CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams have talked openly about changing the Chicago Bears franchise. Modernizing it, revolutionizing it.They’ve opined about erasing the past, forging a new future, setting records, winning Super Bowls. In between the usual football pabulum have come big, bold statements from a coach and his quarterback, the kind of belief that fires up the fans and puts a big old target on their backs.Last season, Johnson, Williams and a hungry bunch of players and coaches showed what was possible for a once-cursed football franchise. Williams proved the skeptics wrong with the late-game heroics that got him on the cover of Madden.On Sunday, they set out to prove last year wasn’t a fluke and that progression, not regression, is likely.In a record-setting 59-37 victory over the Carolina Panthers, the Bears announced exactly who they are: a dangerous offensive team with waves of playmakers that might also need to score 40 to win some games.The Bears played as advertised, but even more so. They played like a team to be reckoned with.“Listen, that’ll always be the goal,” Johnson said after the game. “We want to be the highest scoring, we want the most wins, we want to win Super Bowls. That’s what we do. We didn’t get into this profession trying to be mediocre or average.”They certainly weren’t either of those things Sunday. On offense, at least. Their eight offensive touchdowns were one off the franchise mark.The 59 points were the most they’ve ever scored in a season opener, and the 96 combined points aren’t just a franchise record; it’s an NFL record for a Week 1 game. (The Bears have only scored 60 or more three times in their century-long existence.)Top Plays from Bears @ PanthersThe Bears compiled 552 yards on offense, the most for an opener and a good drive away from the franchise record (594), but they also gave up 478 yards.They tied a team record with six rushing touchdowns, but also gave up 361 yards passing to Bryce Young, the guy they passed up to eventually trade for Williams.But after the Bears led the league in takeaways and turnover differential last season, the consensus was that the team’s luck would run out and the defense would be a question mark in terms of potential. General manager Ryan Poles didn’t add any big names to the defense, but Dennis Allen’s unit showed it still has some juice, forcing three takeaways, while the offense turned the ball over just once, on the opening drive.The identity of this franchise isn’t on defense. Not anymore. But that doesn’t mean there’s a shortfall of smash-mouth football in Chicago. After all, Johnson’s offense has always centered around the run game. You can bet Walter Payton’s son, Jarrett, a newly minted morning sports radio host in Chicago, will be excited to talk about their dominating 291-yard performance.