What a way to start the season for the Chicago Bears. This offense may be the most explosive offense the Bears have ever had, at least in the modern era, as evidenced by their 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers. The run game dominated the game and quarterback Caleb Williams looked like an MVP with four total touchdowns.
You would not have guessed the game would turn this way based on the first drive when receiver Luther Burden III lost a fumble and the Panthers capitalized with a touchdown on their first drive of the season. But Chicago responded with 21 unanswered points to make it 21-7 just one minute into the second quarter and they had a 31-24 lead at halftime. By the end of the game, the Bears had won in dominant fashion with a final score
of 59-37, the most in a season opener in franchise history.
Here is a look at the good, bad and ugly following the Bears' historic win over the Panthers in the season opener:
The Good
Offensive masterclass: Head coach Ben Johnson said his goal was to be the highest-scoring offense in NFL history. Even the highest-scoring offense in league history, the 2013 Denver Broncos, never put up 59 points in a game. That speaks to just how explosive this offense is. Their 552 yards in this game are the most in a season opener in history. The defense cannot allow 37 points in every game, but Chicago will win a lot of games if they are able to have this kind of performance every week.
Run game: Seeing the success of the run game may have been the best part of watching this game. Between running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai and quarterback Caleb Williams, the Bears had six rushing touchdowns. That is tied for the most in franchise history in a single game and their most in a game since October of 1941. Swift accounted for three of those touchdowns, which was the most for him in his career. In addition, Swift and Monangai each had at least 100 rushing yards for the second time since Monangai’s rookie year in 2025. Any defense in the league is going to have a problem going against this run game.
Caleb Williams: It is not an overreaction to say he looked like an MVP in his game. He had four total touchdowns - two rushing and two through the air. The accuracy on his touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet was elite, especially with double coverage. Williams had a historic day individually, becoming the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 269 yards and two touchdowns, rush for at least 65 yards and two touchdowns, have at least a 124.1 passing rating and complete at least 72 percent of his passes without committing a turnover in a single game. This is what legends are made of.
The Bad
Penalties: This is not a new story as Chicago had a problem with penalties last season. They committed 12 penalties in this game, which is pretty bad. However, they were only for 57 penalty yards, which is what prevents this from being ugly. Ben Johnson will certainly be on the Bears for the penalties leading up to their next game against the Minnesota Vikings, so hopefully this will not become a season-long issue.
Luther Burden’s fumble: Burden’s fumble was the lone turnover of the game for the Bears while they generated three takeaways. It was not a great way to start the season for him specifically even though it ultimately did not impact the final result of the game. Ball security is always important and Burden seemed to be protecting the ball more after that fumble, so this issue may already be resolved.
The Ugly
Secondary: With how young the secondary is and the injuries they have suffered in the offseason, it was no surprise to see them struggle to contain Carolina’s pass catchers for most of the game. There were certainly blown coverages and missed tackles, particularly in the first half. With the Bears facing Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings next week, this is something defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will need to address so Minnesota does not put up 30 plus points.
Red zone defense: Carolina a touchdown scored on all four of their red zone trips. That is also not sustainable for the entire season and another thing Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen will need to address. However, not every game is going to be a 59-37 shootout with 55 combined points at halftime, so the flow of the game was definitely not in favor of the defense although Malik Muhammad’s interception just before half certainly helped set a tone on defense.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Bears' big win vs. Panthers in Week 1
