Bears' Johnson targets Broncos' NFL scoring record
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- Ben Johnson told The Athletic he wants the Bears to surpass the 2013 Denver Broncos' all-time NFL scoring record of 37.9 points per game, explicitly stating he wants "shutouts" and "blowouts" in addition to championships.
- Johnson invoked the 2003-2004 New England Patriots' 21-game win streak across regular season and playoffs, noting no team has gone undefeated since the NFL expanded beyond 14 regular-season games and asking "Why can't we do that?"
- The Bears went 11-6 and won the NFC North in Johnson's first season as head coach, finishing sixth in total offense (369.2 yards per game) and ninth in scoring offense (25.9 points per game).
- Johnson praised third-year quarterback Caleb Williams, saying "it's just a matter of time" for the former No. 1 pick to unlock his full potential.
- Johnson framed his philosophy with a metaphor: "The moon is the Super Bowl, but we're shooting beyond that — for the stars," pushing back against the conventional "Our goal is to win the Super Bowl" rhetoric shared by 31 other teams.
Why it matters: Johnson set a public, measurable benchmark — 37.9 points per game — that will define how his Bears tenure is evaluated. Even after an 11-6 debut and an NFC North title, he is choosing to raise expectations rather than protect against regression, putting pressure on quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense to deliver a historic statistical season.
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