Bears vs. Panthers: Everything we know following Week 5 win

The Chicago Bears did what they had to do against the Carolina Panthers and improved their record to 3-2 on the season for their eighth consecutive home win. With a dominant and balanced effort from all sides of the team, the Bears rolled to a 36-10 victory that showed much growth and development in their offense and more consistency from their defense.

It was the best game on paper of quarterback Caleb Williams' young NFL career, where he was sacked just one time and committed no turnovers for the second straight week. Williams threw for 304 yards, with two touchdowns, a 69% completion percentage, and a quarterback rating of 126.2, the highest mark through his first five games.

Here's everything we learned from the Bears Week 5 win against the Panthers:

Final Score: Bears 36, Panthers 10

Keys to the game

Disciplined and balanced offense: Last week in the win against the Los Angeles Rams, the offensive line had a miserable first half filled with pre-snap penalties that halted multiple drives. This week, the Bears' offensive line was much better even after losing Tevin Jenkins due to an ankle injury. Only allowing one sack and opening holes for the team to rush for a total of 128 yards, the Bears were clicking on all cylinders on offense.

Caleb Williams threw the ball 29 times, with 20 completions, while the running game rushed the ball 36 times (not including kneel downs at the end) and there was a flow to the offense all game. It's more telling to see that since the running game has come alive in the last two weeks behind D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson, it has made life easier for the rookie quarterback, who is producing more efficiently.

The Bears did what they were expected to do: Coming into this game, it would've been easy to label it a trap game and for pessimism to cloud what should've only been viewed as an expected win for the Bears. The Panthers have been notoriously bad the past few seasons and even after benching second-year QB Bryce Young for veteran Andy Dalton, there weren't massive changes in success.

The Panthers defense came in beat up, ranking among the worst in the NFL, and missing several key players due to injury, and the Bears took advantage. They didn't get the test that many critics are looking for but they did what they had to do, beat the teams they're supposed to. With a two-game winning streak and heading to London to take on the Jaguars next Sunday, the Bears need to pick up as many non-divisional wins, and just wins in general against teams that they're expected to beat.

Defense's impressive streak continues: Not only do the Bears have an eight-game home winning streak, they have also now held their last 11 opponents to 21 points or fewer. The defense has been the backbone of the team's success in 2024, and they added three more takeaways on the season, giving them at least one in each game this season and their total on their season is 11.

This defense continues to shine for the team and they're doing so with new stars each and every week, with someone stepping up and making big plays throughout the game. This week the rise of defensive tackle Gervon Dexter continued as he added his fourth sack of the season, and a fumble recovery to his breakout campaign in his second season. The Bears as a whole will be evaluated by the production of Caleb Williams, but the defense continues to be among one of the best in the league and if the offense is clicking, the defense should continue to roll.

It was over when....

....The Bears scored 30 straight points. The scoring got started with a 38-yard rushing touchdown by Chuba Hubbard, then the Bears got busy quick and often. Responding with a 34-yard touchdown catch by former Panther and Bears star DJ Moore, then 23 more points to follow, including a second touchdown catch by Moore, the Bears seemingly had this game at halftime. This game was so out of reach that in the end, former No. 1 pick (who the Bears traded away) Bryce Young entered the game, as did Tyson Bagent in relief of Caleb Williams.

4 stars of the game

*Caleb Williams: Yes, there is no doubt that Williams faced a weak Panthers defense that took more losses due to injury during the game, but the rookie got the job done. Completing 69% of his passes and playing mistake-free football once again, there was nothing but success from Williams. Outside of the loss to Houston, when he rushed for 44 yards on five carries, Williams used his mobility to extend drives and get first downs when needed. Recording the highest quarterback rating of his young career (126.2), Williams has now surpassed a QB rating of 100 or more in his last two games, and is the first Bears rookie quarterback to throw for 300 yards twice in a single season.

**DJ Moore: For the second straight week, Moore found the endzone and did so twice in this revenge game against his former team. It was by far his best game of the young season as he recorded five catches on eight targets, going for 105 yards and the two aforementioned touchdowns. There was no doubt the team wanted to feature Moore in a game against the team he spent the first five years of his career with, but he's also proving to be the premier receiving threat they traded for in 2023. As the season continues, it'll be key to see the chemistry between Moore and Williams grow and thrive.

***Gervon Dexter: Until someone else proves otherwise, Dexter is the player worth watching every defensive possession. He's breaking out in just his second year of his career and should be considered among one of the best young defensive tackles in the NFL at this point. Dexter's four sacks are tied with Kevin Givens for the most at his position through the first five weeks of the season. There are multiple players worth spotlighting on this Bears' defense, but none have been more impressive than Dexter.

****Kevin Byard III: Tied for the team-lead with six tackles against Carolina, Byard also got his first interception of the season. With Byard's interception this week, every starting member of the Bears secondary: Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Jaquan Brisker, and Byard have all recorded interceptions this year. Byard's performance today just cemented that the Bears have one of, if not, the, best secondary in the NFL.

What's next

Early morning football! The Bears (3-2) will be the listed home team as they host the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) in London next week. The Jaguars got their first win of the season in Week 5 with a 37-34 over their divisional rival Colts. It had been 315 days between wins for the Jaguars, and the Bears will look to get them back on a losing streak while looking to extend their (home?) and season winning streak.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs. Panthers: Everything we know following Week 5 win