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NFL Carolina PanthersChicago Bears

Chicago Bears vs. Carolina Panthers A Battle Of 2 Jekyll and Hyde Teams

Jay Cutler Matt Forte Chicago Bears

Anthony Gruppuso- USA TODAY Sports

The first half gauntlet continues for the Chicago Bears. The Bears travel to Charlotte this weekend to face a Jekyll and Hyde Carolina Panthers team.

Carolina got off to a good start, beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1 and running over the Detroit Lions in Week 2. The vaunted defense fell apart in Week 3 as Le’Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount of the Pittsburgh Steelers torched the Panthers with 265 yards on the ground. Things didn’t get any better in Week 4 as the Baltimore Ravens flattened the Panthers 38-10. Steve Smith Sr. embarrassed his former team and loved every minute of it.

Which Panthers defense shows up is going to greatly impact Sunday’s game. The Panthers had the second ranked defense in the NFL last season, trailing only the Seattle Seahawks, and looked like that same unit the first two weeks, holding the Bucs and Lions to 293 total yards on offense per game. Things have derailed the last two weeks, with both Baltimore and Pittsburgh gaining 454 yards of total offense.

If that porous defense shows up again in Week 5, you can expect the Bears’ offense to excel. The Bears’ offense is still in neutral and waiting to really break out. They have been effective but haven’t consistently moved the ball and found the end zone the way pundits expected this season. The pieces have all been erratic. Alshon Jeffery has made some big catches but has had only one great game. Jay Cutler has been up and down, and the same goes for Matt Forte. Brandon Marshall has been dealing with a lingering ankle injury that has affected his production. The best performances on offense thus far have been the offensive line’s play as a unit and Martellus Bennett, who will be headed to the Pro Bowl if he continues his current pace of play.

Expect the Bears’ defense to look better this week. Injuries are still an issue on the defensive side of the ball, but the Panthers’ offense is a far cry from the Green Bay Packers. After giving up 193 yards on the ground to the Buffalo Bills in Week 1, the Bears’ run defense has improved in each week, peaking last week in limiting Eddie Lacy and the Packers to just 56 yards on the ground. Carolina would love to control time of possession on the ground and limit the Bears’ offense. It was their recipe for success much of last year, but so far this season, the Panthers have really struggled to establish any kind of running game, averaging just 73 yards per game on the ground thus far.

The Bears need their offense to perform at the level that is expected of them, and if the defense can limit Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin, there is no reason that the Bears can’t be getting on the team charter Sunday night enjoying a victory and a 3-2 record. But if the Panthers play like they did the first couple weeks of the season and the Bears play like they did against Buffalo or Green Bay, the Bears could be looking at falling to 2-3 with a tough matchup coming up in the Georgia Dome in Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons. Bears and Panthers fans have to ask themselves: Will it be Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde?

Bill Zimmerman is a Chicago Bears writer for www.RantSports.Com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.