Chicago Bears go wire-to-wire but still create drama in win over Carolina

The Chicago Bears earned a wire-to-wire victory but not without raising more questions.

Here we are after a Week 6 win by the Chicago Bears. They beat the Carolina Panthers, 23-16, on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. That victory runs their record to 5-1, thus blowing the minds of the national media throughout the NFL.

Many called the Bears “one of the worst 4-1 teams in the history of the league.” Despite winning again, will they continue that narrative?

The Bears led wire-to-wire but still raised questions about the offense. They were still too inconsistent and didn’t take opportunities to seal the victory earlier. They needed an interception to finally secure the win.

Chicago Bears defense comes through again

The defense once again came through for the Bears. The unit announced their presence on the Panthers’ first drive of the game. On the second play from scrimmage, Panthers quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater barely escaped a safety and got sacked on the 1-yard line by Bilal Nichols. On the next play, Bridgewater threw a pass that rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson defended. The ball ended up getting intercepted by Tashaun Gipson. The Bears offense was set up with a first-and-goal from the Panthers’ seven.

Three plays later the Bears scored on a Nick Foles nine-yard pass to Cole Kmet. The touchdown was the rookie tight end’s first as a professional.

The Panthers weren’t going to let that start deter them, however. They went on a 72-yard drive that got to the Bears’ 3-yard line but their leading red zone defense held up again, allowing a field goal.

In fact, that red zone defense really won the game for the Bears. The Panthers made three trips to the red zone but came away with just one touchdown. The Bears defense had a red-zone touchdown rate of just 36.8 percent going into the game, and now that percentage goes down to 36.3 percent.

The Bears defense again utilized the bend-but-don’t-break attitude. The Panthers had 303 total yards but the Bears defense made plays when it needed to make them. For the fourth time this season, they allowed less than 20 points to their opponent. They now allow just 19.3 points per game this season.

Matt Nagy still distrusts the running game

The running game still left something to be desired. After the Bears were linked early to talks with possibly acquiring Le’Veon Bell after the New York Jets released him, the running game’s struggles continued.

One of the biggest problems with the Bears’ rushing attack has to do with head coach Matt Nagy. He went to the running backs a little more than in the previous two weeks, but this Carolina run defense was set up perfectly for the Bears to succeed.

The Bears ran the ball 25 times (they ran it 30 times in the last two weeks combined) but four of them were by Foles. Additionally, Nagy again had a chance to shut the door by running the ball late but decided against it, giving the Panthers an extra timeout to try to tie the game.

Nagy says he knows how important the running game is but when he has to utilize it he refuses to do so. Instead of running the ball late and chewing time off the clock, he continues to keep teams in games by stopping the clock for them.

You can say whatever you want about the offensive line, but they haven’t gotten a chance to get into a rhythm for the running game. David Montgomery was the only one who carried the ball in the first half and he only ran seven times. He ran it 10 times in the second half.

Without using the running game much, it makes things more difficult for the passing game. Luckily, Foles did a pretty good job of taking what was given. The Panthers did a great job of not having Foles beat them deep.

Foles was content with going underneath. Except, of course, on one play in which he was under pressure and he just threw the ball up for grabs and it ended up getting intercepted.

Nick Foles is still streaky

Foles continued his up and down performance. He started out taking what the defense gave him and completed 11 of his first 12 passes, mostly short passes. He then went 3-of 8 before completing six consecutive passes. He finished the game 23-39 for 198 yards and a touchdown pass and that ugly interception. He also had a rushing touchdown as well.

That interception came in the third quarter when the defense had just forced a turnover. The Bears were deep in Carolina territory and up 13-6. Scoring after the Panthers turned the ball over could’ve put pressure on the Panthers but the interception kept them in the game.

For the most part, the offense looked a little better. If the Bears could just integrate the running game more people outside of Chicago would consider them more serious contenders.

Next up for the Bears is another road game. This time they travel to face the Los Angeles Rams in a game with playoff implications. Yes, even though some think they’re frauds, the Chicago Bears are playoff contenders.