Bears trounce Panthers while Lions and Bills also win

Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams produced a starring performance to lead the Bears to a 59-37 win over Carolina in the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history.

The No.1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft looked like a league MVP candidate on Sunday (Monday AEST), throwing for 269 yards and two touchdowns and running for 65 yards and two more scores as the Bears trounced the Panthers

"I could kind of tell (Saturday) night when we did our quarterback meeting one last time that he was just on top of it," Chiacgo coach Ben Johnson said.

"Everything he was rattling out, like where my eyes need to be and what I'm thinking. ... So I went to bed and just slept really well."

Johnson's prolific Bears broke a franchise record for points in an opener, a mark that had stood since 1948, when Chicago hung 45 points on Green Bay at Wrigley Field.

The 59 points were the most allowed by the Panthers since they began play as an expansion team in 1995.

D'Andre Swift, who received a $33.75 million contract extension earlier this week, paid immediate dividends for the Bears, rushing for 124 yards on 18 carries with three touchdowns, while Kyle Monangai had 100 yards on the ground, including a 61-yard touchdown burst in the second half.

Elsewhere in the NFL on Monday AEST, Tyler Shough threw an incomplete pass in the end zone on a 2-point conversion attempt, allowing the Detroit Lions to escape with a 31-30 win in overtime over the New Orleans Saints.

Saints coach Kellen Moore chose to go for the win instead of tying the game with 1:34 left in overtime after his team came back from a three-touchdown deficit in the third quarter and allowed a touchdown on the opening possession of the extra period.

Jared Goff threw two touchdown passes to Amon-Ra St. Brown, the second score a 5-yard throw early in overtime, and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for two touchdowns.

New Orleans rallied from a 21-0 deficit and pulled into a 24-all tie on Shough's 9-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson with 1:07 left in the game.

Detroit went three and out on offense, giving the Saints the ball with a chance to win it and Ryan Wright missed a 62-yard field goal attempt as time expired.

Gibbs had a career-high 29 carries for 156 yards. He also had five catches for 30 yards.

Shough, coming off a promising rookie year, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble before closing strong and completing 35 of 56 passes for 410 yards and three scores.