Bears report card: How we graded Chicago in their Week 5 win vs. Panthers

The Chicago Bears had a dominant 36-10 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, which marked their second straight win. It was as good as we've seen them play in a long time and now they are over .500 at 3-2. They have now won eight games in a row at home.

There's a lot to be excited about with this team. The defense continues to dominate while the offense is starting to take big steps forward. There is still a lot to learn for this team to eventually become a Super Bowl contender, but the early stages of a good team are in motion.

The win over Carolina will be met with criticism because of how bad the Panthers are, but the Bears not only beat but dominated a bad NFL team, which is what you're supposed to do.

Following the win, here's how we graded the offense, defense, special teams, and coaching in Week 5:

Offense: A

This was as good as the Bears offense has looked all season. The offensive line was very successful, the weapons were all used and looked great, and quarterback Caleb Williams had his best game of his young career. Receiver DJ Moore stood out as a top player of the game, hauling in five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, and he did so against his former team. Any thought that he was unhappy about anything was put to rest with this incredible game for him. With Moore leading the way, Williams does have an outstanding group that he can trust throwing the ball to.

Putting 36 points on the board is no joke in the NFL. They'd win about every game if they scored 30 points, although they don't need to with this defense. They were even between running and passing, too. Moore caught two touchdowns, Rochson Johnson ran for two scores, and D'Andre Swift had one touchdown. They didn't just continue to get in field goal range. They scored touchdowns that completed great field-long drives. Everything went smoothly and the entire unit should be proud.

Defense: A

This wasn't a game where the defense took over by scoring touchdowns, but they continued their dominant performance with four sacks and three takeaways (2 fumbles, 1 interception). There were a couple of good plays that they made that stand out but it was mostly a community effort that kept the Panthers to just 10 points, and they've now held opposing teams to 21 points or fewer in 11 consecutive games. It helped them to have an offense go out there, give them time to rest, and score some points. There wasn't much pressure on the defense at all in this victory for Chicago.

Chuba Hubbard made a great play for Carolina to get a 7-0 lead. The Bears' defense probably would love to have that play back but it happened and they moved on. Chicago went on to score 30 unanswered points from there. There were some standout performances from the likes of defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings, as well as safeties Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker. The defense did a great job shutting down Carolina's offense during that stretch and all game long. If the Bears defense continues to dominate the way they have through five weeks, they will continue to be a big part of while this team wins games.

Special Teams: A

Sometimes, special teams units stick out. Sometimes, you just know that they did their jobs because they didn't get talked about a lot compared to the offense or the defense. We didn't see Tory Taylor have to hit big-time punts too often in this one, which is a good thing. It is fun to watch him blast footballs through the air but not seeing him do that means the offense is humming. Cairo Santos hit the one field goal he was asked to kick, as well, although he did miss one extra point. Still, it was a solid day all around for the special teams unit.

Coaching: A

Every head coach in the NFL looks good when the quarterback is leading his offense to a ton of points and the defense is giving up close to nothing. Matt Eberflus had that benefit on Sunday. Eberflus has run this defense incredibly so far in 2024. They are aggressive, smart, and opportunistic. They've shut down good quarterbacks and struggling quarterbacks, it doesn't matter who is on the other side. Eberflus plays the biggest role in the defense's success.

As for the offense, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has been great after a rough first three games. He took things seriously after a meeting with some of the offensive leaders on this team as they talked about what needed to be changed. There will be mistakes in the future, but they were few and far between in this game against Carolina. Everyone was put in a position to show the Panthers who the better team was, and by a wide margin.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears report card: How we graded Chicago in Week 5 win vs. Panthers