The Quote
In a wide-ranging profile published by The Athletic this week, Johnson laid out goals well beyond the standard training-camp coach-speak. "You've got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying, 'Our goal is to win the Super Bowl,'" Johnson told The Athletic's Dan Pompei. "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." He's also chasing the NFL's consecutive-victories record of 21, set by Bill Belichick's early-2000s Patriots dynasty.
The Record Johnson Is Chasing
The 2013 Broncos, led by Peyton Manning in the best statistical season of his career, scored 37.9 points per game — the highest full-season scoring average in NFL history. That Denver offense set the still-standing records for points (606) and touchdowns (76) in a season. Every team that has scored 35-plus points per game in a season, including that Broncos squad, has failed to win the Super Bowl that same year, a historical wrinkle that makes Johnson's dual goals of a scoring record and a title an even steeper combined climb.
Where Chicago Stood in 2025
Johnson's first season in Chicago produced real progress: the Bears went 11-6, won the NFC North for the first time since 2018, and won a playoff game for the first time since 2010. Offensively, Chicago finished sixth in the NFL in total yards (369.2 per game) and third in rushing yards (144.5 per game), but only ninth in scoring at 25.9 points per game. Caleb Williams set a franchise record with 3,942 passing yards, threw 27 touchdowns, and led an NFL-best seven fourth-quarter comebacks. The gap between ninth in scoring and the all-time record is enormous — Johnson's offense would need to add roughly 12 points per game to match Denver's 2013 mark.
| Metric | Bears, 2025 | Broncos, 2013 (Record) |
|---|---|---|
| Points Per Game | 25.9 (9th in NFL) | 37.9 (1st all-time) |
| Total Offense | 369.2 yds/gm (6th) | 457.3 yds/gm (1st in 2013) |
| Result | 11-6, NFC North champs | 13-3, lost Super Bowl XLVIII |
The Personnel Case
Johnson's confidence isn't coming from nowhere. He's the same play-caller who helped turn Detroit's offense into a perennial top-five unit and made Amon-Ra St. Brown one of the league's most productive receivers. Chicago's decision to trade away veteran DJ Moore this offseason is being read internally as a vote of confidence in younger receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, both of whom Johnson believes have more room to grow than a proven veteran does. Caleb Williams, entering his third season, is exactly the kind of mobile, improvisational quarterback that tends to unlock extra scoring: the same profile that's shown up across other recent high-speed rookie and sophomore quarterbacks league-wide.
The Case Against It
The math is the biggest obstacle. Going from 25.9 to 37.9 points per game isn't an incremental jump — it's the difference between a good offense and the single best scoring season in NFL history, achieved by a future Hall of Fame quarterback at the peak of his powers behind one of the more talented supporting casts ever assembled. Chicago also faces the league's toughest schedule in 2026, a first-place slate loaded with divisional games against the Lions plus matchups against the Eagles, Patriots, Seahawks, and Bills — a sharp contrast to the relatively soft schedule Denver played in 2013. A defense that was often the weak link in 2025 adds another variable Johnson doesn't fully control.