CHICAGO — The Bears have finally stacked wins. They won consecutive games for the first time in this early season, securing their second straight with a 36-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers at Solider Field.

While the result is most important, the “how” is as important as the “what.” The Bears dominated this game from the outset and over its entirely, with a complete game from the offense and defense. That’s somewhat novel on the offensive end, though we’ve seen progress made in recent weeks. This was by far the best offensive game to this point, featuring an excellent first half that took drama out of this affair.

Let’s evaluated how the Bears fared in this Week 5 instant analysis:

Bair’s break down

Shane Waldron’s offense took some serious heat in the early portions of the season, and deservedly so. The Bears couldn’t run. They couldn’t protect. The passing game looked disjointed, with a ton on Caleb Williams’ plate. And the play calls raised a few eyebrows.

Chicago’s new coordinator has now found some rhythm the past few weeks, with the Bears explosiveness on display in a victory over the Panthers.

While the quality of opponent must be factored into any evaluation – the Panthers are so banged up on defense, and generally not very good – this is what you’re supposed to do against a team like Carolina.

The Bears were staying on schedule. They were running well between the tackles. And Williams’ phenomenal talent was on display. He and DJ Moore connected on two deep first-half touchdowns – the second was a thing of beauty – to build a massive lead.

Williams has said he and Waldron have talked about staying in a good flow once they find it, and that worked well against Carolina. The Bears were productive working with tempo while moving the ball down the field. The scheme helped get skill players the ball in space. And Williams made some great escapes to keep drives alive.

While the Bears weren’t perfect and they seemed to take their foot off the gas in the second half, it seems like the offense took a big step forward regarding its operation and methods of getting explosive skill players the ball. Now they’ve got to continue the positive trend against Jacksonville in Week 6 and again after the bye. – Scott Bair

Key stat

Williams had the best game of his young professional career Sunday.

The stats might not be as gaudy as they were two weeks ago against the Colts (363 yards, 2 touchdowns) but the way he performed — 20-for-29, 304 yards 2 touchdowns and, most importantly, no interceptions — outshined anything he’s done in his 5-game career. That was reflected in 126.2 passer rating — and was even better at halftime, when it was at 154.9.

Williams was comfortable going through his progressions, stepping up in the pocket or scrambling to pick up some yards. It’s the type of skillsets that helped make Williams the 1st overall pick — and the type of quarterback the Bears hope can be a franchise difference maker.

Pivot point

The Bears offense was looking for a chance to put up some points to cap a strong first half.

They ended up putting an authoritative stamp of their offensive prowess over Carolina.

Needing to traverse 62 yards with 55 seconds left in the half, Williams and the offense required just 5 plays — and shined in doing so.

Williams found Moore in the endzone — his second read on the play — on a post route across the middle of the field for a 30-yard touchdown pass that gave them a whopping 27-7 lead.

The rookie quarterback shined in the drive. Williams was 3-for-4 and had an impressive pass to tight end Cole Kmet down the right sideline for a 25-yard gain that moved the Bears in striking distance. He scampered for two yards a play later and then connected with Moore for his second touchdown of the game and really put the game out of reach for Carolina.

It was the perfect exclamation point for a first half that the Bears dominated against lowly Carolina. The Bears outgained the Panthers — 289 to 139 — and that doesn’t even tell the full story of just how much better they looked than their opponents in the opening half hour.

After allowing a 5-play, 51-yard touchdown drive, the Bears defense allowed just 83 yards on the next 5 drives — 2 ending in punts, 1 in a fumble, 1 on a turnover on downs and the final on a missed field goal.

Shane Waldron’s group, meanwhile, scored on 4 of their 6 first-half drives, picked up 16 first downs and scored 27 unanswered points in the first half. The Bears went mostly no-huddle after a 3-and-out on their first drive of the game and Carolina had no answer.

What’s next

The Bears will head across the Atlantic Ocean with a 3-2 record for their Week 6 clash with the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars. While this is technically a home game for Chicago, it will be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. This will be the Bears’ first trip across the pond since 2019, when they lost to Raiders at the same site.