The Bears offense has gone from scoring zero touchdowns in Week 1, to one in Week 2, to two in Week 3, and three in Week 4. Will the trend continue against a Panthers defense that has given up the most points in the league?

The NFC North is shaping up to be the toughest division in football

There's a lot of season left to go, but the NFC North looks like the best division in football, with four teams that will seriously be competing for the playoffs.

The Vikings are one of only two undefeated teams left in the league. Kevin O'Connell's club has surprised not only in how they've thrived with Sam Darnold at quarterback, but in how they've destroyed everything in their path through four weeks. The Vikings are tied for the best point differential in the league, and they've allowed the fewest points in the NFC thanks to defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his complex schemes.

The Lions were one of the presumptive Super Bowl favorites on the heels of their heartbreaking NFC Championship Game loss to the 49ers last year, and at 3-1, they've done nothing to disprove that. Detroit has arguably the best offensive line in the league, which is why former Bear David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs have already combined for seven rushing touchdowns. Jared Goff just threw a perfect game against the Seahawks, going 18-18 for 292 yards, and Aidan Hutchinson currently leads the league with 6.5 sacks.

Like the Bears, the Packers are just 2-2, but the fact that they've managed to remain at .500 while missing Jordan Love for most of that time is impressive. Under Matt LaFleur, the Pack is extremely well-coached, and they nearly overcame a 28-0 deficit to shock the Vikings last week. Love looked great in the second half as he threw for nearly 400 yards, and Jayden Reed continued to look like the best of Green Bay's young bunch of receivers in putting up his second game of over 135 yards on the season.

Needless to say, Matt Eberflus and the Bears have their work cut out for them if they want to remain in this race all season long. The Bears won't play a division game until they host the Packers in Week 11, which is why it's critical that they get some wins under their belt now. Four of Chicago's next five games are against the Panthers, Jaguars, Cardinals and Patriots, with the other being a rookie quarterback showdown between Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels of the Commanders. The Bears really need to go 3-2 at least through that stretch, probably even 4-1, to feel good about their playoff chances as winter approaches.