On Sunday, the Chicago Bears faced the Carolina Panthers on the road and came out on top, scoring 59 points, tied for the second-most in a season opener in NFL history. The offense was firing on all cylinders, as quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 65 yards and two more scores.
The Bears’ run game also unstoppable, with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai combining for 224 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Swift accounted for three of those four scores.
The game started off rocky for the Bears. On the third play of the game, wide receiver Luther Burden III fumbled after a reception, and the Panthers recovered the ball in Chicago territory. They scored less than three minutes later when running back Chuba Hubbard caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
However, the Bears scored on the next drive. After runs of 32 and 5 yards from Swift, Williams scrambled for a 9-yard touchdown to tie the game.
After a Carolina Punt, Williams completed a two-play, 41 yard drive in just 51 seconds He connected with running back Kyle Monangai for 19 yards before finding tight end Cole Kmet for a 22-yard touchdown pass. The Bears led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.
To start the second quarter, the Panthers had another three-play drive that resulted in a punt. Following a 47-yard completion to Chicago receiver Rome Odunze, Swift scored his first rushing touchdown three plays later from 1 yard out to make it 21-7.
However, the Bears’ offense slowed down for the rest of the second quarter. After Young threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Panthers wide receiver Jalen Coker, the Bears turned the ball over on downs at their own 21-yard line. Young then scored on a 7-yard run to tie the game at 21 midway through the second quarter.
On the next drive, the Bears initially went three-and-out and punted, but Panthers returner Jimmy Horn Jr. muffed the punt, and the Bears recovered it. Kicker Cairo Santos made a 40-yard field goal four plays later.
After Carolina responded with a field goal of its own, Chicago drove down the field, and Williams recorded his final rushing touchdown of the day on a 29-yard scramble with just 22 seconds left in the half. Young then threw an interception, and the Bears went into halftime leading 31-24.
Both teams punted on their first drives of the second half and scored touchdowns on their second possessions. Hubbard ran it in from 2 yards out, while Swift scored on a 1-yard run. The Bears led 38-31 with a little more than three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Panthers were unable to convert on fourth down, setting up the defining play of the game. Immediately after the turnover on downs, Williams handed the ball to Monangai, who ran up the middle, broke free and went 61 yards for his first and only touchdown of the game, giving the Bears a two-possession, 45-31 lead.
The Panthers scored one more touchdown, but Chicago answered with two more, resulting in a 59-37 final.
While many Bears fans were happy with the result, there are a few concerns heading into the coming weeks. While the Panthers are by no means a bad team, Chicago allowed 37 points. If the Bears’ offense can’t maintain this level of production, they could fall into the same one-possession games that plagued them last season.
However, there were a few defensive bright spots for the Bears. Rookie safety Dillon Thieneman from Oregon led the team with eight tackles and added a pass deflection and a quarterback hit. Rookie defensive back Malik Muhammed II from Texas recorded the game’s lone interception.
Defensive tackle Kentravius Street, an offseason addition from the Atlanta Falcons, recorded a sack, as did defensive end Montez Sweat. Devin Bush also recovered a fumble late in the game to extinguish any remaining momentum for the Panthers’ offense.
Despite Chicago’s high offensive production, there are concerns about the role of tight end Colston Loveland. The second-year player led the Bears in receiving yards as a rookie but had zero catches on just two targets in the season opener. Instead, Kalif Raymond stole the show for the Bears with eight receptions on nine targets for 84 yards.
Regardless of who is catching his passes, Williams could make a serious case for the NFL MVP award if he continues to play as well as he did this week.
The Chicago Bears will play their first divisional game of the season next week against the Minnesota Vikings, who are also 1-0. The game will take place Sunday, Sept. 20, at Soldier Field in Chicago and will be broadcast on FOX.
