Ben Johnson 'could kind of tell' Caleb Williams was locked in before Bears' 59-point outburst

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ben Johnson slept well Saturday night. Better than he normally does the night before a game.

That’s because his quarterback was as prepared as he ever has been.

“I could kind of tell last night,” Johnson said after Sunday’s 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers. “We do our quarterback meeting one last time, and he was on top of it. Everything. He was rattling out where (his) eyes need to be, what (he’s) thinking.”

The Chicago Bears put in so much preparation, months worth, before Sunday’s season opener at Bank of America Stadium. Quarterback Caleb Williams spent all of last season learning to see the game through Johnson’s eyes.

During that meeting Saturday night, Williams saw everything exactly as Johnson wanted him to see it.

It was a comforting feeling for the coach.

“That doesn’t just happen,” Williams said. “That happens over time. That happens through training camp, through OTAs. It happens through the week of preparation.”

Sunday’s 59-point effort marked the fourth-most points the franchise has ever scored in a game, including the playoffs. The Bears twice scored 61 in a regular-season game: a 61-7 win over the Green Bay Packers in 1980 and a 61-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers in 1965.

The Bears also routed Washington 73-0 in the 1940 NFL championship game. That remains the highest-scoring game ever by an NFL team, regular season or postseason.

On Sunday, Williams was in full command. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for two. He totaled 269 passing yards on 21 for 29 attempts, while also racking up 65 rushing yards on 10 carries. He made some wow throws and he seemed to know exactly the right time to take off running.

Early in the game, a play broke down and Williams scrambled to his right. He saw receiver Rome Odunze open down the field and he uncorked a deep ball. Odunze, somehow, caught the football even though Will Lee III’s helmet was between his body and the ball. Odunze caught it over the top of him, with his arms around Lee’s helmet, and there was nothing the Panthers cornerback could do.

Johnson can prepare his quarterback for everything, but that play was pure instinct from both Williams and Odunze. It led to a D’Andre Swift touchdown that gave the Bears their first lead of the day. Swift scored three total touchdowns.

“Caleb was scrambling back there, doing what he does, evading defenders,” Odunze said. “I think he saw me and gave me a shot.”

Williams later connected with tight end Cole Kmet for a 22-yard touchdown that threaded the needle between two defenders. Kmet had a linebacker beat by a step, and that’s what Williams saw. The quarterback sheepishly admitted after the game that he didn’t see cornerback Jaycee Horn closing in over the top — but it didn’t matter. Williams put it where only Kmet could catch it and he made an over-the-shoulder grab for six points.

“After that it was all Cole,” Williams said. “Cole ran a great route. Cole went up and made a great catch, holding a defender off.”

Williams added a wide-open 29-yard touchdown run just before halftime to cap off a first half of highlight-worthy moments.

In both halves, the Bears went on three consecutive touchdown-scoring drives. The Bears scored six rushing touchdowns for just the third time in franchise history, joining that 73-0 win over Washington in 1940 and a 1941 win over the Detroit Lions.

For a coach who talks about wanting to be the highest-scoring offense ever, Johnson’s group is off to an incredible start.

“It felt good, for sure,” Kmet said. “It’s also a weird feeling because you feel like there’s still a lot of things that we could’ve been better at. So I think when we get those things cleaned up and we start executing better on a down-in, down-out basis, and then even when things do break down and we do have that second play with Caleb, that’s where you can really see it start to explode.”

The offensive burst made life easy for the defense.

The Bears gave up points, especially in the first half, but they came away with three takeaways. Rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad had an interception, corner Jaylon Johnson forced a fumble that was recovered by new linebacker Devin Bush, and receiver Kaden Davis recovered a muffed punt on special teams.

“Just as a fan of the game, it’s amazing to see what they can do,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said of the offense. “And especially once we get turnovers, get them the ball back. It’s definitely amazing.”

Week 1 can be tough to figure out. Hyped-up offenses don’t always live up to expectations. Super Bowl favorites sometimes flop. The NFL landscape is reminded that unexpected injuries are the ultimate wild card, and they can derail a season before it has really even started.

It’s easy to read too much into Week 1 — both the good and the bad. But when the Chicago Bears score 59 points, no matter who the opponent is or what the expectations are, that’s going to raise some eyebrows.

“You hope that how hard our camp was, how hard we worked in our camp, you just hope that it shows up starting Week 1 because you put in all this work up until now,” receiver Kalif Raymond said.

Williams and the Bears put in the work. Johnson could feel it Saturday night. Bears fans could see it Sunday afternoon.

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