Bears (

25) at
Panthers (

22)

BY HILOW >>

GAME OVERVIEW::

• Bears HC Ben Johnson stated in August that he wants to have “the highest-scoring offense ever.” That, friends, is 37.9 points per game. Yummy.
• RB Kyle Monangai is dealing with a hyperextended knee and was immediately labeled week-to-week by Johnson. He was seen running to the side of practice Thursday (3 September) but his status remains up in the air for Week 1.
• RB D’Andre Swift appears to have avoided a significant injury after leaving practice Thursday (3 September), which was clarified as being removed for cramps.
• WR Luther Burden is expected to be full-go in Week 1 after missing time in camp with a groin injury.
• RB Chuba Hubbard is dealing with a hamstring issue but returned to practice on 1 September while RB Jonathon Brooks is reportedly dealing with “soreness.” It has not yet been made public whether that “soreness” involves his surgically-repaired knee.

HOW CHICAGO WILL TRY TO WIN::

The Bears saw former offensive coordinator Declan Doyle depart to fill the same position with the Ravens, where he’ll be able to call offensive plays for the first time in his young career. They replaced him with Press Taylor, although it will be head coach Ben Johnson that retains play calling duties. Beyond that, much of the roster in Chicago remains the same, as does their preferred method of winning games. Their defense improved slightly on paper after ranking 23rd in points allowed and 29th in yards allowed per game, getting by last season by leading the league in turnover differential and ranking third in total takeaways. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen calls an aggressive defense that ranked in the top 10 in both man coverage rate and blitz rate a season ago, which helps to describe the increased forced turnover rate in addition to the additional yardage they have shown to cede. And while that style of defense can shut down opponents every now and then, this team is likely to give up yards and if they’re not generating turnovers, the points against are likely to follow. That can lead to some absolute blowup game environments considering the aggressive nature of Johnson’s defense. Johnson also made an interesting statement in August, saying “I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored (37.9) and want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts.” I think that accurately describes his mentality moving forward, and we should plan accordingly early in the season. Beyond that, Johnson seemingly perfectly balances situational decision making with under center quarterback play, heavy pre-snap motion, play action passing, layered route structure, and upside routes like downfield crossers and posts.

One of the interesting aspects about the inner workings of Johnson’s offense is its low pass rate over expectation values. What those simplified numbers fail to fully capture are his situational tendencies. Johnson’s offense routinely ranks towards the top of the league in early-down pass rates, second-and-short pass rates, and deep throw rate on early downs. Statistically speaking, these are some of the highest upside-generating situations currently in the league, and Johnson takes full advantage. Those tendencies also help to keep opposing defenses off balance on the ground, routinely able to take advantage of plus numbers in the box. D’Andre Swift finished the 2025 season ranked 15th in DK points per game on just 61.3 percent of the team’s running back opportunities and a modest 44.4 percent route participation rate. Swift did not see a snap rate over 62 percent after the team’s Week 5 bye. All of that is of particular intrigue should Kyle Monangai miss Week 1 with his hyperextended knee. Should that happen, expect Roschon Johnson to step into the No. 2 role, with the potential for Swift to see a bump in snap rate, opportunities, and, most importantly, red zone role. He would immediately become one of my favorite point-per-dollar running back plays on the slate if Monangai is unable to go. The Panthers almost completely revamped their linebacker corps this offseason after allowing 4.4 yards per carry, 122.9 rush yards per game, and the ninth most DK points per game to the position a season ago. Consider it a neutral-to-positive matchup on paper.

The Chicago passing corps lays legitimate claim to one of the top groups in the league. Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and Colston Loveland compliment each other on the field perfectly, while Kalif Raymond is quietly one of the better WR3s in the league, a position that is oftentimes overlooked in the salary department due to cap limitations. All the things discussed earlier regarding the structure of this offense place consistent stresses on opposing defenses through the air, where any one of these four pass catchers can gash exposed units for explosive plays. The fact that this unit is so deep is somewhat of a double-edged sword in that concentration is difficult to nail down. What we know is that Loveland is one of the better mismatches in the league over the middle of the field, Johnson has continued to sing high praise for Burden and Odunze, and Raymond is capable in a deep role. We can also expect the Panthers to continue utilizing heavy rates of Cover-2 and Cover-3, against which Loveland and Burden handily led the team in 2025 (0.295 TPRR and 2.69 YPRR for Loveland and 0.269 TPRR and 2.78 YPRR for Burden).