Matt Nagy made a rare appeal to respect what the Chicago Bears defense has done. Pity he can't call a game to do that as his offense continues to struggle.
The beauty of what the Bears have done, improving to 5-1 after Sunday's 23-16 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C., is they've moved into first place in the NFC North without support from the offense, except for some brief fourth-quarter spurts.
The win keeps the Bears a perfect 5-0 against NFC foes, important to consider when looking ahead, and they're 3-0 on the road. The defense was outstanding in creating three takeaways - including a game-sealing interception by DeAndre Houston-Carson - getting four sacks, clamping down on suddenly explosive running back Mike Davis and standing tall in the red zone once again.