The Bears' loss to the Panthers highlights the one-sided trade and diverging paths of two young quarterbacks

Young has some of it, needs more and so do the Panthers. They have one of the worst defenses in the league and are plagued by injuries. The move for Dalton was made in part to show the progress the Panthers had made in areas other than quarterback. Maybe so, but even that progress was limited at best.

Williams raised alarms in the first two games with quarterback ratings in the 50s. But he has improved dramatically in recent weeks. The early hand-wringing was replaced Sunday with exuberance about his breakout performance — a 304-yard, two-touchdown, no-interception effort. Williams was exactly what the Bears were hoping for when they made him their new quarterback in April. He was mobile enough to evade rushers, precise, taking the many easy throws that are part of the offense and leaning on the running game, especially early on, making strides in passing, throwing deep when it's available.

“He knows this is his first year,” head coach Matt Eberflus said after the game. “He’s going to have to contend with a lot of different things, different looks, different coverages. He knows his guys, knows what he can do and what he can't do…he's just learning and growing, and you see that over the course of the games we play. “I've seen it. Every time we've challenged him, he's gotten better every week.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Williams so far is how he responds when coaches set target areas for improvement. He has limited negative plays. This week, the coaches wanted a quicker start and Williams delivered a seven-play, 70-yard drive that mixed runs and passes to three receivers, the third being a play fake that resulted in a 34-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open DJ Moore led. It was the first touchdown the Bears scored in the first quarter this season. The Bears played out of the no-huddle, a move toward a fast-paced style of play that the coaches wanted to use in part to take advantage of the Panthers' defensive injuries and limit their substitution opportunities. Another goal this week: getting the wide receivers involved. Moore and rookie Rome Odunze each caught five passes. Keenan Allen had three more. And this week the focus was on getting the deep passing game going. Moore's two touchdowns came on passes of 34 and 30 yards.

“It’s amazing,” Moore said. “It took five weeks to get the down-the-field passing game going. If it hits, it hits.”