Let the games begin. Week 1 is finally here.

It’s Bears at the Carolina Panthers. The Bears are three-point favorites on the road.

Here’s everything you need to know from the podium to the Bears locker room before kickoff.

1. The Bears strongly believe in running back D’Andre Swift.

How much so?

Well, the Bears and Swift just agreed to a three-year, $33.75 million contract extension – including $27.5 million guaranteed – on Friday afternoon, according to ESPN. 

Bears coach Ben Johnson has praised him at every opportunity, including on Hoge & Jahns a month ago and then later before the joint practice against the Tennessee Titans.

“I think he’s primed for a big year,” Johnson said.

And now make that three years.

“I think what he’s done so far is he’s positioned himself in the classroom, on the practice field, conditioning, maintenance-wise,” running backs coach Eric Studesville said earlier this week. “I think he’s just put himself in position to have a great year. I love how he works. He’s been more impressive in person. I was already impressed with him on tape. You know, seeing him as around the league and doing things, but being around him every day, how he approaches it and what he does, is really impressive.”

2. Receiver Rome Odunze should be good to go on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

Odunze is officially listed as questionable. He tweaked his calf last week during a walk-through period in practice. It’s not a serious injury. But the Bears’ plan for him held him until Thursday and Friday this week. He was limited on both days. 

“We’ll assess where he’s at after that,” Johnson said before practice on Friday. “He’s looked good from my perspective, but we also got a long season coming up on us and we want to do what’s right for him for the long term as well.”

What does Odunze plan on doing?

“I plan on playing,” he told reporters on Friday.

3. It looks like veteran Case Keenum will be the Bears’ backup quarterback in Week 1.

Tyson Bagent first appeared on the team’s injury report on Wednesday, which was an estimation with the players officially off that day. He then sat out on Thursday and Friday before being listed as questionable.

But it’s still business as usual. 

Bagent is arguably the best backup in the league but Keenum has plenty of experience. He’s in his 15th season. 

“Yeah,” Johnson said. “We’re fine.”

On Saturday, the Bears signed quarterback Miller Moss to the practice squad. He was then elevated to the active roster, along with receiver Kaden Davis.

4. Running back Kyle Monangai is ready for game action after injuring his knee.

The good news is that he’s not even on the injury report.

“He’s done everything he can to get back out there,” running backs coach Eric Studesville said. “You know, the different things that have happened. It’s an unfortunate part of it because we would love to have him out there all this time. But he’s doing everything he can to get back on the field and as soon as he can, he’ll be out there because he loves this game.”

Studesville said that before practice on Thursday. “Out there” then turned into two full days of practice for the Bears’ No. 2 back. Monangai injured his knee on Aug. 16 when he was tackled from behind by defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.

“Having him back is great for the offense,” running back D’Andre Swift said. “Can’t wait to see how we do out there on Sunday.”

5. Jaylon Johnson is healthy and ready to prove that he’s still one of the elite cornerbacks in the league.

He suffered a core muscle injury during his own offseason training last year and then appeared in only eight games. Johnson never felt like himself.

And Jaylon Johnson will tell you he loves playing for Ben Johnson.

“Honestly, I would say we had a talk and I would say of my years being here I’ve never had a talk of a coach saying we got a chance to win the Super Bowl,” Jaylon Johnson said. “So I think when he said that it put some things in perspective for me and I have – we have – the opportunity to do something special.

“So I think for me it just sparked a different level of my competitive nature that I haven’t had since I’ve been here. So we’re just going out there and competing, and then wanting the guys to be better, wanting myself to be better and then just holding us to a different standard, a higher standard, and then we’ll just go from there.”

6. Braxton Jones is healthy and eager to settle in at left tackle.

Jones won the competition for the second straight year. 

“From Tennessee joint practice on, it felt like we saw a lot more consistency in his play,” offensive line coach Dan Roushar said. “It felt like his hands got better. I thought he was doing a much better job of staying square in his set patterns and you just saw the consistency. 

“And yet, we’re evaluating every day, every rep. I feel really good about where he’s at right now, anxious to go watch him play and then have a lot of confidence in Theo (Benedet) going out there and working if need be.

This year, though, Jones isn’t trying to regain his form following a serious injury. Instead, he only missed time in camp this year with some tendonitis in his knee.

“I think we all deal with it,” he said. “Some it’s just more painful than others. I just needed to do a better job managing it.”

[Want more? Become a Diehard and read Jahns’ piece on Caleb Williams in a “one-score” NFL)

7. Ozzy Trapilo’s remarkable recovery from a torn patellar tendon remains on the fast track.

Don’t be surprised if he becomes a full participant in practice in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s an ongoing process,” Roushar said. “But we’re going to start to move him into some team work here shortly. And when and if that time’s decided, I think we’re getting closer. We’ve done post work with him on bodies, it’s certainly different than actually going out there and putting it all together. But I’ve been really encouraged with what he’s done so far.”

8. The Bears’ concerns up front against the Panthers start and end with defensive tackle Derrick Brown. 

When the Bears traded the first pick to the Panthers in 2020, general manager Ryan Poles inquired about Brown’s availability. Carolina said no. Receiver DJ Moore was traded instead.

Now he’s a problem for Johnson and Co.

“Yeah, he’s a major problem,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “And I think the biggest thing and probably the best thing he does well is the versatility to go up and down the line. I mean, he’ll be anything from head up on a center to head up a tight end. And so all these matchups that they can create with him by the versatility of the front are a major problem for you. 

“So everybody’s aware that they may have their turn blocking him one-on-one based on what the front, what the defensive personnel grouping is. He is obviously a load for centers, but he’s obviously a load for tight ends if he gets out there and plays in certain situations. The versatility he’s able to display in all the different techniques of their defense and the way they deploy them, that’s what’s most impressive with him.”

9. The Bears believe they’re in good hands with center Garrett Bradbury. 

Swift shared that Johnson highlighted Bradbury’s place on the team after practice on Thursday. The team quickly acquired him from the New England Patriots after Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman surprisingly retired.

“His communication has been phenomenal since he got here,” Swift said. “We’re clicking up front right now. Just we can’t wait to see how it looks on Sunday.”

Taylor said that Bradbury has “earned a lot of trust” since the spring.

“He’s very loud, very vocal, very confident, but also very intelligent,” Taylor said. “He does a very good job of really how we want to do it. There’s a lot of conversation that goes on. I mean, in walk-through, we pause walk-through, we huddle up and it’s Dan, Caleb, Ben, all those guys, Garrett, all in there having a conversation about how we’re going to ID certain things because it changes if they do this versus that. 

“And so he’s earned a lot of trust and a lot of respect from a lot of the guys, the coaches and players as well, with what he’s done the last six, seven months that we’ve had him.”

10. The Bears expect the Panthers to test rookie long snapper Beau Gardner.

But the special teams coordinator Richard Hightower has also done that throughout camp. “We give him a ton of different looks,” he said.

It still has to play out for real on Sunday, though. 

“Obviously we have a ton of respect for (special teams coordinator) Tracy Smith and (assistant) Daren Bates, who played in this league a long time, their special teams coaches,” Hightower said. “They do a phenomenal job. We know they’re going to try to test Beau, OK? But Beau has got to step up to the challenge and do what he’s been doing in practice and it’ll be good for him.”

It’s different for the Panthers, who have their own version of Patrick Mannelly in J.J. Hansen. He has been with Carolina since 2009.

“It’s hard to unseat long snappers,” Hightower said. “It’s a very, very hard position. It’s often overlooked. But it’s a very hard position to play and it’s a very hard position to take because there’s a lot of intricacies that go into it that people don’t really know until something goes bad.”

11. The Bears will continue to throw rookie nickel back/corner Malik Muhammad to proverbial wolves. 

In Week 1, that could mean matchups against Panthers receivers Jalen Coker and Tetairoa McMillan.

“We liked his coverage ability,” Dennis Allen said. “I saw a smart, instinctive player that had good speed and good coverage ability. And so, I think anytime you get a rookie in here, you really want to throw a lot at him and see what they can handle. And he’s been able to handle a pretty good amount.”