Dave Canales Responds to Perceived Dig From Caleb Williams After Bears Crushed Panthers

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams raised some eyebrows with his postgame interaction with Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales following the Week 1 contest on Sunday afternoon.

When Williams and Canales met on the field after the game, the Bears quarterback told Canales that his team has "a great defense."

While that's usually seen as a nice thing to say to an opponent, it was taken by some as Williams trolling Canales and the Panthers after Chicago walked into Bank of America Stadium and hung 59 points on Carolina's defense.

When asked about Williams' comment to him on Monday, the Panthers head coach said he did not take it as a dig.

"To me, it was a common postgame humility," Canales said. "It was the same thing with my exchange with Ben Johnson. It was Caleb just talking about preparing for the guys that we had and all that," Canales said, according to Joe Person of The Athletic.

"The type of defense that we were able to play down the stretch last season, he was aware of it," he added. "They took advantage of things and they executed better than we did, so I didn't take that as a dig at all. I thought it was just a good kid being respectful and just kind of making a comment about just like, 'Hey, we prepared and you guys played hard and you didn't have to say it, we played better today.'"

We get it, based on the circumstances it doesn't sound great, but do people actually believe Williams would take a dig at Carolina like that, especially with no past beef and so many cameras around?

Williams was basically just letting Canales know he respects the Panthers' defense and believes it's a lot better than what the unit showed on Sunday after having studied up on the defense for the game, as Canales said.

It was a showing of respect, not a dig.

Bears' historic Week 1 performance

Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift. — Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With their 59 points in Week 1, the Bears scored the most points in a Week 1 game in franchise history. The previous record was 45, which was set all the way back in 1948.

When it comes to NFL history, that's the second-most points in a season-opening game, and it was tied with the 2019 Baltimore Ravens, the 1963 Kansas City Chiefs and the 1968 Dallas Cowboys.

The 1973 Atlanta Falcons hold the record with 62.

That was also the Bears' highest scoring output in a game since 1980, and it was the third-most points in a contest in franchise history.

The Bears' six rushing scores tied the 1920 Detroit Heralds, the 1920 Rock Island Independents and the 1922 Canton Bulldogs (who?!) for the most in a season opener in league history.

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