Bears Have Clear Star in the Making After Impressive Start to Season
By Cem Yolbulan
Bears fans finally saw the team that they were hoping to see all season in the Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers. The offense clicked for the first time this season and Caleb Williams played the best game of his career, finishing with 20 of 29 passes for 304 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. He continued his week-to-week improvement as he accurately found DJ Moore and Rome Odunze throughout the game.
The performance of the offensive line was particularly noteworthy as they allowed a season-low one sack and gave Williams plenty of time and space to operate in.
The offense will understandably receive a lot of attention as the Bears had 424 total yards and five touchdowns, averaging 6.1 yards per play.
Yet, the defensive impact of one Bears player in particular shouldn't go unnoticed. Gervon Dexter, coming off his 23rd birthday, had another impactful game, continuing his hot start to the season.
Bears News: Gervon Dexter Developing Into A Star Defender
Against the Panthers, the second-year defensive lineman notched his fourth sack of the season, easily surpassing last season's total of 2.5 sacks. He also recovered the forced fumble by Jaquan Brisker in the second quarter to set up the touchdown to bring the game to 21-7 and out of Carolina's reach.
Throughout the 2023 season, the Bears struggled to get sacks. They depended on Montez Sweat after his acquisition to put pressure on the quarterback. Dexter's emergence in his second year after being Chicago's second-round pick last year has taken the Bears' defense to the next level.
It took the former Florida standout a full year to adjust to the NFL but he now looks like a true difference-maker for this Bears team.