History in more ways than one.
The Chicago Bears have some unfinished business to take care of this season. They wasted no time getting to work in Week 1, destroying the Carolina Panthers by a final score of 59-37 on the road. And it turns out that the Bears etched the franchise's name into the record books after playing in what is now the highest-scoring Week 1 game in NFL history.
Both teams combined for 96 points, topping the previous record of 88 points set by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints in the 2018 season.
To make matters even better, the final score qualified as a "Scorigami" to become the 1096th unique score in NFL history.
Neither defense will be pleased with the outcome, especially since they both come into the year
with some expectations of playing well into January and beyond. One person that will be excited about the score, however, is Bears' head coach Ben Johnson.
The 40-year-old coach set a big goal for his offense in 2026 – to be the best ever. Many have said that, few have accomplished it, but that didn't stop Johnson from declaring his intentions to The Athletic's Dan Pompei during the offseason.
"You've got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying, 'Our goal is to win the Super Bowl.' I want more than that," Johnson told The Athletic's Dan Pompei in August.
"I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored [37.9], and I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts."
And a blowout is exactly what Johnson got in Week 1. Despite being tied at 31 late in the third quarter, his team turned it up a notch to score 28 points in the second half – including a stretch that saw 21 unanswered. Perhaps the most impressive part of the showing was the balance that Chicago displayed.
The Bears totaled 552 yards of offense with 261 passing yards and 291 rushing yards.
That will surely be a highlight for Johnson, showing what his team is capable of. They made a statement and a loud one at that.
"Bta," Bears receiver Luther Burden III posted on social media after the game. Or, belt to (expletive), as they say. For those unfamiliar, that is where the sun doesn't shine.
Luckily for the Bears, the sun is shining bright on their offense early in the season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bears-Panthers was historic for a Week 1 game, Scorigami and more
