The Bears Scored 59 Points — So Why Am I Still Worried?

 

I’m still trying to process what I watched.

The Chicago Bears put up 59 points against the Carolina Panthers, and for a good portion of the game, I was honestly speechless. This game started with some of the same frustrations we’ve seen before — penalties, missed opportunities and questionable defensive plays — but eventually the Bears’ offense completely took over.

Carolina scored first, going up 7–0, but something in the back of my mind told me not to panic. I thought maybe that would be the only touchdown Carolina scored all afternoon. I was obviously wrong about that part, but I wasn't wrong about the Bears being able to win this game.

The Bears answered with a touchdown, and before long they had built a 21–7 lead. One of the plays that really stood out to me was Rome Odunze making a tremendous catch over the defender and staying in bounds to set up the Bears. Caleb Williams also continued to show that he can hurt defenses with his legs, scoring a couple of rushing touchdowns.

But then the defense started giving me reasons to worry.

There were missed tackles, blown coverage and some plays where the Panthers seemed to move the ball far too easily. Tyreek Stevenson struggled badly in coverage, and there were moments when the Bears' defensive backs simply weren't getting the job done.

Then came the fourth-and-one decision from the Bears' own 20-yard line.

I understand analytics. I understand percentages. I understand that somebody somewhere has run the numbers and determined that going for it can statistically be the better decision. But there are still moments when I watch something like that and think, What the hell are we doing?

The Bears didn't convert, Carolina got the ball and the game was suddenly tied 21–21.

At that point, I was thinking, I can't do this.

Fortunately, the Bears could.

What started as a shootout eventually turned into a 59-point offensive explosion.

Caleb Williams finished the game 21-of-29 for 269 yards with two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. He didn't throw an interception, and he looked poised in the pocket. The running game was absolutely incredible.

DeAndre Swift delivered one of the biggest performances of the afternoon with 18 carries for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Kyle Monangai added 100 yards on only 10 carries, including a long touchdown run.

And that brings me to my Champs and Chumps.

My biggest champ was the offensive line. With all the penalties aside, that group paved the way for more than 280 rushing yards. That's the kind of production that can completely change an offense.

Swift is a champ. Monangai is a champ. Caleb Williams is a champ. Dylan Thieneman is another champ after finishing with 10 tackles, including eight solo tackles.

But my chumps?

The entire defense.

Giving up 37 points and nearly 500 yards isn't something I can simply ignore because the offense scored 59. The Bears only recorded two sacks, and they weren't generating enough pressure up front.

That's where I think this defense needs to start improving.

If the Bears want to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks, they need to find a way to create more disruption in the middle of that defensive line. The talent is there, but the unit needs to start playing together and developing some chemistry.

And maybe that's part of the explanation. This was only the beginning of the 2026 season. A lot of these guys didn't play together extensively during the preseason. Practice is one thing. Getting into a live NFL game and dealing with real-time communication, adjustments and pressure is completely different.

So while I'm thrilled about scoring 59 points, I'm not ready to ignore what happened on defense.

Then I Switched Gears

From there, I moved into the AP Poll and the way the rankings changed after Texas came back to beat Ohio State.

I actually thought the movement in the rankings was interesting because we don't always see teams move the way I think they should after a big loss or a major upset. Sometimes a highly ranked team struggles and somehow stays near the top because everyone else struggled too.

Maybe I'm finally seeing the AP Poll work the way it's supposed to.

Or maybe I've been looking at it wrong all these years.

I'll let you decide that one.

And Then Facebook Put Tom Powell Jr. In My Feed

This is where the show took another turn.

For some reason, Facebook started putting videos from Tom Powell Jr. in my feed. He's from the Chicagoland area, has a podcast and explains things in a pretty straightforward, no-nonsense way.

I don't agree with everything he says, but I do appreciate the way he approaches certain topics.

One of the subjects that caught my attention was student loan debt forgiveness.

I started doing the math on my own situation, and my wife did some research as well. Unfortunately, I don't qualify for loan forgiveness.

I've been paying on my student loans for about 22 years.

I originally borrowed around $50,000. I've paid approximately $79,000 back, and I still have about $35,000 remaining.

That's the part that drives me crazy.

I've spent more than two decades making payments, and somehow the finish line still feels like it's sitting way off in the distance.

When I originally took out the loans, I was building a family. I had a mortgage, children to help support and all of the other expenses that come with being an adult. Paying $600 a month to get the loans paid off faster simply wasn't realistic for me at that time.

So I chose the longer repayment option because it made the monthly payment manageable.

And now I'm still dealing with the consequences of that decision decades later.

This isn't the last time I'm going to talk about student loans, either. I said on the show that I want to come back to the subject and talk more about the education system and how people are introduced to debt at such a young age.

There's a lot more to unpack.

For now, though, this episode was about getting a few things off my chest.

The Bears scored 59 points, which is obviously something to celebrate. But giving up 37 points and nearly 500 yards means there's plenty of work left to do.

That's the strange thing about being a sports fan.

You can watch your team score 59 points and still walk away from the game thinking, "We've got some things to fix."

And that's exactly where I am after this one.

Thanks for listening to another episode of The Shawn Mackey Show. If you enjoyed the conversation, make sure you follow the show, like the episode, subscribe on YouTube and share it with somebody who enjoys talking sports, football, the Bears and all the other stuff that gets me fired up.

I'll see you when I see ya.

Peace.