The Chicago Bears took down the Carolina Panthers in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season with a commanding 59-37 win. After a long training camp working on things that will make them a better team, they finally put some of it together to take down a good team in the Panthers.
Right off the bat, Chicago won a road game against an organization that made it to the postseason a year ago. It's great to be 1-0 in a season that will come and go quickly. Every game matters, especially in an NFC North that saw three of four teams win in Week 1.
Although everyone, including management and the coaching staff, is happy with it, that doesn't mean it was good enough. This isn't the type of win where you can say the Bears played perfectly. Based on that, this is how
each unit of the football team grades out following the 59-37 win:
Offense: A+
The Bears offense gets the easiest A+ ever handed out. Just a few weeks removed from Ben Johnson saying that he wanted to have the highest-scoring offense of all time, he went out there and led a 59-point effort. Caleb Williams was sensational: he threw two touchdown passes, scored two touchdown runs, and threw no interceptions. He sprayed the ball all over the field and had almost everyone involved. On the ground, not including Williams, the running game was as good as ever. D’Andre Swift had three touchdown rushes and 124 yards on 18 carries. Kyle Monangai had 10 carries, and he had exactly 100 yards, which included a 61-yard touchdown run. All in all, it was an enchanted day of putting up points for the Bears, which was an all-time great opening-week performance. Everyone involved gets an A+.
Defense: C
The Bears defense gave up 37 points. They can’t rely on scoring 59 points every single game, so their defensive performance has to be a learning experience that leads to them getting better. Chicago’s defense did have three turnovers, which did help them put up even more points. That was a key to their defense being good enough in 2025, but most expect regression to the mean. This performance doesn’t suggest regression is looming, but they still can’t fully rely on that ability. Those aforementioned slight positives, in addition to the late-game stop they made, keep them from getting a failing grade.
Special Teams: A-
The special teams units did their job. They didn’t allow the opposition to score points, and they didn’t make any major mistakes that put the Bears in a tough spot, although Cairo Santos did fall short of the landing zone on two kickoffs that gave the Panthers excellent field position at the 40 yard line both times. With the way the offense was cooling, Tory Taylor only had to punt twice, and Cairo Santos only had to attempt one field goal, which he made. They weren’t needed much, but they delivered where they were needed. Santos also went 8-for-8 in his extra point attempts. He normally doesn’t get quite that many, but he better start getting used to kicking them more.
Coaching: A
It has already been noted that the offense was as explosive as ever for Chicago. The players are great, and they do their jobs so well, but Ben Johnson schemes in such a way that makes them so hard to out-scheme. Having him as a play caller and a leader of men gives them a tactical advantage over pretty much every team in the NFL. On defense, there is clearly a lot to learn. Dennis Allen made the most of his personnel last year; now he seems poised to make that attempt again. Following a tough game like that, you can expect that side of the ball to hit the film room and get back to work. No matter what, the Bears were one of the most statistically dominant teams on offense ever. The whole coaching staff deserves an A-grade following a win like that, even if a few of them do have to get back in the laboratory to begin their remedies.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears report card: How we graded Chicago in Week 1 win over Panthers
