CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Leave it to Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson to make the understatement of the week when talking about his running back, D’Andre Swift.“He’s had a good week, huh?” Johnson said, almost offering the slightest of smiles after the Bears’ jaw-dropping 59-37 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Sunday’s season opener.Swift, who signed a three-year contract extension Saturday morning, rushed for 124 yards and three touchdowns, earning a game ball.The soft-spoken back said to his teammates in the postgame locker-room celebration, “We work too hard. Let the work show week in and week out. Proud of y’all.”Top Plays from Bears @ PanthersNo one who works for the Bears would have worried that Swift would be any different after a payday. But for him to put together a performance like that immediately after cashing in, it served as a reminder of what he stands for, and why general manager Ryan Poles rewarded him.“That’s always my mindset,” Swift said. “I feel like I’m just getting started, man. I was just grateful to be able to keep going with these guys. My mindset wasn’t gonna change whether it was something done or not, know what I mean? I got something to prove every day I wake up.”He proved it by being part of Bears history — Swift accounted for only half of the Bears’ six rushing touchdowns, along with two by quarterback Caleb Williams and one from running back Kyle Monangai. It was the Bears’ most rushing scores in a game since 1941.The 2026 season began with a 17-yard Swift run wiped out by a holding penalty on wide receiver Rome Odunze. When the Bears got the ball back after the Panthers jumped out to a 7-0 lead, cashing in on Luther Burden’s fumble, Johnson put the ball back in Swift’s hands.On first-and-10 from the Panthers’ 45-yard line, Swift took a handoff and followed his blocker to the right side of the line. Tight end Cole Kmet had a powerful block coming from his fullback position and right guard Jonah Jackson sealed his man. Once Swift got through the line, he spun off a tackle attempt from Panthers corner Will Lee, juked to his left and cut back across the field to avoid more Panthers defensive backs. The 32-yard run was his longest of the day and set up Williams’ 9-yard touchdown.“Good blocking up front,” Swift said. “(My) mentality — wasn’t trying to go down by any means.”Swift’s first two touchdowns, both 1-yard plunges, looked easy. The offensive line was moving Panthers defenders, and he charged into the end zone.Swift’s 124 yards are the second most for a Bears running back in a season opener this century, trailing Matt Forte’s 141 from 2015. The team’s 291 yards rushing marked its highest total in any game since 1984.Williams paused after receiving the question because he wanted to use the exact right words to describe his running back.“He’s a golden star. Because he can do everything,” Williams said. “He can catch, he can block. Obviously he can run downhill, he runs wide zone, he can run tosses … get on the edge and from there he’s not only just getting first downs, he’s trying to take them to the crib. He’s a special player and happy that we got him for the next three, four years.”Said guard Jonah Jackson, “D’Andre is awesome, man. He’s a Philly cat who has some piss and vinegar to him. He can go side to side with the best of ’em. But you better believe he can get it going downhill.”Bears tally 59 points in Week 1, but think they could've scored moreKevin FishbainAfter watching his backfield mate, Monangai, take a handoff and go 61 yards for a touchdown, Swift got one more carry, and he sealed the win with a 28-yard touchdown run, the Bears’ final points.“I mean, he earned it, every step of it,” Johnson said. “We really value what he brings to the table. He’s had a great spring, a great training camp, and so I don’t think anybody in our building is surprised that he’s out of the gate in a strong fashion.”Last year, Swift and Monangai became the first Bears duo of backs since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey in 1985 to rush for 100 yards in the same game when they did it on Black Friday, the signature win in Philadelphia. They did it again Sunday against the Panthers while also getting 65 yards from Williams. In that win over the Eagles, Williams had only 13 rushing yards.Swift’s three touchdown runs are a franchise best in a season opener this century. His connection with his head coach continues to grow, and a coach who loves to bludgeon an opponent with the run game got to do so to kick off the season.“I take a lot of pride in making sure my coaches are able to trust me when I’m out there,” Swift said. “So I don’t take nothing for granted. Every single day I wake up, I have something to prove going into the building and even more so now, it’s a lot on my shoulders as far as I need to deliver when my number is called, and that’s what I look forward to doing every time.”In 2024, Swift joined the Bears as a free agent whose production didn’t match the contract in a rough year overall for the offense. In fact, many wondered if the Bears would look to replace him in Johnson’s first season.Instead, Swift had a career year, followed it up with an eye-opening training camp, earned a contract extension — which is still rare for his position — and then responded to it all with three trips to the end zone in a Week 1 win.The trust between coach and running back has never been stronger.“(Johnson) knows every time I touch the ball,” Swift said, “I’m looking to score.”