CHARLOTTE (104.3 The Score) – After the Bears posted historic numbers in their 59-37 season-opening win over the Panthers on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, head coach Ben Johnson still carried his familiar scowl.
Though the Bears posted 552 yards of offense – including 291 on the ground with six rushing touchdowns – Johnson was still pointing to what his team can improve. In his Johnson, this will be the worst game the Bears will play all season.
That’s the standard the Bears are following with Johnson in charge.
“We want to be the highest-scoring, we want to have the most wins, we want to win the Super Bowl,” Johnson said. “That’s what we do. You don’t get into this profession trying to be mediocre or average.”
In their first game of the season, the Bears proved that they’re all in on Johnson’s determined approach.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams opened his third NFL season by going 21-of-29 for 269 yards and two passing touchdowns while adding 65 rushing yards and a pair of scores on the ground as well. He smoothly led an offense that was dominant.
But afterward, there was Williams repeating Johnson’s tone.
"That's who we want to be this week,” Williams said. “(But) we got to go clean up. We want to be truthers. Obviously, this is going to be our kind of worst game. I know points don't necessarily show that, but execution, the blocking, the penalties, all these different things.
“It’s not going to be as pretty as it will be later in the year.”
Complementing Williams was a relentless running game, led by the Bears’ two-headed monster of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. Swift rushed 18 times for 124 yards and two scores. Monangai rushed 10 times for 100 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown.
The Bears hadn’t posted 59 points since 1980, and the number represented the most points they'd ever scored in a season opener. Everybody on offense played a part.
“Shoutout to the running backs for running, the tight ends, wide receivers blocking, running backs running hard, O-line doing their job,” Bears left guard Joe Thuney said. “It’s a team effort. I love to see the guys do great.”
One can naturally point to the Bears’ defensive effort with concern. The Panthers posted their own crooked numbers on the scoreboard as well, logging 478 yards of total offense on the afternoon. Fourth-year quarterback Bryce Young was 23-of-37 for 361 yards and three touchdowns. His lone interception – along with a pair of fumbles – helped the Bears win the turnover margin 3-1 and shift a high-scoring game.
There will be plenty to criticize for the Bears’ defense, a unit that has significant uncertainty and a series of question marks, but those concerns are eased a bit when you have a quarterback like Williams guiding such a prolific offensive attack.
“It’s a team sport,” Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo said. “I don’t think the scoreboard always tells the full story. But I think the offense did a great job of taking advantage of their opportunities.
“It’s great to have that be our team.”
From Carolina to Chicago, there are Bears fans saying the same.
The Bears put their breakthrough 2025 season in the past as Johnson told his team – and even fans – to start over and refocus for 2026. Johnson wants everyone to dream bigger than just reaching the playoffs and winning a game once there. He has aspirations to rewrite the record books and win championships.
For the Bears to accomplish that, it will require being critical of a performance even as convincing as Sunday’s. And after nine scoring drives, the Bears weren’t counting points on the sideline.
“Honestly, professionally, you like the good stuff but you’re going back like, ‘Hey, I saw this on this play’ or ‘I saw this here,’ you’re honestly checking the other stuff to make sure the game goes how it goes,” veteran wide receiver Kalif Raymond said.
“Because the game is still going. If you get too lost in what’s already happened, you won’t be prepared for the future.”
When the Bears return to Halas Hall and review the film Monday, they’ll be “truthers,” Williams said. They want to deeply analyze the process rather than being content with the results.
That’s for the next day. Because inside the victorious locker room Sunday, Johnson revitalized one beloved aspect of the Bears’ breakthrough 2025 campaign. He broke out the “good, better, best” chant and even cracked a wry smile.
“Find a way to get to the plane with a win,” Johnson said. “And we did that, we accomplished that. And now we’re in a race to improve in all three phases and collectively as a team. That’s what we got to do.
“You’d like to think in a long season like this, we’re playing our worst football early on and we continue to get better and better and better.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
