A breakout performance by the offense and another stifling effort by the defense led the Bears to a dominant 36-10 win over the Panthers Sunday at Soldier Field.
After Carolina had taken a 7-0 lead on Chuba Hubbard's 38-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter, the Bears scored 30 unanswered points, taking leads of 27-7 at halftime and 30-7 midway through the third quarter.
The Bears were balanced on offense for the second straight game. Caleb Williams completed 20 of 29 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns, no turnovers and a 126.2 passer rating. D'Andre Swift rushed for 73 yards and one TD on 21 attempts and caught two passes for 47 yards. DJ Moore had five receptions for 105 yards, including two TD receptions of 34 and 30 yards.
"I was pleased with the offense, the way they operated," said coach Matt Eberflus. "Quarterback was clean; took one sack and had a quarterback rating of 126. That's good quarterbacking, it just is. It's finding the completions, taking the shots down the field. We wanted to get our receivers involved today, and we did that."
The Bears posted season highs in points and total yards (424).
"I thought that was one of the better games I've been a part of since being here, honestly," said fifth-year tight end Cole Kmet. "We ran the ball when we needed to really well. Caleb was really effective in the pass game with the wind, and I don't think that should be looked over. It was a really tough day in the wind, and he was able to really get the ball through the air effectively."
The defense contributed three takeaways and four sacks while limiting the Panthers to 292 total yards, 14 first downs and a 25% success rate on third down (3 of 12).
"Complementary football is a big thing, and that's really working off each other," Eberflus said. "You saw that a lot today."
In winning their second straight game to improve to 3-2, the Bears picked up where they left off last weekend in a 24-18 victory over the Rams.
"I think it was just building on our confidence going back to last week," Kmet said. "It was just a good step forward and I think some things carried over … I think an identity has shown up a little bit with our ability to run the ball, and being able to go up tempo was really hurting them and something that plays to our advantage with our conditioning. I think that's something that that we can lean into throughout the season."
After the Panthers (1-4) took an early 7-0 lead, the Bears answered as Williams capped a 7-play, 70-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Moore, tying the score 7-7. Williams completed 3 of 3 passes for 48 yards and Swift rushed for 22 yards on four carries on the possession.
Roschon Johnson's 1-yard TD run gave the Bears a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter. The score capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by Williams' 26-yard pass to Moore and Swift's 18-yard run.
The Bears defense generated its first takeaway of the game as Jaquan Brisker blasted tight end Tommy Tremble after a 9-yard reception, forcing a fumble that Gervon Dexter Sr. recovered at the Panthers' 44.
On the next play, Swift caught a screen pass from Williams and weaved through the defense for 42 yards to the Carolina 2. Two plays later, Swift's 1-yard TD run increased the Bears' lead to 21-7 with 2:14 remaining in the half.
Williams followed with a beautiful 30-yard TD pass to Moore, who leaped over cornerback Mike Jackson with :24 to play in the half. Cairo Santos missed the extra point attempt, but the Bears led 27-7.
The Panthers were in position to score on the subsequent drive, but Eddy Piñeiro missed a 45-yard field goal attempt wide left on the final play of the first half.
In the first half, Williams completed 11 of 15 passes for 200 yards with two TDs and a 154.9 passer rating. Swift rushed for 67 yards and one TD on 15 carries and caught one pass for 42 yards. Moore had three receptions for 87 yards and two TDs.
The Bears defense recorded its second takeaway early in the third quarter as Kevin Byard III intercepted a deep Andy Dalton pass.
Santos' 33-yard field goal increased the Bears' lead to 30-7 midway through the third period. The kick came after Williams' apparent 1-yard TD scramble was nullified by a clipping penalty on Doug Kramer Jr.
Piñeiro's 27-yard field goal cut the deficit to 30-10 with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
The defense produced its third takeaway of the game as Tremaine Edmunds stripped the ball from Hubbard after a 2-yard reception and Kyler Gordon recovered at the Panthers' 18. The Bears converted the turnover into Johnson's 1-yard TD run, increasing their lead to 36-10 with 4:23 to play.
"I was really proud of the guys that recovered those fumbles," Eberflus said. "To get a recovered fumble you have to be husting the way we do it. It just doesn't show up because we expect everybody to punch at the ball and when the ball comes out, that person's hustling because he anticipated that ball was going to be there. It doesn't happen but a couple times a game, so you have to be going, and I'm proud of the guys that way."
The Bears will look for their third straight victory next Sunday when they face the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
