Bears know Panthers' success begins and ends with Newton
At 4-2 the Carolina Panthers hold a slim lead in the NFC South, but it's still uncertain whether they're closer to last year's 6-10 disappointment or the 2015 Super Bowl team that went 15-1.
Quarterback Cam Newton, the 2015 league MVP, will have the most to say about which direction his team takes.
"Obviously it starts with the quarterback," Bears coach John Fox said. "He's big, he's physical, he's strong. He can make all the throws."
But Newton slumped badly last season (career-worst 75.8 passer rating), after which he had surgery for a partially torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. As a result, he started slowly this season, but has improved. He threw for 671 yards, 6 touchdowns and 1 interception in Weeks 4-5. Newton was picked off three times last week, but teammates' mistakes were responsible for 2 of them. He also rushed for 71 yards in that game.
"He's a very versatile quarterback," Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. "We've gotta stop Cam Newton the passer and the runner."
Newton is without his longtime favorite receiver, tight end Greg Olsen, who was the Bears' first-round draft pick in 2007. Olsen is the only tight end in NFL history with three straight 1,000-yard seasons (2014-16), but he's on injured reserve with a fractured foot.
But the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Newton is still a dual threat, and the thought of him celebrating after a touchdown with his Superman pose is a nightmare for any defense. Bears seven-year veteran linebacker Pernell McPhee, who had his third sack last week, says the defense should take a simple approach to Newton.
"He's a very talented guy," McPhee said. "The only thing I told the defense is: 'Let's make him be Cam Newton, not Super Man.' We don't want him opening up the cape."
Newton still has a pair of king-size targets in 6-foot-5, 245-pound Kelvin Benjamin (26 catches, 371 yards, 14.3-yard average, 1 touchdown) and 6-foot-4, 225-pound Devin Funchess (27-305-11.3-3).
But Benjamin, the better player, didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday because of a knee injury that has bothered him off and on for several weeks.
Running back Jonathan Stewart was Carolina's first-round draft pick in 2008, when Fox was in his seventh season as the Panthers' head coach. At 30, the 5-foot-11, 240-pound Stewart is a workhorse but is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry.
Versatile rookie running back Christian McCaffrey is the Panthers' leading receiver. He's tied for fifth in the NFL with 37 catches (7.9-yard average), but he's averaging just 2.7 yards per rush. Fox has been watching, and admiring, McCaffrey since he was a high school star in Denver, where Fox was the Broncos' head coach.
"They've got a good one-two punch as far as their back tandem," Fox said. "Jonathan Stewart, I'm very familiar with. Christian McCaffrey, he's a little bit like we use Tarik (Cohen). They use a lot of the same packages. They do run an option element to their game. We're gonna have to be sharp as far as plastering in coverage as well as how we contain the quarterback because he is a good scrambler. He's one of their top rushers (161 yards on 40 rushes)."
It seems as if it always comes back to Newton when the topic is the Carolina offense.
"He has no timidness to run it, whether it's designed runs or even on drop-back passes," Fox said. "That's a strength of his game. He's been statistically a little up and down, but when he's gotten hot, he's been impressive."
The Panthers' offensive line hopes to get a boost this week from the return of 10-year veteran center Ryan Kalil (neck). The Panthers' 2007 second-round pick has missed the previous five games but has been back at practice this week on a limited basis.
• Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere.