It took a while to get going and required several course corrections, but this is how the Bears envisioned their offense.

A flood of playmakers.

A rookie quarterback on the rise.

Sensible – sometimes even clever – play calling.

They managed all of those points on Sunday when they defeated the Panthers 36-10 to move to 3-2. That made this the last season they hit over .500 under general manager Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus, and they continued the upward trend starting the week before against the Rams.

It’s telling that these are the NFL’s two worst defenses, so this was hardly an announcement that the Bears have arrived. However, it is a proof of concept and a step towards something more meaningful.

“It was definitely a little insight,” wide receiver Rome Odunze said. “We were firing on a lot of cylinders. I wouldn’t say all cylinders, but a lot.”

It started as always with Caleb Williams. He played the best game of his career by beating the Rams and then topped the game against the Panthers by completing 20 of 29 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover, for a passer rating of 126.2.

Things have been positive for Williams, and the positive thing is that five games into his career, he is far from being at the end of his career. His talent could emerge at any moment, and it’s becoming clear every week that he’s decoding the NFL.

The Bears planned to list him among the top talents to help him adjust, and that came to fruition. Williams targeted Odunze, DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Cole Kmet at least four times each.

Moore led the way with five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns and seemed closer to Williams after a week in which he admitted it was difficult to be patient with rookie mistakes and came under scrutiny for poor body language.

The overall precision of the offense, especially on a windy day at the lake, impressed Moore so much that he said it was the best it had been in his two seasons with the Bears.

“We had a lot of fun doing it,” Moore said. “With fun comes a lot of victories, and with a lot of victories comes a lot of fun.”

The beleaguered offensive coordinator Shane Waldron also enjoyed the day and received spontaneous praise from Eberflus for his “creativity” and “good tactics”.

Whatever conversations Waldron had with his boss and his players as they navigated their way through a confusing game against the Colts two weeks ago had an impact.

The Bears hired Waldron because they liked his experience as a play caller and his ability to combine passing and rushing attacks. Although Sunday’s ground game wasn’t spectacular with 128 yards on 39 carries, it was respectable.

For the second straight game, running back D’Andre Swift surpassed 100 yards of offense with 73 rushing and 47 receiving yards, as well as a goal-line touchdown run.

This template will work for the Bears, although they will have to do everything they can to maintain that production. Next up they play the Jaguars, and they’re a 1-4 team with a terrible defense, but the heavyweights are coming up.

“We can still make improvements and grow this offense so we can have a product like this every time we step on the field,” Odunze said.

Odunze rejected any reservations about scoring 36 points and 424 yards against the Panthers, saying the opponent is irrelevant and what really matters is whether the Bears live up to their own standards.

This is of course easier against weaker opponents.

To keep it going, the struggling offensive line needs to get better, Williams needs to move faster and the running game needs to become as powerful as it has been the last two seasons. But two strong performances in a row give the Bears reason to be optimistic about where they are headed.

After a rocky start to his career, it’s okay to overly celebrate Sunday’s performance.

From Rick Morrissey

Williams hit receiver DJ Moore for touchdowns of 34 and 30 yards.

From Patrick Finley

Landry played in the NFL from 1968 to 1981 with the Lions and the then-Baltimore Colts. After two seasons in the USFL, he returned to the NFL and played one game for the Bears.

From AP