The Chicago Bears Week 10 matchup on Thursday Night Football with the Carolina Panthers isn’t the most exciting matchup on the weekend slate, but it does offer the Bears a unique opportunity to pick up a win and actually improve their 2024 draft pick. With that on the table, let’s make some bold Bears-Panthers Week 10 predictions.

In the midst of a 2-17 season, most fans hope that their team plays well and makes the game on Sunday interesting but ultimately loses, so they get a better draft pick come April of next year. In the Bears Thursday Night Football tilt with the Panthers, though, they can win and get a better pick because they own Carolina’s first-rounder next season. This makes Week 10 the closest thing to a must-win game Chicago will play this year.

The big factor in this game will be what happens with the quarterbacks. The Bears face No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, and with the new addition of Montez Sweat, if the defense can get after him, they should have the chance to make some big plays. On the Chicago side, it looked like Justin Fields would return, but after being limited in practices this week that comeback now looks doubtful. Head coach Matt Eberflus still hasn't committed to his starting QB not playing, but there is almost no chance that Tyson Bagent isn;t under center to begin this game.

So, ahead of this Bears-Panthers Thursday night matchup, let’s make some bold Bears Week 10 predictions.

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Montez Sweat gets home

The Bears traded for defensive end Montez Sweat at the 2023 NFL trade deadline and then handed the 27-year-old pass rusher a four-year, $98 million contract extension with $62,864,888 guaranteed.

He came to Chicago with 6.5 sacks but, understandably, didn’t get another in his Bears debut last week against the New Orleans Saints. This week, though, Sweat starts to earn his money and justify this trade.

Bryce Young has been sacked 26 times this season, which is fourth-most in the NFL. That means Sweat should have a good chance to feast on Thursday night, and the first bold Bears Week 10 prediction is that he does just that. Put Sweat down for 2.0 sacks in this game.

Tyson Bagent does just enough

With Justin Fields almost certainly out for this Bears-Panthers matchup, it means at least one more week of undrafted Division II rookie Tyson Bagent at quarterback.

In Bagent's four games and three starts, he has solid numbers. The rookie QB is 74-of-110 (67.3%) for 697 yards with three touchdowns. He also has 97 rushing yards and two TDs on the ground.

However, his problem has been interceptions. Bagent already has six picks in his 110 drop-backs, which would be the worst interception percentage (5.5%) in the league if he had enough passes to qualify for the official list. For context, the official leader is the Raiders Jimmy Garoppolo at 5.4%.

In this game, though, the Bears shouldn’t have to force the passing game. They should pound the ball with their running backs and let Bagent use his feet as much as possible. The bold Bears Week 10 prediction here is that Bagent ends the night with a great game-manager stat line of 18-of-22 for 190 yards with 40 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown, and no interceptions.

Bears 16, Panthers 10

There is no sugar-coating this. The Bears-Panthers in a primetime, standalone game is not great for the neutral fan. However, Bears fans should enjoy this game immensely as their team gets a win and also helps their draft pick by worsening the Panthers’ record.

This game will come down to the quarterbacks and, more specifically, the expectations of the quarterbacks.

As the No. 1 overall pick, Young is trying to do it all and win games single-handedly. He’s not ready to do that (and may never be), and the results are telling. On the other hand, all Bagent has to do is manage the game and make a play or two here or there, because that’s the absolute best you can hope for from an undrafted Division II player, right?

It seems clear now that after winning his first start against the then-hapless Raiders, Tyson Bagent is not the long-term answer under center for the Bears. However, if he can limit mistakes and let the rest of the team do what it does, he can be a winning quarterback against bad teams this season.

The Panthers are a bad team this year, and that’s why the Bears get the win on Thursday Night Football.