Three Takeaways from the Bears win over Panthers |
If you are a Chicago Bears fan, you had to like what you saw from this team on Sunday. Sure, the Carolina Panthers are still one of the worst franchises in the NFL, but this is a team that the Bears would've struggled with in years past. Instead, they fell behind early, before sending a message the rest of the way and proving that this team is just getting started.
Whether their defense continues to force turnovers to help the offense out, an improving offense that is starting to get more comfortable with each other and show some explosiveness, or a young roster that is continuing to improve from one week to the next, you can see the confidence this team has right now. We talked about this the past few weeks, where the Bears are in a stretch of games where they not only should be favored in most games, but realistically, they should win all of them. So far, they have gone 2-0 in this stretch of games, and should they take care of business and win the games they are expected to win, this team will not only be in the playoff hunt come December, but they could be in the running for an NFC North title once the Vikings come down to earth a bit. Here are some takeaways from week 5.
Whether you want to believe this or not, the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers franchises will forever be linked in history. From the Bears trading away their No. 1 pick to get DJ Moore and the Panthers No. 1 pick (Caleb Williams), these teams' success or failures will come hand in hand from that trade. You are already seeing the benefits from this trade on the Bears side of things as most of their young players have continued to improve and are starting to play much better as a group. When it comes to the Panthers, they continue to be a hot mess, so much so that they have already benched Bryce Young just over a year after drafting him. Whether that was the right decision remains to be seen. Still, the Panthers have committed to Andy Dalton for the next several games, and their offense looks better. However, Dalton learned firsthand how bad this Panthers team can be when facing a good defense. The Bears gave them problems to the point where they looked like the Panthers of old. Carolina may not be the worst team in the league this year, but they are close, and it doesn't matter who is under center as they are still the Panthers of old.The Panthers are still the Panthers
Is Caleb Williams for real?
The Bears have been searching for a franchise quarterback for what seems like forever, and for the most part, they have gone down swinging trying to find one. When the Bears took Williams this year with their No.1 overall pick, the hope was that he would become the team's first 4000-yard passer in history and be a guy they could count on for a decade or more.
Although it took him a little bit to get going with three of his five games seeing him toss for under 200 yards, it has been the other two where he has close to 700 yards passing and is now over 1000 yards for the season. All the improvements he's made are what you are hoping for in a young quarterback, but given his play over the past three weeks, fans are starting to feel that he is the real deal.
Not only has Williams improved his completion percentage by throwing the ball more times for more yards, but he is also taking care of the football, as his turnover rate has drastically declined since weeks one and two. In fact, with four interceptions, he is now tied with Sam Darnold, who is also one of the league leaders with 11. Williams will only get better, which alone is a huge reason for the Bears fans to be optimistic.
Home Cooking
The best way to become a playoff team is to not only beat the teams you're supposed to beat teams at home. Chicago has had a tough time winning consistently at Soldier Field in recent seasons, which has cost them, but so far this season, winning at home hasn't been an issue.
Through five games this season, the Bears are sitting at 3-2 for the year, with all three wins coming at home. That is all you can ask for as a team, as the more home wins you can bank, the better your chances are to become a playoff team. However, with this team searching for their first win away from Soldier Field, the Bears still need to figure out how to win games on the road, or they will continue to be nothing more than a .500 team.
Perhaps going across the Pond to London next week is a way to get your first road win. Technically speaking, this isn't an actual road or home game, but it is still a game away from Solider Field, and it comes against a struggling Jacksonville team that picked up their first win on Sunday. A win against them could go a long way for this team as they continue to go through the motions this season.
