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Ben Johnson spent the offseason making it clear that the Chicago Bears were not interested in setting ordinary goals. After one game, his confidence looks much less like preseason optimism.
The Bears opened their 2026 season by dismantling the Carolina Panthers, 59-37, behind 552 total yards and eight touchdowns. Chicago rushed for 291 yards, Caleb Williams accounted for four scores and Johnson’s offense recorded the franchise’s highest single-game point total since 1980. Johnson could have used his postgame press conference to temper expectations.
He went in the opposite direction.
“That’ll always be the goal,” Johnson told reporters. “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 average.”
That is an ambitious statement from a coach whose team just demonstrated how dangerous it can become.
Ben Johnson refuses to lower Bears’ expectations
Johnson said during the offseason that he wanted Chicago to challenge the scoring standard established by the 2013 Denver Broncos.
We are SO back 😏 pic.twitter.com/egVw1h1fLk
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 13, 2026That Denver team averaged 37.9 points and scored an NFL-record 606 during the regular season. Chicago now has a significant head start after scoring 59 in its opener. The Bears reached that total with remarkable offensive balance.
Williams threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns while adding 65 yards and two more scores on the ground. D’Andre Swift rushed for 124 yards, while Kyle Monangai added 100.
Chicago scored six rushing touchdowns and averaged more than seven yards per carry. The Panthers never found an answer for the Bears’ combination of designed runs, quarterback movement and play-action passes. The Bears did not simply score on a few short fields, either. They consistently created explosive plays and finished with 26 first downs.
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Bears give rest of NFL an early warning
One dominant performance does not guarantee Chicago will sustain its historic pace. Johnson understands the NFL will adjust. Opposing defensive coordinators will study every formation and tendency the Bears showed against Carolina.
The important development is that Chicago appears to have multiple ways to respond. If a defense commits additional resources to stopping Swift and Monangai, Williams can attack favorable matchups through the air. If opponents attempt to take away the deep passing game, Chicago can lean on its offensive line and rushing attack.
Williams’ mobility creates another problem. Carolina struggled to account for him near the goal line, and his two rushing touchdowns demonstrated why defenders cannot turn their backs in coverage. Johnson still found mistakes when reviewing the performance, but his larger message was impossible to miss.
The Bears are not hiding from expectations. They want to score more than anyone, win more than anyone and compete for a championship. After watching Chicago put 59 points on the scoreboard in Week 1, the rest of the NFL may need to take Johnson at his word.
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