Ben Johnson wants Bears to be top-scoring offense in NFL history. They're off to a good start

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson said last month that winning the Super Bowl isn't enough for him. He wants to have the highest-scoring offense in NFL history.

If the Bears can put together more weeks like their opener, that goal will be within reach.

Chicago scored eight touchdowns in a 59-37 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. It was the most points in a season opener in the Bears' long, proud history and tied for the second-most points by a team in Week 1, behind only the 1973 Falcons, who put up 62 on the Saints.

And here's the funny thing: The Bears were far from perfect.

They started the game with a fumble, had some costly penalties and even turned the ball over on downs deep in their own territory. Still, they put up 552 yards — including 291 on the ground — and scored two touchdowns in every quarter.

D'Andre Swift paced the running game with 124 yards and three touchdowns.

“That’s amazing,” Swift said of the team's scoring output. “But to come out of a game like that and have so much to clean up. ... I mean, yeah, we’ll take the win, and 59 points is amazing, but it should have been worse.”

That's the mentality Johnson has instilled in his team: They truly think they're going to score on every possession. Before the season, he told The Athletic his goal is “to have the highest-scoring offense ever.”

That's why none of his players were surprised when Johnson went for it on fourth-and-1 from his own 21 in the second quarter with the Bears leading 21-14. It backfired as Caleb Williams came up short on a quarterback sneak, and the Panthers capitalized with a touchdown.

Johnson wouldn't call it a mistake. When asked if he would do it again, he said it depended on the situation.

The Bears seem to thrive off Johnson's aggressive mentality.

Williams, who threw for 269 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 65 yards and two more scores, wasn’t surprised Johnson went for it — and hopes he tries it again.

“Yeah, we got to go get it (the first down) — that's what it says to us,” Williams said. “As players on the field, when coach has that belief, when coach has that trust, when coach has that faith and all of that in us, we have to go get it as players when he calls it. It doesn’t matter what the play is. It’s a mentality play when you’re fourth-and-1. That’s what it comes down to.”

After the game, Johnson didn't back down from his stated aspirations.

“Listen, that will always be the goal — we want to be the highest-scoring, we want to have the most wins, we want to win Super Bowls,” Johnson said. “Like, that’s what we do. We didn’t get into this profession trying to be mediocre, average.”

The 2013 Denver Broncos, led by MVP Peyton Manning, scored the most points in an NFL season with 603, an average of 37.6 points per game.

That was when the NFL played a 16-game season. Teams now play 17.

Johnson said he expects Sunday's game will be the Bears' worst of the season. He expects them to get better each week.

But he was encouraged by how his players handled the early adversity of turning the ball over on their first possession.

“We talked about weathering the storm there early on,” Johnson said. “We had some adversity on that first drive, and yet no one blinks. No one bats an eye. And so that’s probably what I’m most proud of there.”

The players know all about Johnson's goal of becoming the league's most prolific offense.

“That's what we're striving for,” receiver Rome Odonze said. “We have heard the head of the snake, Ben Johnson, say he wants to be the most prolific offense in history and that takes that attention to detail. .. So we are all bought in to that and trying to accomplish that.”

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) runs to score a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) looks on after an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) runs to score a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson speaks in a press conference after an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Scott Kinser)

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lawrence Butler hit a two-run drive off Andrés Muñoz in the ninth inning for his second home run of the game as the Athletics overcame a four-run deficit and beat Seattle 8-7 Sunday, leaving the Mariners five games back in the AL West with 12 to play.

The A’s took five of seven from Seattle in an 11-day span, including a win Friday on Donovan Walton’s 10th-inning homer. The Mariners fell six games behind for the last AL wild card.

Butler had four RBIs and finished with 13 against Seattle this season.

Randy Arozarena homered twice and had four RBIs for the Mariners, who led 6-2 before the A’s tied the score in a four-run seventh. Gabe Speier walked Jhonny Pereda with the bases loaded, Butler hit an RBI groundout and pinch-hitter Shea Langeliers had a two-run single against Seranthony Domínguez.

Arozarena, who has 25 homers, connected off Hogan Harris for a 7-6 lead in the eighth. He hit a two-run homer in the third and an RBI single in the fourth as part of his second straight four-RBI game.

Trying for his first five-out save since 2024, Muñoz (5-6) blew a save for the 10th time in 37 chances.

Muñoz stranded a runner at third base in the eighth, then allowed Zack Gelof’s leading single in the ninth. Butler followed with his 16th homer.

Elvis Alvarado (5-3) pitched a one-hit ninth.

Gelof and Butler homered on consecutive pitches in the first off Bryce Miller.

Mariners: Kade Anderson (1-1, 4.2) Monday starts at the Angels, who go with Reid Detmers (5-8, 3.32) in a matchup of left-handers.

Athletics: RHP Jack Perkins (3-11, 6.53) pitches Tuesday at Tampa Bay, which starts RHP Griffin Jax (7-10, 3.99).

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena, right, jokes with Lazaro Montes (99) after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)

Seattle Mariners' Randy Arozarena runs the bases after hitting a home run during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Athletics, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)

Athletics' Lawrence Butler reacts after being hit by a pitch while at-bat during the third inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)

Athletics' Lawrence Butler runs the bases after after hitting a home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in West Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Sara Nevis)