Bears blast Panthers with historic offensive outburst in 59-37, then say there’s so much more they can do

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Get ready for a season at the speedway.

The Bears’ offense was historically prodigious, and it’s just getting started. They raced away from the Panthers 59-37 to begin the season Sunday with a franchise record 552 yards and the most points they’ve scored in an opener.

It was their third-most points all-time and most since 1980.

Nearly every part of coach Ben Johnson’s offense was firing at full force, starting with quarterback Caleb Williams and running back D’Andre Swift, and it was more than enough on a day when the Bears’ defense sputtered throughout.

Those lapses — there were many — contributed to this being the highest-scoring Bears game and highest-scoring NFL season opener ever, but that’s a topic for another time.

They won because the coach who promised to energize their offense and the quarterback who set out to create history did exactly that against the Panthers.

Johnson had a feeling it’d be a good day when his head hit the pillow Saturday night at the team’s downtown hotel. He’d held one last quarterbacks meeting, and Williams was on top of everything they’d planned going into the game.

“I slept really well with that in mind,” Johnson said.

Williams was as advertised after an offseason of hype as he completed 21 of 29 passes for 269 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers for a 124.1 passer rating. He also ran for 65 yards, including touchdown scrambles of nine and 29 yards.

Williams didn’t know his completion percentage after the game, and when told it was 72.4, he responded casually, “Oh, cool.” But considering Johnson made 70% the standard when he walked into Halas Hall and Williams had yet to hit it, that was more significant than Williams’ tone conveyed.

“He came out hot,” Johnson said. “I’m sure there will be a number of things that we see on tape that we need to address, but I thought it was a good start.”

Williams was steady, too. Beginning, middle and end, he was excellent. No last-minute escapes required.

His first big pass was a 47-yarder to wide receiver Rome Odunze that looked like what the Bears dreamed when they drafted both in the top 10 in 2024. Odunze got enough of a jump on Panthers cornerback Will Lee that he threw his hand up to get Williams’ attention, and as Williams was flushed out of the pocket to his right, he flung the ball downfield on the run.

The throw was a little short, but Odunze rescued him by coming back reaching around the back of Lee’s head to “Moss” him and catch the ball.

Williams’ best throw of the game, though, was a 22-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet to put the Bears ahead 21-7 early in the second quarter. As Williams rolled right, he saw Kmet get a step on Panthers linebacker Devin Lloyd up the left sideline, stopped and threw the ball to the perfect spot for an over-the-shoulder catch.

“I was just trying to get lost in the sauce a little bit and get behind the defense,” Kmet said. “I don’t think I was wide open, but Caleb gave me a chance on it.”

Everything about Williams’ game looked sharper than it did at the start of last season. Johnson said Williams “couldn’t have put it in a better spot” on the throw to Kmet, but also liked his quick recognition and decisiveness on checkdowns.

He was even more perceptive as a runner — a little faster, too, after losing 10-15 pounds in the offseason.

He had a 29-yard touchdown run in the second quarter in which he escaped a chaotic pocket and sprinted untouched to the end zone that was equal parts intuition and speed. Knowing the Panthers were in man-to-man coverage, his receivers continued running routes as though he was still looking to pass, and that created enough of a lag for him to reach open space.

He gave a nothing-you-can-do-about-me shrug to the crowd after scoring.

Swift, fresh off signing a three-year, $33.8 million contract extension, rewarded the Bears with 124 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. The Panthers finally surrendered and pulled quarterback Bryce Young after Swift ran through them for a 28-yard touchdown with 3:40 left.

Backup running back Kyle Monangai added 100 yards on 10 carries, including a 61-yard touchdown run near the end of the third quarter that gave the Bears some breathing room with a 45-31 lead.

Interestingly, though, there was a widespread sense in the locker room that the Bears left some points out there. It’s a laughable statement after hanging 59 points on the Panthers, a solid defense last season, but that was the consensus.

Johnson criticized his own offensive play calling in the first half and added that overall, “There were still a number of things I didn’t love.”

Swift was blown away by the scoring outburst, but mused about the future, saying, “To come out of a game like that and have so much to clean up…” before trailing off.

Williams predicted it would be “our worst game” of the season in terms of execution.

“You want to play a perfect game,” Odunze said. “We’ve heard the head of the snake, Ben Johnson, say he wants to be the most prolific offense in history, so it takes that attention to detail even when you score 59 points. We’re all bought into that.”

It’s almost inconceivable that of all franchises the Bears, an old-school organization focused on defense first, would break the 2013 Broncos’ record of 37.9 points per game. But 59 points sure makes it a little easier to imagine.