Bengals vs. Bears 2013: Bears and Bengals impress in close Chicago win

SB Nation writers are reacting to the Bears’ win over the Bengals on Sunday. The Bears outscored the Bengals, 24-21.

Sep 9, 2013, 12:00 PM UTC

Jonathan Daniel

The Bears hosted the Bengals in a close inter-conference matchup in Chicago. The teams traded leads three times throughout the game with both Bears quarterback Jay Cutler and Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton throwing for two touchdowns. Chicago came out of the game with a 24-21 win to start the Marc Trestman Era with success, and leave the long-tenured Marvin Lewis regime with a licking their wounds with loss.

Josh Kirkendall of Cincy Jungle lamented the Bengals’ loss to the Bears in a close contest:

Tremendous strides and obvious successes infrequently translated but was never sustained -- especially in the fourth quarter when the Bears dominated. Perhaps this was the basic result of the Bengals playing their first regular season game of the year after having such limited work during the preseason. Who can say. Everyone else is in the same boat, so that excuse to me, at least, is a push.

Dane Noble of Windy City Gridiron seems happy about Chicago’s triumph, but believes there is still a lot of work to be done, especially in the sacks department:

Bumps and hiccups could be expected, but for the most part, the team looked pretty fluid. Marc Trestman got plays called into Jay Cutler pretty quickly, and the offense seemed to be working at a faster pace, and with more crispness, than Bears fans are used to seeing.

Pass rush was lacking on defense, but much of that could be attributed to the quick release of Bengals QB Andy Dalton. His chemistry with WR A.J. Green is not something the Bears are likely to see more than a handful of times this season, but definitely something worth keeping an eye on moving forward.

Both Chicago and Cincinnati are viewed as potential playoff teams, and while the Bears won the game, the Bengals have not lost ground in their own division. The AFC North was the lone division in the NFL that had all four teams lose games. The two teams have a long season to play and this game was just one part of a 16-game puzzle, and both are poised to improve moving forward.

Next up for the Bears is a home game against the Vikings next Sunday at 1 p.m ET. The Bengals will host the Steelers on Monday Night Football in Week 2.