The Chicago Bears had a nightmare start in their season opener against the Carolina Panthers, where they turned the ball over on their first drive of the game and allowed Carolina to take advantage with a quick 7-0 lead.
From there, it was an offensive explosion for both teams. The Bears pulled off a huge victory, beating the Panthers 59-37 in historic fashion. The defense allowed more points than they would have liked, but they scored enough points to win any game that they played.
During the offseason, Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that he wanted to have the highest-scoring offense in the history of the NFL. That's a lofty goal, but it's hard to discount his goal when he comes out and leads a 59-point effort in Week 1.
Everybody played well
in the game. Quarterback Caleb Williams made his throws, spread the ball around the field, and allowed his backs to make big plays. D'Andre Swift had 3 touchdowns and 124 yards on 18 carries while Kyle Monangai had a touchdown on the ground as well, to go with 100 yards on 10 carries. Even Williams joined in on the ground game, as he scored two rushing touchdowns for 65 yards.
Many expect tight end Colston Loveland to be a dominant receiver for the Bears, but it was actually Cole Kmet who had the receiving touchdown from the tight end group. Jahdae Walker also caught a touchdown pass, his first of the season. All in all, it was a well-balanced attack on the ground and in the air.
There were times throughout the game when the defense was leaky. They wouldn't have given up 37 points if that weren't the case. However, there are things that can clearly be cleaned up. For one, Ben Johnson went for it on fourth down at their own 20, and they didn't convert. That allowed the Panthers to have a relatively easy touchdown drive. They were also gifted that good field position to go up 7-0 early, so context is important there.
Still, going forward, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has the task of getting this group to match the brilliance that the offense is capable of bringing with Ben Johnson calling the plays. With that said, a win is a win, and the Bears are 1-0, which is a better start than 2025, when they started 0-2.
Are the Bears going to score 50+ every week? Probably not. They are not even going to score 30+ a week in most cases. However, they have the firepower to mask the defensive shortcomings and be a really good team.
This is one of the best starts to the season through one week that the franchise has ever seen. There are lofty, playoff-caliber goals for this campaign, and they showed why on Sunday.
Next up for the Bears is a divisional matchup, Chicago's first NFC North battle of the season. They will host the Minnesota Vikings for the first of three straight at Soldier Field. Like Carolina, Minnesota comes in with the reputation of being a fringe playoff team, so the Bears will have a similar game plan: score, score, score.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Instant analysis of Bears' dominant win over the Panthers
