Ben Johnson isn't shy about shooting for the stars.
In the summer, the Chicago Bears
head coach maintained that he wants his Caleb Williams-led offense to break records; to be the highest-scoring attack in NFL history. It's still just one week of an extremely young 2026 season, but a monstrous 59-point outburst to beat the Carolina Panthers on Sunday will certainly put the Bears on track toward meeting Johnson's lofty goals.When asked about his preseason proclamations during his postgame press conference, Johnson doubled down on his sentiments. His logic? If you don't have ambitious goals, then what's the point of being in the NFL?
Johnson's Bears offense (specifically, just the offense) isn't trying to be "mediocre or average." It is trying to run
the opponent off the field. For at least one week, after all their talk, it's hard to argue that the Bears and Johnson aren't already walking the walk:
Ben Johnson on wanting to have the highest-scoring offense of all time:
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) September 13, 2026
"That'll always be the goal. We want to be the highest scoring, we want to have the most wins, we want to win Super Bowls. That's what we do. We didn't get into this profession trying to be mediocre or…
Truly, for emphasis, there was nothing unimpressive about the Bears' all-around offensive dominance in Week 1.
Their 59 points scored against the Panthers are the third-most in franchise history, and the second-most in any Week 1 in NFL history. Folks, the Bears have been playing football for over a century. That is bonkers.
The best part? They managed it without a single defensive or special teams score, too. They scored eight offensive touchdowns, and none of their top-three pass-catchers, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and Colston Loveland, scored any of them. Phew.
Most points for the Bears (59) in a single game since 1980. Third-most in franchise history. And most in a single game in franchise history without a return touchdown.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) September 13, 2026
The Bears' 59 points are tied for the 2nd most in a season opener in NFL history! Only the 1973 Falcons (62) scored more.
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) September 13, 2026
The Bears had 6 rush TD, tied for their most in a regular season game in franchise history. The last time they did it was in 1941! pic.twitter.com/wapOcxFOhh
It's not an ideal setup, but if there's one thing that could really push the Bears' offense into rare air, it's their abysmal defense. Chicago kind of, sort of had to keep the pedal to the metal on Sunday because it was clear that the Bears' defense needed a lot of help in a middling performance against Bryce Young's Panthers. At no risk of hyperbole, this version of Chicago might have to score 30-plus points a week just to have a chance to win.
The good news for Johnson and the Bears is that they seem plenty capable of doing just that.
Who holds the NFL single-season team scoring record?
The 2013 Broncos hold that mark, having scored 606 points during their 16-game campaign with Peyton Manning at the helm. As of this moment, the Bears are on pace for over 1,000 points in a 17-game season (that torrid and ridiculous pace, specifically, probably won't hold).
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Ben Johnson doubled down on his historic offense goal after the Bears put up 59 points
