How the Bears can Stop Bryce Young's Mobility in Week 1 Matchup

With the Carolina Panthers trailing 17-7 in last season's wild-card matchup against the Los Angeles Rams late in the second quarter, quarterback Bryce Young faced a third-and-10 from the opponent's 17-yard line. 

Two Rams defenders closed in on Young, and the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft stepped up in the pocket and saw open grass. Young ran upfield, made an inside move on linebacker Nate Landman and scored a much-needed touchdown to pull the Panthers within three points before halftime. 

Young has that type of playmaking ability, and the Chicago Bears are not overlooking that aspect of his game as the team prepares for the Week 1 road matchup against the Panthers.

“I see a guy that's got the ability to hurt you with his mobility, hurt you with his feet," Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. "Our ability to rush the passer and keep him from being able to create plays with his feet is going to be really important. His decision-making has sped up from where I saw him last time. He's got a lot of big, talented receivers, tight ends, things of that nature to throw the ball to. I see a vastly improved player.”

Young's 216 yards rushing was 15th in the NFL among quarterbacks. He also scored twice. The Panthers' quarterback didn't use his legs often, but if he saw an opportunity, he took it. He had the 13th-most rushing yards (105) among quarterbacks on third down last year, and his nine rushing first downs were tied for the 14th-most. 

Young's touchdown run against the Rams is a play that the Bears' defensive line actually watched and talked about this week. Defensive tackle Kentavius Street is in his first season with the Bears, but he's familiar with playing against Young when he was with the Atlanta Falcons. 

Street has played Young twice -- once in 2024 and the other last season. The Panthers won both of those games, and Young threw for 699 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also ran for 24 yards and two touchdowns in the 2024 Week 18 season finale. 

"You know, just like a bunch of quarterbacks, in the league now, everybody has an athletic quarterback that can stretch plays and everything, but Bryce, you know, he's a he's a sleepy athlete like we just talked about, you know," Street said after watching Young's touchdown run. "He's not even just scrambling to get first down right here, you know. He makes a guy miss, and he dives in the end zone right here. So you know, as a D-line, you know, we want to cage the pocket, make him able to stay in there, not give him the step up lane right there. You know, we want him to have to bounce around if anything he has to lose ground to get out on the edge and escape us.

So you know, the Rams, this is a top-5 unit defensively, so I'm sure to just it's just Bryce making a play there, but we want to minimize him being able to be an athlete. We want him to have to throw out of a well, you know?"

How can the Bears minimize Young's playmaking ability? Well, the defensive players can look inward and thank one of their teammates. 

"Well, you know, the great thing is this last month and a half, we've been practicing against Caleb Williams, you know, who's another sleepy athlete, so we're taking the same, you know, precaution and mindset that we had every day dealing with Caleb, and just trying to continue to replicate that and perfect it as we go and prepare for Bryce Young."