Ryan Poles (left) and Matt Eberflus (right) have fixed the defense, but there are still unanswered questions about the Bears.
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The Bears handled their business in every aspect while beating the NFC North-leading Lions 28-13 on Sunday, and that has been a rarity over the last five seasons. That’s a nice start to the home stretch of their season, but they can’t be content with that.
Here are three takeaways from the victory:
There has been enough proof for a long enough time to credit coach Matt Eberflus, as well as general manager Ryan Poles for moves like trading for Montez Sweat, for fixing a defense that was the NFL’s worst last season. There’s still work to do, but the Bears are reliable and respectable. Only the Ravens have held the Lions to fewer points.
Fields played well enough to keep himself in the conversation for franchise quarterback, but he’ll need more emphatic evidence going forward. He’s had other games that looked like breakthroughs at the moment, but felt empty when he fell flat in the next one. The Browns game is incredibly important for him.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, whose job is on the line as much as anyone’s over the rest of the season, made a lot of good calls. DJ Moore’s touchdown run was a bright spot, and the Bears looked very well coached on the free-play touchdown pass to Moore. He also was more aggressive at the end than he was when the Bears unraveled against the Lions last month. But that fourth-and-1 pitch to Moore was a bad idea all around.
