Expectations are fairly high for the Chicago Bears entering the 2026 season. They're coming off a year where they went 11-6 under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, then won a playoff game against the division rival Green Bay Packers before losing in overtime to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round. They have an ascending quarterback in Caleb Williams and an exciting group of skill-position talent led by players like Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III. They figure to be one of the most exciting teams to watch this year.
And if Johnson has his way, that'll certainly be the case. Because Johnson has a goal beyond just doing better than the team did last season, and even beyond winning the Super Bowl -- which is certainly a surprise, given that pretty much everyone in the league agrees on that being their ultimate goal in any given season.
"You've got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying, 'Our goal is to win the Super Bowl,'" Johnson said, via The Athletic. "I want more than that. 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 I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts."
The 2013 Broncos indeed hold the points-per-game record, having scored more than a full point per game more than the next-closest team (the 2007 Patriots). Here's a look at the rest of the top 10 in points-per-game during the Super Bowl era:
| Season | Team | PPG |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Broncos | 37.9 |
| 2007 | Patriots | 36.8 |
| 2018 | Chiefs | 35.3 |
| 2011 | Packers | 35.0 |
| 2012 | Patriots | 34.8 |
| 1998 | Vikings | 34.8 |
| 2011 | Saints | 34.2 |
| 1983 | Washington | 33.8 |
| 2016 | Falcons | 33.8 |
| 2000 | Rams | 33.8 |
The Bears were at 25.9 points per game last year, a figure that ranked ninth in the NFL. That means they'll have to jump by more than 12 points per game in order to surpass the 2013 Broncos.
The current record for points-per-game increase from one season to the next is held by the 2017 Rams, who jumped from 14.0 points per game in one season to 29.9 in the next. That's an increase of 15.9 points per game. There are only nine other teams that made a jump of at least 12 points per game from one season to the next: the 1999 Rams, 1975 Colts, 2013 Chiefs, 2010 Raiders, 2011 Panthers, 2007 Patriots, 1983 Washington, 1998 Vikings and 2016 Falcons.
The thing about the Bears is, they might need to show great improvement offensively in order to meet the expectations they've set for themselves this year, because their defense is dealing with a ton of injury issues at the moment, particularly in the secondary.
Free agent acquisition Coby Bryant will miss four-to-six months after knee surgery. Kyler Gordon is without a timetable to return to the field. Even guys like Cam Lewis and Tyrique Stevenson either left or missed recent practices. This was a defense that was counting on Bryant's arrival and Gordon's return from injury to do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of making improvements this year, and it doesn't look like it's going to get either of those things.
Therefore, it might be up to the offense to help stave off any regression the Bears might be due for after they won so many one-score games last season, which generally doesn't hold up year over year. Johnson acknowledged earlier this offseason that the Bears are the league's No. 1 regression candidate, but he has goals even beyond bucking the regression trends. He wants to set the record for most consecutive wins, as well.
"Why can't we do that?" Johnson said, again via The Athletic. "There has never been an undefeated season (since teams have been playing more than 14 regular-season games). The moon is the Super Bowl, but we're shooting beyond that, for the stars. And I want these players to feel that each and every single day they come in."
Johnson certainly isn't afraid of setting lofty goals for his team. Whether they can achieve those goals is an open question.
