CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 06: Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears reacts after throwing a touchdown pass to DJ Moore #2 (not pictured) against the Carolina Panthers during the second quarter at Soldier Field on October 06, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Caleb Williams found DJ Moore wide open on a crossing pattern early in the game for a 34-yard touchdown. From there, just about everything else looked easy, too.
Williams threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns in his best performance to date, Moore caught both scoring passes and had 105 yards receiving against his former team, and the Chicago Bears beat the Carolina Panthers 36-10 on Sunday.
The Bears (3-2) won their second straight after dropping two in a row, with the two key pieces they acquired as a result of a blockbuster trade with Carolina in 2023 leading the way.
Chicago also got a big performance for the second straight week from D’Andre Swift. He had 120 yards from scrimmage and a TD.
“That’s definitely how we want to play,” Williams said. “Definitely what we envisioned as an offense and as a team. We’ve got to keep doing it.”
Williams picked apart a banged-up defense that ranks among the NFL’s worst. The No. 1 overall draft pick completed 20 of 29 passes with no interceptions and a 126.2 rating that was his best.
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“He’s just learning and growing and you can see that in these games that we’ve had,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “He knows that. So he’s just got to level up, keep leveling up and every time we’ve challenged him he’s done that ever since the summer.”
Panthers coach Dave Canales was impressed.
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“I just thought he did a fantastic job extending plays,” he said. “We had him dead to rights a couple times. He wiggled out of great rushes, great pressure on him. We had things covered, live looking at it, and he extended the play and found completions.”
Williams might have been playing for the Panthers if not for that trade in 2023. Carolina sent Moore and the No. 9 overall pick to Chicago for the top selection in the draft that year. The Bears also got the Panthers’ 2024 first-rounder that wound up being the first overall pick as part of that deal, and they took the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner out of Southern California.
Moore, who caught five passes for 58 yards in a win over Carolina last year, had five receptions. He delivered a 34-yard touchdown in the first quarter and a 30-yarder near the end of the first half.
“It took five weeks to get the down-the-field pass game going,” Moore said. “When it hits, it hits and it was good today.”
Swift ran for 73 yards and a touchdown and added 47 yards receiving after picking up 165 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown the previous week against the Los Angeles Rams.
Roschon Johnson ran for two touchdowns, including one in the fourth quarter that was followed by a skirmish in the end zone and ejections for Chicago’s Matt Pryor and Carolina’s Jaycee Horn. The Bears then went for a 2-point conversion, and the pass failed.
Kevin Byard got his 29th career interception. Gervon Dexter had a sack and a fumble recovery.
The Bears extended the longest current home winning streak in the NFL to eight games. It’s their best stretch at Soldier Field since they won 10 in a row from the 2005 to 2006 seasons.
Dalton struggles
Andy Dalton had a rough outing in his third start since Carolina (1-4) benched last year’s No. 1 pick Bryce Young. The veteran was 18 of 28 for 136 yards with an interception and got sacked three times.
Young replaced him in the closing minutes and was 4 of 7 for 58 yards and got sacked once. But Canales said Dalton will start next week against Atlanta.
Chuba Hubbard ran for 97 yards and a touchdown after going for a combined 218 yards in the previous two weeks. He gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter when he broke through a hole and went 38 yards for a touchdown, but it was all Bears after that.
Quick start
Chicago scored touchdowns on its next two possessions, including its first in an opening quarter this season when Williams found Moore wide open that 34-yarder.
Former Bulls star Derrick Rose got a huge ovation when he was shown on the videoboard before the second quarter. Chants of “MVP! MVP!” rang through Soldier Field for the recently retired point guard from Chicago.
The Bears gave their fans more to cheer on their next possession when they went 80 yards for a TD, with Johnson scoring from the 1 to make it 14-7, and they kept rolling from there.
Injuries
Panthers: TE Tommy Tremble was evaluated for a concussion after he fumbled late in the first half and left the game. ... LB Jadeveon Clowney (shoulder) exited after he was hurt away from the ball on Swift’s 42-yard reception late in the second quarter. ... RT Taylor Moton (elbow) left the game, and WR Xavier Legette (shoulder) and C Austin Corbett (biceps) got banged up.
Bears: LG Teven Jenkins, who was questionable with a rib issue, left with an ankle injury.
Up next for the Bears
The Chicago Bears head to London for an Oct. 13 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
