The Chicago Bears put together a historic 2026 debut on offense. Former USC Trojan Caleb Williams looks like he is headed for an MVP-level season. The Bears' defense needs to get better quickly.
Here is what we learned about Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears following Week 1:
The offense looked massively better
Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams wasted no time showing how special this Bears offense will be this season. Caleb Williams was at the forefront of the improvement as he threw for an impressive 72% completion rate. A big talking point last season was how bad Caleb Williams' completion rate was. The Bears offense, when Caleb Williams is more efficient, looks nearly unstoppable. In Week 1, the Bears had 552 total yards. Another talking point about the Bears was how bad the defense
will be this season. It seems like the Bears' potential historic offense could make up for that.
Caleb Williams has so many weapons to use
Caleb Williams's expected best target, Colston Loveland, finished the game with 0 catches. The Bears still won and scored 59 points. Caleb threw to 7 different pass catchers. Kalif Raymond was his leading target, with 8 catches for 84 yards. The Bears also had 3 other pass catchers who eclipsed at least 30 yards. The Bears' receiver room after 1 game looks in contention to be one of the deepest rooms in the NFL. When Colston Loveland gets more involved, the Bears' passing attack will be even more scary.
Offensive line did not miss a beat
The Bears lost their starting high-caliber center, Drew Dalman, in the offseason. There were also a ton of question marks about the Bears' left tackle position heading into this season. Braxton Jones got banged up in Sunday's game, but he, for the most part, played well. Garrett Bradbury erased all doubt about the center position with great play. The Bears still were the most physical team on the field. The run game looked just as dominant as it was against the Philadelphia Eagles last season. The offensive line deserves a ton of credit for the Bears scoring 59 points.
Young defenders stepped up
Malik Muhammad, in his first start, made a ton of plays. One of which was a nice interception that killed a Carolina Panthers drive. He is fitting right into the standard the Bears had last season. Dillon Thieneman was second in tackles for the Bears with 8. He was flying all over the field and held his end of the bargain in the back end. It was an encouraging game for the Bears' two promising rookies in the secondary.
Defense is still a work in progress
The Bears, at the end of the day, still gave up 37 points. The Bears allowed Bryce Young to throw for 361 yards. The Bears' defense made enough plays to help their offense win this high-scoring game. However, when it comes to playoff time, this type of defensive performance may not be good enough.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: What we learned about Caleb Williams and Chicago Bears in NFL Week 1
