Pressing questions after the Bears’ season-opening win

The Bears were one of the big winners from Week 1 across the NFL. Coach Ben Johnson’s team routed the Carolina Panthers 59-37 in one of the franchise’s highest-scoring games ever.

Week 1 is ripe for overreactions. One game is a small sample size, but it’s all we have to go off.

So what are some of the biggest overreactions and underreactions after the Bears’ opening win? The Tribune’s Brad Biggs, Sean Hammond and Phil Thompson discuss in this week’s pressing questions.

1. Fill in the blank: We’re all overreacting to __________ after the Bears’ Week 1 win?

Biggs: Ben Johnson’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 21-yard line in the second quarter. The Bears were leading 21-14 at the time and the turnover on downs allowed the Panthers to quickly tie the game.

Who are we kidding here? The Bears rolled up 552 yards of offense on the day and their best defense is their offense. When Johnson elects to punt on fourth-and-1 this season, and it will happen, we’re going to ask a familiar question. Why?

Hammond: Colston Loveland’s lack of involvement. Loveland had zero catches. Williams targeted him twice. All of last year, it was difficult to predict which pass catcher would have a big game for the Bears, and it seems like that trend is going to continue in 2026. Loveland led all pass catchers with 65 snaps (87% of offensive plays). Williams missed him on both his targets, one of which could’ve been a touchdown. Loveland is fine. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets the first target in Week 2.

Thompson: The 59 points, but then how can you not overreact? You have to dig up defunct teams from the 1920s to mark the last time an offense put up six rushing touchdowns during an opener (1920 Detroit Heralds, 1920 Rock Island Independents, 1922 Canton Bulldogs). But exercise caution here. The Panthers were barely a middling defense last season, and they have a lot of new (and young) pieces that clearly haven’t jelled. Let’s see how Caleb and company perform against Brian Flores’ Minnesota Vikings defense.

2. Conversely, we’re not talking enough about __________ after the win over the Panthers?

Biggs: The offensive line. As much as the team and multiple front office groups have been dragged through the muck for some poorly constructed lines over the last decade, we have to talk about it when the offense is cooking. The Bears, through the combined vision of Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson, went out and got the personnel needed, and offensive line coach Dan Roushar continues to do terrific work.

Hammond: Kalif Raymond. He led the Bears with eight catches for 84 yards. He’s somewhat overlooked in the shadow of Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, but Raymond clearly proved himself to be a very real part of this passing attack. He actually played more snaps than Odunze, although that might’ve been because Odunze is coming back from a calf injury. Johnson brought Raymond here to contribute, not just to be a veteran mentor.

Thompson: Colston Loveland. It’s stunning how little he was involved in the offense, especially on a day when every phase was clicking. It’s highly likely that it’s an aberration and a case of Johnson going with the hot hand. Or two hot hands in the case of D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.

3. The Bears ran for 291 yards in the opener. The single-season franchise record is 3,014 (177.3 per game) in 2022. True or false: The Bears will set a team record for rushing yards in 2026.

Biggs: False. They’re off to a great start and could eclipse the 2,456 rushing yards they had last season, but I doubt they get to 3,000. The only reason the Bears ran for that many yards in 2022 is that the passing game was a calamity. I’d also note the 1984 Bears rushed for 2,974 yards in a 16-game season, averaging 185.9 per game.

Hammond: True. It’s somewhat absurd to say, but I do believe this is within the realm of possibilities. That 2022 team was boosted heavily by 1,143 rushing yards from quarterback Justin Fields. Among the seven NFL teams that rushed for 3,000 yards in the Super Bowl era, it’s the only one that had a losing record. Ben Johnson talks about setting a record for the highest-scoring offense. Well, implicit in that is the notion that the Bears are going to run for a lot of yards this season. They ran for 2,456 yards last season and that was year one with a totally overhauled offensive line and inconsistent results early in the season. If the offensive line stays healthy, 3,000 rushing yards is certainly in play.

Thompson: False. It’s too early to make that claim. Ben Johnson will call some games where it’s lopsided in favor of the pass. Secondly, there are too many matchups like the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots — all stiff run defenses. Besides, even if Johnson were inclined to be influenced by statistical milestones, he’d probably be more focused on supporting Caleb Williams’s quest to become the Bears’ first 4,000-yard passer.

4. On a scale of one to 10 — with one being minimal and 10 being major — how would you rate the level of concern Bears fans should feel about the secondary?

Biggs: Six. It’s not a surprise, especially given the state of the pass rush and the loss of Coby Bryant to a knee injury. Ben Johnson is pretty excited about rookie Malik Muhammad II and Jaylon Johnson should settle in. Nothing on defense is going to look great this season. The secondary needs to find a way to reduce the number of explosive plays allowed.

Hammond: Four. I’m not ready to freak out yet. With Kyler Gordon out, the Bears have only two returning starters in the secondary available right now. It’s going to take time for that group to gel. It’s going to take time for the communication to improve. The Bears aren’t going to score 59 points every week, but the defense doesn’t even have to be that good for the Bears to win games with an offense like this.

Thompson: Eight. I’m encouraged by rookies Dillon Thieneman and Malik Muhammad II. Cam Lewis didn’t look out of place at safety. But you can’t brush off the revelation that your top two outside corners, Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson, were scorched by Panthers receivers. I’m giving the situation an eight (for now) on the panic meter, anticipating that they’ll make adjustments.

5. Caleb Williams completed 72.4% of his passes Sunday. Will Williams hit the 70% mark for the season?

Biggs: I’d be foolish to put any ceilings on what Williams can accomplish this season. But a jump from 58.1% all the way to 70% seems unrealistic. If Williams can be in the neighborhood of 65% for the year, things ought to be clicking nicely.

Hammond: No. And he doesn’t need to. Sunday was just the sixth time in 35 regular-season starts that Williams hit 70% or better, and the first time with Johnson as his coach. The Bears probably would be thrilled if Williams could hit the 65% mark in year three. That would put him in the top half of the league and that’s exactly what Matthew Stafford hit in an MVP season last year.

Thompson: OK, let’s slow down. Eleven qualified passers, including Williams, completed 70% of their passes in Week 1. Last season, only Drake Maye (72%) reached that threshold. Last season, Williams ranked 32nd among qualifiers with a 58.1% completion percentage, according to NFL Pro. Even a 10-point increase to 68% seems ambitious, but that would’ve put him in the top 10 last season. Perhaps that’s a more reasonable target.