Three games into the second season of the Ben Johnson era, the Bears are 2-1, and the record hides how unusual the route has been. Each game showed a different version of this team, and taken together they say more about the roster than any one of them does alone.

Week 1: the ceiling

The opener in Charlotte was a 59-37 win over the Panthers, the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history. Chicago gained 552 yards and picked up 26 first downs. For context, a typical NFL offense gains somewhere in the low-to-mid 300s in a game, so this was the kind of output an offense produces a handful of times in a season, not every week.

Caleb Williams completed 21 of 29 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 65 yards and two more. The number that matters most is efficiency: after turning the ball over on their first possession, the Bears scored touchdowns on seven of their next 12 drives. Most NFL offenses score a touchdown on roughly one drive in five. Converting more than half is what the best offenses in the league look like.

Week 2: the floor

Then came a 9-3 home loss to Minnesota, a low-scoring game played in weather that limited the offense. The bigger story came in the fourth quarter, when Williams went down without contact and was carted off with a hamstring injury. It was later diagnosed as a Grade 2 strain, which means a partial tear of the muscle rather than a simple pull, and it carries a three-to-four-week recovery estimate.

It was the first time Williams had missed any action as a pro. He had started every regular-season game since opening day 2024.

Week 3: the surprise

The start on Monday night went to Case Keenum, who entered the season third on the depth chart and was playing his first NFL game since 2023. He went 24 of 34 for 247 yards and two touchdowns, ran in a third from a yard out, and did not turn the ball over. The Bears beat the Eagles 27-7.

His touchdown passes were an 8-yarder to Luther Burden on the opening drive and a 41-yarder to Kalif Raymond, the veteran Chicago signed to a one-year deal this offseason. Raymond finished with six catches for 90 yards. The win made Keenum only the second quarterback, after Ryan Fitzpatrick, to win starts for seven different NFL teams.

Two numbers explain how the Bears controlled the game. They outgained Philadelphia 375 yards to 248, and they held the ball for 36 minutes and 53 seconds. In a 60-minute game, that left the Eagles’ offense about 23 minutes to work with, which is a big reason a talented unit produced only one touchdown, scored on the final play of the first half.

The defense did its part too. Philadelphia converted just 2 of 9 third downs, meaning the Eagles kept failing on the plays that decide whether a drive lives or dies. Chicago also forced three turnovers, including rookie safety Dillon Thieneman’s first career interception, made in the end zone.

The thread

The most encouraging part of the 2-1 start is not the 59 points. It is that the Week 3 offense looked organized and on schedule with a quarterback who opened the season as the No. 3. Johnson calls the plays, and the structure of the offense held up regardless of who was taking the snaps. Add a defense that is taking the ball away, and the Bears have shown they can win in more than one way.

What’s next

The Jets visit Soldier Field on Sunday at noon. Williams’ timeline, counted from the Sept. 20 injury, points to him most likely missing this one, with a Week 5 trip to Green Bay and a Week 6 game in Atlanta to follow. Chicago’s bye does not come until Week 10, so the next month is a real test of the formula that worked on Monday: protect the ball, control the clock and let the defense create chances.