Wow. So there might be something to all of the build up this offseason surrounding the potential of this Chicago Bears offense. Despite stumbling out of the gate in an impressive variety of ways enroute to a fumble on the first drive of the game, Caleb Williams led Chicago to a league-leading 59 points in week 1. So let’s take our first look at how that translated to individual performances in this first edition of Benchmarking Da Bears.
Quarterback
Caleb Williams, 3rd NFL season
Comp Player: 2022 Jared Goff (Detroit
Lions)
Caleb was absolutely one of the standouts, not only in this game, but across the league as he accounted for over 300 yards and 4 total TDs. This performance definitely lived up to the expectations that many have had for Williams after the way he was able to end last season. The next challenge will be continuing to string together outings like this against all calibers of opposing defenses.
Statistics:
Running Backs
D’Andre Swift, 7th NFL season
Comp Player: 2025 D’Andre Swift (Chicago Bears)
Statistics:
Kyle Monangai, 2nd NFL season
Comp Player: 2024 David Montgomery (Detroit Lions)
Statistics:
As far as standouts go, it’s really a dealer’s choice between Williams and Swift. Swift added 3 rushing TDs on the day, making his new deal look amazing before the ink was even dry. Meanwhile, Kyle Monangai looked to be nicely recovered from his training camp injury as he broke off a long run and added a rushing score of his own. Once again, this duo signed their names on a historic day for the Bears – something that didn’t happen until far later last season.
Tight Ends
Colston Loveland, 2nd NFL season
Comp Player: 2023 Sam LaPorta (Detroit Lions)
Statistics:
Cole Kmet, 7th NFL season
Comp Player: 2021 T.J. Hockenson (Detroit Lions)
Statistics:
If you asked 100 Bears fans if it were more likely that Colston Loveland go without a reception in this game or the Bears score 59 points, the responses may honestly be an even split. Expectations for Loveland’s season were (and still are) high, but Carolina clearly had designs to take him out of the gameplan for Chicago in this one. That seemed to be more than alright, especially since Cole Kmet reminded everyone that he’s still a very capable receiver in his own right with a very impressive TD reception.
Wide Receivers
Rome Odunze, 3rd NFL season
Comp Player: 2024 Jameson Williams (Detroit Lions)
Statistics:
Luther Burden, 2nd NFL season
Comp Player: 2022 Amon-Ra St. Brown (Detroit Lions)
Statistics:
Kalif Raymond, 10th NFL season
Comp Player: 2022 Kalif Raymond (Detroit Lions)
Statistics:
Zavion Thomas was absent in the offensive scoresheet, so we’ll update his stats once he has the opportunity to make an impact. Minus Burden’s fumble, the other three primary receivers all made an impact on the game. Odunze had an impressive catch along the sideline and over a defender, Burden redeemed himself with sure handedness over the course of the game, and Raymond had a massive game by his standards with 8 catches. While none of them found the end zone (Jahdae Walker was the lone WR to catch a TD pass), this was definitely an encouraging sign for the future.
Again, 59 points is a crazy number that we should absolutely be excited about for a week 1 offensive performance. Does that mean we should pencil this group in for the scoring record, already? That’s still premature. For now, we can turn our attention toward a division rival and a proven test in the Minnesota Vikings.
