The Chicago Bears’ Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers came with a whole lot of points and one defensive clip that had fans absolutely roasting the Bears online.
Sunday’s opener turned into a track meet almost immediately. Chicago and Carolina traded big plays and easy yards until the game stopped feeling like a normal season opener and started looking like a scoreboard accident.
By the end, the Bears had pulled away, but not before the two teams combined for 96 points, breaking the NFL’s longest-standing scoring record. The previous mark had belonged to the Eagles and Redskins, who put up 87 points in 1947.
The play that really caught fire online came in the second quarter on third-and-2. Bryce Young dropped back against a Chicago blitz, but the pressure never really arrived the way it should have. The rushing defender seemed to back off before getting to Young, leaving the Panthers quarterback with plenty of room to work.
One fan summed up the moment with a brutal label: “Saddest blitz I’ve ever seen.”
The jokes piled up from there.
“You HAVE to go to the tent after this, fake an injury if you must, check in with the doc about something that was bothering you months ago, doesn’t matter. You need to be at least questionable for week 2,” one fan joked.
“What do you even do in the film room when they show this,” another commenter asked.
“This game is nastyyyy 😂😂 55 points at half, 0 defense is being played,” a third fan wrote.
“He flopped on his blitz, film study about to be funny,” one more fan added.
The clip fit right into a game that was already spiraling into offensive chaos. Carolina still managed 37 points, even while trailing by multiple scores for much of the second half, with Young finding some rhythm through the air late.
Chicago’s own offense ended up doing plenty of heavy lifting. D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai each went over 100 rushing yards as the Bears leaned on the ground game to finish the job.
In the end, the viral blitz moment may just be a funny footnote from a wild afternoon. But for a defense that spent most of Sunday trying to keep up, it was the kind of rep that gets replayed, memed, and remembered long after the final whistle.
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Ben Johnsons Week 1 Gamble Still Leaves Bears Fans Debating Plenty
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The result could not have been worse for Chicagos sideline. Carolina took over with favorable field position and turned the short field into a touchdown, leaving Bears fans to sort through the familiar debate between conviction and caution. For a coach trying to establish an identity, the call fit the message Johnson wants his team to play with, but it also handed critics an easy example of how thin the line is between courage and cost. [Read more 🡒]