The Bears’ 59-point explosion against Carolina didn’t just turn heads - it sent a message loud enough to shake up the whole week in Chicago.
Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron called it “a work of art,” and the explanation starts where a lot of big offensive days do: up front. Chicago’s line controlled the game from the jump, shut down Derrick Brown, and let the rest of the offense breathe.
Caleb Williams drew the headlines, but the ground game was the real engine. The Bears piled up 295 rushing yards at 7.5 yards per carry, got 100-yard efforts from both D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, and punched in six rushing touchdowns.
Once that run game got rolling, Williams had room to take full advantage.
That kind of start naturally raised the next question: can Ben Johnson really steer this group to the highest-scoring offense in NFL history? Zimmerman doesn’t think Chicago will average 38 points per game, but he does think the Bears could threaten the NFL’s single-season points record of 606, helped by the extra regular-season game.
He was even more confident that the Bears will clear the franchise mark of 456 points set by the 1985 team. In his words, “Heck, they are already 13% of the way there after one game.”
Zimmerman also set his own target at 540 points, which would land Chicago in the top 10 all-time. And he made it clear he believes Johnson’s aggressiveness will keep the pressure on. “Ben Johnson is a total psycho, and I mean that in a good way,” he said, pointing to Johnson’s admission on ESPN Chicago that he thought about going for 2 on the final touchdown to reach 60.
So how do you slow an offense like that down? Zimmerman’s answer was simple: take away the run and force Caleb Williams into more obvious passing situations. He expects Brian Flores to blitz, and he’s curious whether that ends up putting Williams on the move - where he’s been especially dangerous.
The other side of the ball, though, is where Chicago’s biggest concern still lives. The Bears gave up 37 points to Carolina, and Zimmerman didn’t sugarcoat the issue.
He said the defense is “a huge point of concern” and predicted it will allow plenty of points all season. He pointed to a thin defensive line, the trade of Gervon Dexter for a draft pick and secondary help, and a secondary dealing with major injuries to Kyler Gordon and Coby Bryant.
Montez Sweat remains a strong edge presence, and Zimmerman described the linebackers as above average. But beyond that, he sees a lot of problems.
Jaylon Johnson had a strong camp but struggled against Carolina, Tyrique Stevenson “is bad,” and Dillon Thieneman is the one bright spot in the back end. He also said Xavier Woods could help if he returns this week, though he added, “I don’t know how Justin Jefferson doesn’t go nuclear this week.”
As for Sunday, Zimmerman expects points - plenty of them. He said he usually leans toward the home team in NFC North games at Soldier Field, and he’s picking Chicago to win its home opener.
Still, he thinks the 5.5-point spread is too large and said he’d take the Vikings +5.5 if forced to choose. His final call: Bears 34, Vikings 30, with “another easy over.”
He also said he doesn’t know how the opening total was below 50.
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