The Chicago Bears aren't just climbing NFL power rankings after their historic Week 1 performance. They're suddenly being ranked among the very best teams in football.
The Athletic moved the Bears all the way up to No. 4 in its updated NFL power rankings, a six-spot jump from Chicago's No. 10 position entering the season.
The reason is pretty simple: Ben Johnson's offense looked absolutely terrifying in Sunday's 59-37 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
The Athletic's assessment of Chicago was centered around one question: Do the Bears have the best offense in the NFL?
After one game, it no longer feels like an outrageous conversation to have.
(John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Bears offense is changing expectations quickly
Johnson wasn't shy about setting the bar ridiculously high for his offense this offseason. As The Athletic noted, Johnson told Dan Pompei that his goal was to build the highest-scoring offense in NFL history.
It sounded ambitious in August. Then the Bears scored 59 points in Week 1.
Chicago produced 552 total yards, including 291 on the ground, while scoring eight offensive touchdowns against Carolina. The 59 points were the most the Bears have ever scored in a season opener.
Caleb Williams completed 21 of 29 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns while adding 65 rushing yards and two more scores. D'Andre Swift rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns, and Kyle Monangai added 100 yards and another score.
Chicago didn't merely win its opener. The Bears overwhelmed Carolina with an offense that looked capable of scoring from just about anywhere on the field.
(Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The Athletic isn't ignoring Bears' biggest concern
There is, of course, another side to Chicago's Week 1 performance. The Athletic acknowledged that the Bears defense still "carries plenty of questions," and that's putting it mildly.
Carolina scored 37 points and accumulated 478 yards, and Dennis Allen's group allowed Bryce Young to look like an MVP candidate.
The Athletic isn't alone in its worry about the Bears' defense. NFL.com moved Chicago from No. 11 to No. 8 in its latest power rankings, but also pointed directly at the defense as the potential weakness that could prevent the Bears from reaching their ceiling.
The Athletic is way more aggressive in how high they view the Bears after one game, though. No. 4 means we're talking about the Bears as one of the NFL's elite teams after just one week.
Bears now can prove the hype is justified
The challenge for Ben Johnson is to prove Week 1 wasn't an outlier. Chicago gets an excellent opportunity to do that Sunday when the Minnesota Vikings visit Soldier Field.
The Vikings are also 1-0 after their 39-22 victory over the Green Bay Packers, and the matchup gives the Bears their first NFC North test of their division-title defense. Another explosive offensive performance would make it increasingly difficult to dismiss what happened in Carolina.
Nobody expects the Bears' Week 1 pace to be the norm. But after watching Williams, Swift, Monangai, and the Bears offense dismantle Carolina, The Athletic apparently has seen enough to believe Chicago belongs among the NFL's very best teams.
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