The Morning After...the Bears' dominant win vs. Panthers in Week 5

The Chicago Bears (3-2) defeated the Carolina Panthers (1-4), 24-18, in Week 45 which marked their second straight win and where Chicago remained undefeated at home.

The Bears were dominant both on offense and defense as both phases did their part, which resulted in a blowout win. Chicago's offense has found itself identity behind a strong run game, as D'Andre Swift had another solid outing, and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams continues to improve with each game. Williams and receiver DJ Moore stole the show on offense with a pair of touchdowns. But the defense also continued its domination with four sacks, three takeaways and have now held opponents to 21 points or less in 11 consecutive games.

There was plenty to break down following Chicago's win against Carolina, including Williams' breakout, Moore going off against his former team and the defense's continued dominance. Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their thoughts following the Week 5 win:

The Morning After...the Bears' win vs. Panthers

Alyssa Barbieri

Caleb Williams has officially arrived. The rookie quarterback had his best outing of his young career in Game 5, where he showed command and understanding of the offense in what was the unit's best outing of the season. The kid is just special. Williams has improved with each passing game, and he's been especially efficient in these last two games, including against the blitz where he's excelled. But the one complaint had been his deep ball struggles, which he cleaned up in Sunday's win. Williams is the first Bears rookie quarterback to have multiple games with 300 passing yards in the modern era, and it's only been five games. His continued improvement and impressive skillset should have every Bears fans excited. We finally have a franchise quarterback.

It might've taken five games, but it the Caleb Williams-DJ Moore connection is finally thriving. The former first-round pick put on a show against his former team to the tune of five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, including a beautiful 30-yarder from Williams in the end zone. The run game eclipsed 100 rushing yards for the second consecutive game, where D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson are the 1-2 punch this offense will look to ride throughout the season. While Swift only averaged 3.5 yards per carry, he was electric both on the ground and in the passing game, accounting for 120 scrimmage yards and one touchdown.

Then there's the defense, which bent on their second possession -- as Chuba Hubbard broke off a 38-yard rushing touchdown -- but locked down allowing just a field goal for the remainder of the game. This unit has been dominant in all five games, and they've now held opponents to 21 points or fewer in 11 straight games. The Bears sacked Andy Dalton four times, tallied three takeaways (2 fumbles, 1 interception) and dominated in pass rush and the secondary. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter is the defense's early breakout player. He has four sacks through five games, and he continues to be a menace as an interior pass rusher.

This was the kind of game we'd been waiting for. One where all phases contributed in the win, where Williams continues to make weekly strides, where Chicago's playmakers showed up and where the Bears did what they should to bad teams -- they dominated them. Next up: Taking care of business against the one-win Jaguars across the pond.

Brendan Sugrue

This was the game the Chicago Bears (and their fans) needed with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, and it’s fitting that it came against the team that allowed them to draft him No. 1 overall. This was a complete and dominant effort by the Bears, who truly had just two bad drives all game on offense and defense. It just so happened that they came on each team’s opening drive, which put fans into a tailspin.

Thankfully, it didn’t last long. Shane Waldron called his best game of the season with a good mix of run and pass, building off solid run plays with play action, and the Bears were finally able to push the ball downfield as a result. This is easily the best the offense has looked this year, and they continue to get better and more efficient each and every week. And although the offensive line was facing a Panthers front that isn’t well equipped to sack the quarterback, it's still good to see them keep their QB upright when it comes to pass protection.

As for Williams, we are seeing steps turn into leaps. After five weeks, he’s checking into positive plays at the line of scrimmage and hitting deep passes more effectively, whether they’re long bombs to DJ Moore in the end zone or sideline throws to Cole Kmet. These weren’t happening in Week 1, and it’s in part due to the chemistry that is being established with all the pass catchers. Especially Moore, who lit up his former team. I’m not ready to announce that Williams has arrived yet, but he’s knocking on the door.

Defensively, this unit needs to tighten up against the run. Had the Panthers not gone down as quickly as they did, they may have been able to utilize Chuba Hubbard more effectively. He had their lone touchdown early, and things could have looked differently if the Bears offense didn't respond shortly after.

The pass defense is elite, though, and they notched three more takeaways that came on passing downs. What’s better is the Bears turned every single one of those into points. But hey, at least the Panthers showed some fight at the end of the game with a scuffle following the final touchdown after they were bullied for two and a half hours. Talk about a sad situation for that franchise.

Speaking of sad situations, it was comical that we finally got the battle of the last two No. 1 overall picks when Bryce Young relieved Andy Dalton late in the fourth quarter. Given the fact the Panthers sold the farm to draft Young just a year and a half ago, he needed to enter this game in some fashion, and thankfully he did.

This was a solid win and honestly one of the more complete victories we have seen in quite some time. Now, the Bears need to get over to London ASAP to get acclimated ahead of their matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Vincent Parise

The Chicago Bears came into Week 5 with a 2-2 record. There have been some ups and some downs but there are plenty of reasons to believe in them going forward. As the weeks go on, things keep getting a little bit better. To use the term “must-win” for a .500 team in the first quarter of the season is a tad ridiculous. However, the Bears really needed to beat the Carolina Panthers. They couldn’t let Andy Dalton come to Chicago and beat them.

The recent trade history between these two teams was a big story. It got even worse when Caleb Williams and DGggygJ Moore took over the football game. Everything clicked for the Bears in this one. Some detractors point out how bad the Panthers are but that doesn’t matter. You need to beat who is on your schedule which you don’t control. no matter how “bad” a team supposedly is, they are stil an NFL team.

Getting in good habits and working well together is what you strive for in games you take control of. There are certainly things that they can improve on as the opposition’s talent level rises again. Right now, being happy with this game is more than fair. Now that this game is over and the Bears are 2-0 in their last two, they will fly to London. Their Week 6 game will take place there against the 1-4 Jacksonville Jaguars. Chicago must carry some of this momentum into their road trip.

Mike Pendleton

Disciplined football goes a long way. The Bears did exactly what they needed to do, and what they were expected to do. There are no such things as easy wins in today’s NFL but expectations were high for the Bears against Carolina, and they delivered.

The offensive line allowed one sack, Caleb Williams played mistake-free football with his second straight game with no turnovers, and the defense forced three takeaways. That is a balanced win from each side of the ball, whereas the defense was carrying the load through the first four weeks.

On FOX’s pregame show, Charles Woodson preached patience with this Bears offense and after Week 5, it seems as if things are really starting to click for Caleb Williams, D’Andre Swift, and the entire offense.

It’s easy to look on paper and say that the Bears absolutely had to win this game, and they did have to, but it’s the way they got it done. Dominantly. The Bears schedule is created in a way where the growing pains can be addressed and fixed early on while playing non-division or non-conference opponents.

Winning games they’re supposed to will help build this team for the second half of the season where they will face the entire NFC North division. That same division is also the only division in football with every team above .500 through Week 5, including the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.

Up next, the team travels to London and they’ll have to be even more disciplined handling their schedule and rest this week. They’ve got momentum, they can’t let it get away from them now taking on a lowly Jaguars team.

Preston Comer

This is exactly what Bears fans wanted to see. Last week’s performance against the Rams was consistent, but this was dominant. Caleb Williams showed why he was the No. 1 pick in the draft. Williams wasn’t the only piece of the offense that clicked, as the offense as a whole had its best game of the season.

The offensive line only allowed Williams to be sacked once and get pressured eight times. Both are season-bests. There has been a lot of shuffling on the offensive line and they played a depleted Panthers’ front-seven, but this is certainly a step in the right direction.

Shane Waldorn also saved his job — at least for the time being — with this game. His play calling had a perfect balance and he did a great job of using the run to set Williams up, and vice versa. Not to mention he actually set Williams up to move the ball deep down field. The no-huddle offense also helped the Bears keep momentum and was a statement of their aggressiveness. If Waldorn continues to run the offense boldly, then Williams should continue to improve every game like he already has.

Defensively, you can’t ask for much more. Yes, the run defense continues to be an elephant in the room as the Bears allowed Chuba Hubbard to run for 97 yards and a touchdown on 7.5 yards per carry. But the secondary once again showcased it’s one of the best — if not the best — in the NFL as they had an interception and six passes defensed.

But the pass rush might’ve been the best it’s been all season. Andy Dalton was sacked three times on 20 pressures and Bryce Young was sacked at the end of the game as well. Gervon Dexter Sr. and Andrew Billings have been an elite pass rush duo on the interior line, and could possibly be the NFL’s best.

The Bears have had the luxury of playing at home the last two games, and that’s an obvious advantage for them as they’ve won their last eight games in Soldier Field. Going to London next week could pose an issue, but Chicago need to make sure it doesn’t distract them from their brand of winning football they’ve established these last two weeks.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: The Morning After...the Bears' dominant win vs. Panthers in Week 5