3 and Out: Despite an uneven performance, Bears escape Carolina with 23-16 win

Takeaways following the Chicago Bears' 23-16 win over the Carolina Panthers.

Three moments that mattered

1. A pick to seal it. After failing to run out the clock, the Panthers got the ball back with plenty of time to try and at least tie the game. Instead DeAndre Houston-Carson picked off Teddy Bridgewater on Carolina's first play of the drive. It certainly hasn't been pretty, but the Bears are 5-1.

2. Maybe try a run play? Speaking of running out the clock, the Bears needed just two yards to put Carolina away. Maybe Matt Nagy just got too cute? Maybe he's understandably lost faith in his run game? Either way, Nick Foles' pass to Allen Robinson was broken up, the Bears were forced to punt, and the Panthers still had life. This won't work forever.

3. You're gonna call that? The Panthers offense didn't have much success getting into the red zone all day until a bogus pass interference call on Jaylon Johnson – which was perfectly legal defense against D.J. Moore – gave the Panthers the football at the Bears' 1-yard line. Mike Davis quickly found the end zone from there, and suddenly the Panthers were within 20-13 with 13:11 left to play.

Three things that worked

1. Red-zone defense. The Bears entered Week 6 leading the NFL in red-zone defense and it was stellar once again. They held the Panthers to field goals twice in the first half, and the Panthers may not have found the end zone at all if not for the laughably bad pass interference call on Johnson.

2. Hello, Cole Kmet. Two receptions for 20 yards and a touchdown isn't exactly lighting the world on fire, but considering Kmet had one catch on the season coming into Week 6, we'll call it a step in the right direction. Nagy has to find a way to get the rookie more involved.

3. Bombs away. Writing about the kicker is never fun, but this offense doesn't leave you with a lot of viable options. We should also consider the state of the Bears' kicking game during the Nagy era. Cairo Santos was 3 for 3 Sunday, including a blast from 55-yards out. Eddy Piniero might be out of a job.

Three things that didn't

1. That's the best you can do? It was really a make-or-break week for the Bears' run game against a porous Carolina run defense. David Montgomery went out and finished with 58 scoreless yards on 19 carries. He was twice denied at the goal line – a replay review ruled he was down short on the second attempt – and Foles had to barrel in on third down.

2. The offensive line is a problem. The poor showing wasn't all Montgomery's fault. With James Daniels on I.R., the Bears elected to start Rashaad Coward in Daniels' place. It didn't go well. And Charles Leno wasn't any better whether he was run or pass blocking.

3. A rough day for the rookie. While there was nothing he could do on the pass interference call, it wasn't a great performance overall for Johnson. The Panthers picked on the rookie corner all afternoon. It shouldn't, however, be considered a worry. Johnson has been terrific up until this point.

What's next?

The Bears head to Los Angeles for a matchup on Monday Night Football with Jared Goff and the Rams. It's the third straight season with a primetime meeting for these two teams. The Rams won last year's contest, 17-7, while the Bears won, 15-6 in 2018.