Polling Place: On which side of the ball will the Bears be stronger in 2023?

On which side of the ball will the Bears be better this season? That was question No. 1 in this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter.

Will the Justin Fields-led offense take a big step forward and pave the way for the team? Or will the Bears more often revolve around their defense, which Friday added free-agent defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who has 65 sacks in seven seasons?

The vote — most of which came in before Ngakoue signed for one year at $10.5 million — went heavily for the offense.

Also, with the Cubs coming on strong in their division, we asked who’s going to win it: the Cubs, the Reds or the Brewers?

“Somehow, this team has found ‘it,’ ” @RonaldVoigt4 commented. “Now just run with it, boys, and enjoy the ride.”

As @North2North astutely pointed out, the Cubs are in the hunt for a wild-card berth, too.

Last, we wondered about the struggling U.S. women’s national team, whose World Cup performance has left much to be desired: Will the Americans, one of 16 teams still alive, be the last team standing?

On to the polls:

Poll No. 1: Which side of the ball will be stronger for the 2023 Bears?

Upshot: The Bears ranked toward the bottom of the NFL in both offense and defense last season. They added receiver DJ Moore, a huge get, and drafted offensive lineman Darnell Wright and are looking, of course, for improvement from Fields, but they also beefed up pretty promisingly along the defensive line and at linebacker. Throw Ngakoue in there and that “D” is looking, well, early-August good. Is that a thing?

Poll No. 2: The Cubs have gotten back into the National League Central race. Will they win it?

Upshot: Beat the heck out of the Reds for a few days, and voters get super excited. Get smoked by the Braves in a series opener that takes place after most of the voting is done, and who knows how many minds it might change? The Cubs are the pick — for the time being.

Poll No. 3: The U.S. women have struggled at the World Cup and no longer are favored to win it. Will they rally for a third straight title?

Upshot: Can’t beat the Netherlands? Can’t beat Portugal? Can’t get those quality scoring chances clicking? “There’s nothing left in the tank!” according to @JBIRD1268. Gosh, we hope that isn’t true.