The Chicago Bears have a winning record; don’t look now. The Bears improved to 3-2 and are currently in third place in the very competitive NFC North after their victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Fans of Chicago certainly feel they have plenty to celebrate after their team defeated the Panthers by nearly four touchdowns (36-10). After all, the Bears have a perfect 3-0 record at home this season and have won two straight games.
Despite only being in Week 5, the Bears seem to have improved. However, that idea alone might be overreacting. Bears supporters are all too familiar with this cycle: early promise is followed by a late-season collapse due to inconsistent play.
Barely two weeks of consistent play is a big enough sample size to draw any conclusions. Even still, it’s hard to ignore what’s going on in Chicago at the moment, which inevitably leads to a fair share of exaggerations—beginning with the play of Caleb Williams, the starting quarterback for the Bears.
Caleb Williams is here.
Even if the Bears managed to win in Week 1, Caleb Williams’ season began with a rather forgettable start. It’s not like Williams contributed significantly to that triumph. Although he did not mishandle the ball, he was unable to gain 100 throwing yards or score a touchdown. His next two games were much worse; the Bears went winless despite gains in passing yards and completion percentage, and he threw four interceptions while only scoring twice.
But Williams has made a big improvement in his last two games, especially Sunday’s victory against the Panthers. Over that time, he has averaged a 71.4% completion rate, which is a significant increase over the 58% he had in his first three games. In those two games, he has also thrown three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Williams gained 304 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, missing just nine passes for an average of 10.5 yards per attempt (both to DJ Moore). The game seemed to slow down for the rookie quarterback, despite the fact that he occasionally saw pressure (one sack). Was this the game of Williams’ arrival then? Though it looks that way, it’s still too early to declare with certainty, especially because the floundering Panthers were the opponent.
Williams has been better protected in his last two games, though, so that helps. In the first three games, he was sacked 13 times in total; in the subsequent two, he has only been knocked down four times. That will undoubtedly be helpful as the first pick by the Bears continues to adjust to the NFL.
According to ESPN, coach Matt Eberflus stated, “He’s just learning and growing and you can see that in these games that we’ve had.” He is aware of that. He only needs to continue leveling up, and ever since the summer, he has done so in response to each of our challenges.
D’Andre Swift and the running game are now functional.
The Bears running game, which seemed nonexistent in the weeks before, has also been effective over the past two weeks. With 39 carries, the squad as a whole gained 128 yards. Of course, D’Andre Swift, an offseason addition who appears to be finding his footing lately, has been leading the group. His total from scrimmage was 120 yards, including 21 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown.
This is just one more area where the offense has improved, which can only take some of the load off of Williams. Not only has Swift’s yardage increased significantly, but he has also scored his first rushing touchdowns of the season without having his carries increased.
Keep in mind the opponent: the Panthers
By looking at the Bears’ opponent on Sunday, you could summarize both of the past overreactions and their justification. With a record of 1-4, the Panthers are among the poorest teams in the NFL once more. It didn’t help that Shaq Thompson, Josey Jewell, and Derrick Brown—three of their greatest players—were already out of the lineup for their defense. Then, they suffered a setback to any chance of a pass rush against the Bears’ offensive line in the second quarter when Jadeveon Clowney went down with a shoulder injury.
With the NFL’s 29th-ranked rushing defense, 18th-ranked passing defense, and the lowest-ranked scoring defense, the team’s struggles were only expected to worsen against the Bears due to a growing list of injuries.
Following the Bears’ performance, there will likely be a lot of overreactions, particularly concerning Williams, whom Chicago has been counting on to fix their quarterback issues. However, it’s important to factor in the quality of the opponent when evaluating this game. The same applies to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who face the Indianapolis Colts next week after recently securing their first win.
The NFL’s top defense is the Bears’ unit.
This is the absolute truth, not an overreaction. The Bears’ defense is now giving up just 17 points per game on average and has only given up 20 points or more in one game, which was on the road against the Colts in Week 2. They are allowing less than 300 yards per game, and they have 11 sacks and 6 interceptions.
As much as supporters would like to think that the Bears’ offense is the secret to their success, the defense is keeping them in games right now by keeping opponents off the field and off the scoreboard.
Following the Chicago Bears game, someone was stabbed at Soldier Field: cops
Following the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers game on Sunday, a person was stabbed at Soldier Field, according to police.
Chicago police reported that two individuals got into an argument around 6:09 p.m. at the stadium. The suspect, a 41-year-old man, cut the victim’s left shoulder and face during the altercation, police said.
The victim was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition. As of late Sunday, the suspect had been taken into custody, and charges were pending.
As of Sunday night, no motive for the stabbing had been reported.
