Much of the focus for the 2018 Chicago Bears has centered around Mitch Trubisky and the offense, but the key to this season’s success is and has always been the defense.

Sunday night, outside of a couple late touchdowns, the Bears were absolutely dominant defensively. They should be. They have to be.

Despite a new, big money quarterback and a vastly improved offensive line, the Minnesota Vikings don’t have a great offense. They entered Sunday’s game about middle of the pack across the board and in the 20s in terms of yards and points per drive. (Good thing the Bears didn’t hire John DeFilippo.)

The Vikings do have a terrific defense. The Bears weren’t going to be able to put up 30 points. The Bears defense needed to win this game.

They did.

Minnesota’s first six points came after offensive turnovers put them in field goal range. The defense held strong. Leading 14-6, it was the defense that added to the lead. Eddie Jackson read Kirk Cousins, grabbed an overthrown pass and brought it back for a touchdown. Ball game.

Well, almost.

Because the defense alone isn’t why the Bears are for real.

After the Vikings went down and got a quick touchdown, the offense did its part to close, capping a long drive with a 48-yard field goal to clinch the game. The defense is the straw that stirs the drink, but the offense is good too.

• The numbers weren’t flashy, but the Bears converted 6 of 12 third downs against a defense that has been historically good at preventing teams from converting third downs.
• Trubisky made some bad mistakes, but he made more big plays.
• They ran the ball against a team they really had no business running against.
• The offense controlled the first half.

The offense is good. The quarterback is fine. But if the Bears are going to keep winning throughout the rest of the regular season and into January, it’s going to be the defense that has to carry them. We saw last night they’re capable of doing just that.

Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be in Chicago?