LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears leaned on a physical, selfless offensive approach in a 59-37 season-opening win over Carolina, putting up more than 500 yards and a season-high rushing total that underscored coach Ben Johnson’s insistence that skill players earn touches by blocking.
Receiver Jahdae Walker delivered a forceful block late in the game, driving Panthers cornerback Will Lee III to the turf and clearing space for Kalif Raymond to reach the first-down marker. Five plays after that sequence, Walker caught a 1-yard touchdown and became the fifth different Bears player to score in the opener. Walker played 33 of 34 offensive snaps and said the team rallies around the phrase ‘no block, no rock.’ “So that’s pretty much all we be thinking about. It’s just you gotta buy into it or you’re gonna get left,” he said.
Johnson brought the mantra with him from his time as a position coach with the Miami Dolphins and has emphasized it since taking over as Chicago’s head coach last year. The message applies to top targets such as tight end Colston Loveland and rookie receiver Zavion Thomas, as well as players further down the depth chart, Johnson has said.
The run game was dominant. Chicago rushed for 291 yards and six rushing touchdowns — the most rushing TDs in a season opener since the 1922 Canton Bulldogs — and had not recorded that many rushing yards in a game since a 302-yard effort in 1984. D’Andre Swift had 124 yards and three rushing touchdowns, while Kyle Monangai rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown; they became the first Bears duo to each rush for 100 yards in a season opener. Quarterback Caleb Williams added 65 rushing yards and recorded his first career game with multiple rushing touchdowns.
Johnson singled out Monangai’s 61-yard touchdown as his favorite play of the day, noting it came after several blocks opened lanes to the second level. Blocks by Kalif Raymond and tight end Cole Kmet, along with Walker’s block on Panthers outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen, helped spring Monangai. “We had a lot of our little guys going down and making big plays for us on the running game that ended up being some big runs for us,” Johnson said.
The Bears have topped 500 yards in two games under Johnson — the Week 1 win at Carolina and a 47-42 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in November 2025. In the previous 25 seasons, across 413 games, Chicago’s offense had reached 500 yards only twice. Swift, coming off a three-year, $33.75 million contract extension, drew praise from Johnson as “vital” to the offense as the 2026 Bears continue building their identity.
