Ben Johnson reveals challenging goals for Bears ahead of NFL season

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Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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The Chicago Bears experienced an exciting NFL season under first-year head coach Ben Johnson and star quarterback Caleb Williams, winning the NFC North and advancing to the NFC Divisional Round of the postseason.

Along with that, Williams started to emerge as a scary playmaking QB, nearly throwing for 4,000 yards in his sophomore season and first under Johnson. However, Johnson wants a lot more from his team in the coming season

"Our goal is to win the Super Bowl. 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, and I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts," Johnson said, per The Athletic's Dan Pompei.

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That Broncos team averaged 37.9 points per game in the 2013 season, led by star quarterback Peyton Manning. The Bears averaged 25.9 per game last season. They recently saw their receiver Luther Burden suffer a training camp injury, but he'll only miss a bit of time this preseason.

It's worth noting that last season's Bears defense never recorded a shutout, and the closest was a 31-3 rout of the Cleveland Browns in December 2025. There have already been significant injuries during training camp, with safety Coby Bryant out for up to six months and corner Kyler Gordon dealing with an ongoing calf issue.

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Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson during Detroit Lions game

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Last season proved to be an immediate success for the combination of head coach Johnson and the star QB Williams, but one has to imagine there could be regression in this coming season. According to ESPN's report, the Bears face what is considered the toughest schedule in the NFL.

They begin their preseason slate on Saturday, Aug. 15, against the Browns, who are currently auditioning Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders to see who will become the team's QB1.

However, things get much more challenging when they begin their regular season journey. The Bears open against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, Aug. 13, and follow that up with a home game on Sunday, Aug. 20 against what may be an improved Minnesota Vikings team.

The Bears have other games against the Philadelphia Eagles and last year's Super Bowl teams, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, along with those tough NFC North battles all season.

According to Fox Sports, Chicago was given an over/under wins total of 9.5 games, with the under favored. That would certainly be a regression from a stellar 2025 season and seems far from the goal of winning the Super Bowl that Johnson has set.