Opposing teams have a lot to worry about when it comes to preparing for the Chicago Bears.
Head coach Ben Johnson’s offense blew out the Carolina Panthers by 22 points in Chicago’s 59-37 Week 1 victory. Quarterback Caleb Williams dissected Carolina’s defense through the air and on the ground, totaling 334 yards and four touchdowns. The Bears finished with 291 rushing yards.
Johnson’s offense will keep defensive coordinators up at night trying to figure out how to slow down the multidimensional unit. Carolina forced two punts in the loss, and Bears punter Tory Taylor finished with 102 total yards on two punts.
Tory Taylor dominated for Bears against Panthers in Week 1
He punted for the first time in the game midway through the second quarter. Taylor angled his body left and boomed the punt downfield; the ball curved from left to right, making it tough for return man Jimmy Horn Jr. to track its flight.
Horn ended up muffing the punt, and undrafted free agent wide receiver Kaden Davis recovered the football. The Bears capitalized on the Panthers’ mistake and turned the short field into a Cairo Santos 40-yard field goal.
After the game, Johnson credited Taylor’s “banana ball” with creating a huge momentum shift. Before that turnover, the Panthers scored on back-to-back touchdown drives, and the Bears turned the ball over on downs after the Panthers stopped them on a fourth-and-one from their own 21-yard line.
Even when opposing teams stop the Bears and force Johnson’s offense to punt, punt returners will have to consider the banana ball and prepare for the unorthodox punting style.
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower won’t always ask Taylor to use the banana punt, but teams will now have to devote time throughout the week to prepare for it. Instead of investing reps in other aspects of special teams, the Bears’ opponents have to practice against something they may not see in the game.
NFL teams are always searching for more ways to maximize time during the week, but Taylor’s punt and the coverage unit gave every team in the league one more thing to consider- something extra to look at when they face the Chicago Bears.
Read more: Ranking the top 20 best Bears from their Week 1 rout of Panthers
The Bears are all about weaponizing every aspect of their football team. Taylor is now another weapon to deploy on a team with plenty of firepower, making Johnson's unit even harder to stop this season.
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