CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As ugly and exasperating as it was at times, this was progress for the Bears.
They led from start to finish and came away with a relatively drama-free 23-16 win over the Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday. They’ve swerved and stumbled, but here they are at 5-1 with their best start since 2012.
That means a Bears team that benched its quarterback, has three starters out for the season and was a few plays away from starting 0-5 is very much on track to make the playoffs.
Their latest win was nothing fancy.