CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO/AP) — Bears coach Matt Nagy has found plenty to criticize about his team this season, even though Chicago keeps winning.
On Sunday, Nagy went out of his way to give credit where it was due.
"Hey, our defense played lights out today," Nagy said. "They played awesome against a good offense."
Nick Foles threw for one touchdown and ran for another, Chicago's defense forced three turnovers and sacked Teddy Bridgewater four times and the Bears held on to beat the Carolina Panthers 23-16 on Sunday.
Once again, the Bears' 27th-ranked offense was just good enough to win.
Foles finished with 198 yards passing and a touchdown and David Montgomery added 58 yards on the ground as the Bears (5-1) opened the season 3-0 on the road for the first time since 2006, when they reached the Super Bowl.
It wasn't pretty, for sure, but Chicago improved to 2-1 with Foles as the starter. The 2018 Super Bowl MVP also rallied the Bears past the Falcons when Nagy benched Mitchell Trubisky in Week 3.
"Would you rather lose pretty or win ugly? I think that we'd rather win ugly," Foles said. "We want to improve. We want to get better. We want to have rhythm. But ultimately in the NFL it's about winning games. It doesn't matter how you do it. It just matters that you get it done. If you put up 50 points and you lose a game, those 50 points don't mean anything."
Added Nagy: "The good thing is that we're 5-1 and when we do get this thing clicking (on offense), it's going to be a lot of fun."
Receiver Allen Robinson said the offense is trending in the right direction.
"We haven't had that breakout, explosive game but I think that is right around the corner," said Robinson, who had five catches for 53 yards.
In the meantime, the Bears' defense has been special.
Chicago limited Carolina to 303 yards and the Panthers were 3 of 13 on third down conversions. Bridgewater was held to a season-low 216 yards passing and was intercepted twice. He was forced to scramble out of the pocket eight times while trying to avoid pressure.
WBBM Newsradio's Josh Liss spoke to Bears coach Matt Nagy following their win against the Carolina Panthers.
Liss: Waking up a winner for the fifth time in six weeks and in first place by a half game over Green Bay. Life is as about perfect as it can be for your team right now. What can you possibly complain about?
"That's right. That's exactly right. We are 5-1. It feels good. I'm proud of these players, proud of these coaches, and appreciate all those Bears fans that showed up yesterday to support us. It was awesome," Nagy said.
Liss: I want to ask you about the crowd in a moment, but first defense needs top billing - four sacs, three turnovers. They sure looked like the best unit on the field for most of us. What did you like most about your defense was able to handle Teddy Bridgewater and that bowling ball Mike Davis in the Panthers offense?
"Yeah they did a great job in just creating havoc," Nagy said. "I think they felt us on defense and that was one of the things we wanted to do was to be able to pressure that pocket a little bit and get some turnovers and takeaways and play fast and hard and they did that. I thought our guys, they really were fun to watch. They helped us out and obviously were a big part of the win."
Liss: Cairo Santos clutched three field goals, 55 yarder included. How much is your confidence rising with Cairo? Are you stressing a little less on the sidelines when it comes to looking over and having to call in the kicker?
"Yeah. Cairo has done a really, really good job for us. I have a background with him in Kansas City and always felt that way. You feel good when he is out there kicking. I have always had that confidence. He is showing it right now, while he is out there making these field goals and it is a credit to him to make a career-high 55-yard long field goal, so that was pretty cool," Nagy said.
Liss: Nick Foles 2-1 as your starting quarterback. Not perfect by any means by the offense overall. What is it going to take to make it look a little prettier, a little smoother around the edges offensively?
"We could care less about pretty," Nagy said. "We just want to be able to win games, and I think that's the focus for us right now is that. We know, when you have good guys that care about how to win games and how to fix problems that we have, there's more patience than others, so we will be good there and get this thing fixed and hey, to win and be 5-1 is pretty good."
Liss: I'd say so, and it is rare to get any kind of fan advantages this season. You talked about a crowd. About 7 percent of the stadium opened up to fans down in Charlotte. They let about 5,000-6,000 people inside, including Cole Kmet's mother, who was able to see her son catch his first career TD. Could you hear from any other batches of Bears fans in the stands?
"Oh yeah, they were everywhere. That is a pretty cool deal with him mom being able to be there and see his first touchdown," Nagy said. "That is how it is supposed to be, and hearing she was there by herself. I'm sure she was cheering really loud, so that's awesome. Cole deserves that, his family deserves that - they are great people. And in regards to our Bears fans, you could see it. It was just a sea of Bears jerseys everywhere. It was awesome, you feel so great about it. There was a lot of pride there, and they were a big part in helping us win that game yesterday."
Liss: It sure looks like you and the Packers neck and neck in the division race. I know you don't see them for another month. You got a lot of action in between, but it is shaping up to be good theater in the division. Until you prove it, Green Bay is the team to beat, right?
"Yeah, when you talk about division, you have to win your division, you know. That was a tough one for them yesterday, but they are a really good football team with a lot of great players and coaches, but our focus right now is to make sure we are doing everything we can to get ready for the Rams on Monday night and they are coming off a tough loss last night, but we just got to focus on the Rams and also take care of ourselves," Nagy said.
You can hear more from Matt Nagy on the Bears Coaches Show on Mondays at 7 p.m.
The Chicago Bears travel to Los Angeles to take on the LA Rams on Monday at 7:15 p.m. for Game 7.
