But that's exactly what happened to the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, and it shows just how legitimately scary this Chicago Bears offense is. The Bears outscored the Panthers 59-37 in Carolina, marking the highest combined point total (96) in a Week 1 game in NFL history, and a new franchise scoring record for Chicago. The 59 points were also the most the Panthers franchise has ever allowed.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams addressed the rout recently and sent a bold message about the team's offensive ceiling this season. "I think scoring every drive is our mindset. That's the potential of us.
And that's an internal expectation," Williams said. "It's an expectation from ourselves to be able to go out there and score every time." More news: Insider Names Top 2 Teams to Watch for Joey Porter Jr Trade That's obviously an absurd bar to set for any offense, but the Bears came pretty close to pulling it off in their season opener. They scored on 9 of 14 drives and punted just twice all game, going 10 of 14 on third downs and 4 for 4 in the red zone.
And this Panthers defense may be dealing with injuries, but it's still a solid unit, the same one that had 15 interceptions last season, tied for eighth-most in the league, and finished 10th in total takeaways (21). This Bears offense under Ben Johnson is just built different. Williams went 21 of 29 for 269 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions in Week 1, adding 65 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
D'Andre Swift led all running backs in the game with 124 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 18 carries, averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Kyle Monangai, meanwhile, ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries. More news: Sean Payton Assigns Blame After Broncos’ Blowout Loss to Chiefs More news: Latest Deshaun Watson Development is Sure to Enrage Browns Fans In total, seven different receivers touched the ball on Sunday, and Colston Loveland, everybody's breakout pick, finished with zero catches.
Once he gets going, how do you legitimately stop this offense? Up next, the Bears host the Vikings in a divisional clash before two more home matchups against the Eagles and Jets.
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