Caleb Williams and the Bears beat the Panthers while a costly Bryce Young trade looms

Bryce Young watched from the sideline as Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams faced third-and-13 with 1:27 to play in the third quarter.

With a wired headset in his left ear, Young paced the sideline as his Carolina Panthers sought a comeback from a 20-point hole.

Williams, the quarterback who will forever be associated with Young in NFL lore, hit receiver Keenan Allen on third down, but Allen fell two yards behind the chains.

Young took turns clapping for his defensive teammates and giving them high-fives as they trotted away from the punt.

He was supportive. But that wasn't the plan.

The Carolina Panthers didn't trade two first-round picks, two second-round picks and their best receiver to sign a cheerleader who would sit on the bench for two games in his second season.

They did not trade up from ninth to first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft with the expectation that Young would throw 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his debut season, completing 59.8% of his passes and taking 62 sacks for a league-worst 477 yards.

Fair or not, the Carolina Panthers expected Young to be serviceable when he arrived, just as Williams was for Chicago this year.

Instead, the Panthers made a trade that accelerated the Bears' rebuild and massively hindered their own, as Young's 2-14 rookie season gave Chicago the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, which they used on Williams.

When the two teams met on Sunday for the first time since Chicago drafted Williams with its gift-wrapped top pick, the Bears' 36-10 victory showed how far these franchises still have to go.

It wasn't just about a result that put Chicago back over .500 at 3-2, while the Panthers came home at 1-4. This was about the players who dictated the outcome – starting with the quarterbacks and an important receiver.

Panthers losing players hurt them

The Panthers held their own early in the contest, with each team exchanging a three-and-out before touchdown drives.

But after Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard charged through the heart of Chicago's generally solid defense for a 38-yard score, the Bears didn't just find the end zone with any player – they found the end zone with the two players who they shouldn't have had if it wasn't for Carolina.

With 5:44 left in the first quarter, Williams seemed to sense that no defender was picking up receiver DJ Moore as Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn had his man running from left to right.

The Panthers' 2018 first-round pick intercepted Williams' pass and covered the distance to the end zone. A 34-yard touchdown against the team for which he scored 21 times in five years.

The Bears pulled away in the second quarter. Carolina didn't score at all, as Chicago twice capped its scoring drives with 1-yard rushing touchdowns.

With 24 seconds left in the first half, Williams slid to the right and faltered slightly. He found Moore in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown, with Moore intercepting the backside pass as if Carolina cornerback Michael Jackson hadn't covered him as thoroughly as he had.

The Panthers never recovered from a 27-7 halftime deficit, making just one field goal in the second half and even benching Dalton for the final drive.

That brought Young into the game, who got off to a strong start against a defense determined to bend but not break. The 2023 top pick scored on his first throw to Miles Sanders for 27 yards before later hitting Coker for 16 and 15 yards respectively. Ultimately, a dropped pick, a short scramble and a fourth-down sack led to a turnover on downs.

Dalton finished the game 18 of 28 for 136 yards, one interception and two fumbles, while Young completed 4 of 7 attempts for 58 yards.

On the other hand, Williams completed 20 of 29 for 304 yards, two touchdowns and no errors.

Williams also ran for 34 yards on five carries.