Cincy Jungle staff picks for Thursday Night Football and open thread

Thursday Night Football will be showcasing two of the bottom feeders in the NFL right now. The Carolina Panthers will be visiting the Chicago Bears for a primetime game.

The highlight here will be quarterback Bryce Young getting an appearance so everyone can get a good look at him. These teams traded so that Carolina could draft Young, and he has been having a typical rookie quarterback season. He has had some ups but mostly downs.

It doesn’t help that Young is in one of the worst situations that a rookie quarterback can be in. The team doesn’t have many weapons, the offensive line is a turnstile, and the defense has also had its own struggles.

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The Bears will be without quarterback Justin Fields and will be fielding rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent. He has played in the last four games, getting the team its second win of the season. Since that win, he has two touchdown passes vs. five interceptions.

Chicago has earned its spot as one of the worst in the entire NFL. The offense has had real issues getting started, and the defense has had a habit of falling completely flat. They were a popular team to be picked to do surprisingly well. That was based on Fields taking a huge step forward. That hasn’t been something we consistently have seen, even when he was playing. Now, it is apparent how much of this team’s success is dependent on Fields being the guy many expect him to be when he is fully developed.

Either way, the only winner from Thursday night will be the Bears. They currently own the Panthers’ first round selection. That means they currently have the second and third pick in next year’s draft. So whether they win or lose, they should still have one of the top selections next season.

Here is who our staff is taking.

This will also be tonight’s open thread, so come join the discussion about this game and the rest of the NFL!