As the seconds wound down Sunday at Soldier Field, Caleb Williams, DJ Moore and Keenan Allen stood together on the sideline, helmets off, chatting at ease as backup quarterback Tyson Bagent knelt down to close out the game against the Carolina Panthers.
The Chicago Bears defensive starters had come off in favor of their backups a few minutes earlier, ensuring they also had a moment to enjoy a satisfying end to the sunny and breezy afternoon on the lakefront.
For the first time in five weeks, the Bears put together a complete, thorough, no-doubt-about-it win, turning a 20-point halftime lead into a 36-10 rout of the Panthers that brought their record to 3-2. Williams threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns and had no turnovers. Moore had 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns. The Bears rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns. And the defense came up with four sacks and three takeaways.
To be clear, it was against a 1-4 Panthers team that entered trying to overcome a rash of severe injuries and then lost four more starters during the game. And Williams and tight end Cole Kmet were among the players stressing the need for continued improvement as they try to build momentum.
But the Bears — and the fans witnessing the team’s eighth-straight victory at Soldier Field — still needed one like this.
“That’s what it’s supposed to look like, though,” Bears safety Kevin Byard said. “That’s the standard that we play with, and that’s how we want to play every single game.
“It builds confidence. This is still early in the season. We’re definitely still in that process of trying to get better, but this is a great example of what the Chicago Bears should look like. That should be the standard going forward.”
As the Bears prepare to head to London for the week before taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6, the type of win delivered Sunday means they will have a lot of good things to think about on the overseas flight.
“It made it easier for sure,” defensive tackle Gervon Dexter said of the long trip.
Dexter fueled a big Bears defensive effort that came despite the unit not needing to do as much of the heavy lifting.
The Bears gave up a 38-yard touchdown to running back Chuba Hubbard on the Panthers’ second drive but locked down after that, holding quarterback Andy Dalton to 136 passing yards.
Dexter split a pair of sacks of Dalton with DeMarcus Walker and Kyler Gordon in the first half to bring his season total to four and also totaled four quarterback hits. The 2023 second-round pick turned 23 years old on Saturday and achieved his birthday promise to himself.
“Everybody was asking me what I was going to do for my birthday, and I was telling them, ‘I’m going to get a sack,’” Dexter said. “So that’s what I did.”
As the score grew more lopsided deeper into the game, Dexter said the defense knew it could get after Dalton. Andrew Billings also sacked Dalton, while Austin Booker took down starter-turned-backup quarterback Bryce Young at the end of the game.
“At that point it was time to pin your ears back and get the rush on,” Dexter said. “You know when the score is like that, that they’re going to have to try to get the ball in the air. You’ve got a lot of opportunities to rush the quarterback.”
Dexter’s hustle also helped make good on the Bears’ first takeaway of three, when Jaquan Brisker put a fierce hit on tight end Tommy Tremble and Dexter recovered the ball, leading to the Bears’ third touchdown.
“To fans and to guys it may look like right place, right time,” Dexter said. “But that’s how we go and how we hustle. We expect the ball to come out, and we get those.”
Byard intercepted Dalton on the Panthers’ first drive of the third quarter, leading to a 33-yard Cairo Santos field goal. Tremaine Edmunds’ forced fumble and Gordon’s recovery led to the Bears’ final touchdown.
Byard called his interception — his first as a member of the Bears and first overall since Nov. 20, 2023 — “long overdue.” He blanketed Panthers wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and then reached both hands behind him to pull in the interception as he tumbled to the ground.
“I feel like we came out here with a lot of juice, a lot of energy,” Byard said. “On that particular play, just locating the ball, tracking the ball there, not panicking.”
Byard had talked earlier in the season about the benefits of complementary football. And the Bears certainly enjoyed that Sunday.
Despite a strong wind that blew his first pass to Allen way off target, Williams found the downfield passing game, connecting with Moore for a 34-yard score, the Bears’ first touchdown in the first quarter this season. He had 200 passing yards in the first half, adding a 30-yard touchdown to Moore in the second quarter, as the Bears pulled to a 27-7 lead.
“It’s amazing. What’s this, Week 5?” Moore said. “It took five weeks to get the downfield passing game going. But when it hits, it hits. And it was good today.”
Bears coach Matt Eberflus complimented his team leaders — including their eight captains — after the game, and Williams credited leadership for helping the offense get past a bumpy practice Thursday.
Williams said they met walking off the field after practice to discuss how they needed to be better. That helped translate into their fast start.
“We came back the next day, locked in and focused and obviously (it was) understanding the situation and us just pushing each other for that next day. And it led into the game, I think,” Williams said. “The personality of a team is going to continue to grow, but we’re excited. We understand we’ve got to keep growing and keep progressing, but definitely excited about getting to 3-2.”
Kmet also stressed continued progress when asked if he could imagine how Bears fans were feeling about the complete win Sunday.
Bears fans “can fan” how they want, Kmet said, but the Bears have to keep a clearer head.
“I’m sure they’re pumped,” Kmet said. “I’m sure they’re saying the Bears are back. But we can’t feed into that. We don’t feed into that. There are things we have to look at the film at, get better at and improve on for the next week.”
