CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 08: Caleb Williams #18 and Drew Dalman #52 of the Chicago Bears talk prior to the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on September 08, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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Draw your conclusions carefully. The Bears have been equal parts resourceful and regretful through the first month of the season.
Tight end Colston Loveland, their first-round draft pick has yet to contribute and none of their big-ticket additions have grabbed addition with their performance. But quietly it seems like General Manager Ryan Poles’ investment in the offensive line is making life easier for Caleb Williams, and that’s the most significant development in the 2-2 start.
Williams looked jumpy in the season-opening loss to Minnesota but played the best game of his career in the 31-14 victory over Dallas and led a late drive to put the Bears in position for a one-point win in Las Vegas last Sunday.
Through four games, the first overall pick in 2024 is averaging 231.75 passing yards while throwing eight touchdown passes and only two interceptions. His current pace would yield 3,940 passing yards, only 60 short of the organizational goal for him to become the first 4,000-yard passer in franchise history.
Williams ranks 13th in the NFL with a 97.8 passer rating and 17th in ESPN’s total quarterback rating. That represents significant progress, as those scores ranked 24th and 31st, respectively, last season.
Williams seems to be finding his footing behind the upgraded line and running back D’Andre Swift, whose 84.9 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade leads 53 qualified running backs. He still gets forced out of the pocket more than head coach Ben Johnson would like but the Bears have quieted the chaos he experienced as a rookie, when he was sacked 67 times.
While Las Vegas’ Maxx Crosby was disruptive at times on Sunday, PFF accounted for Williams being under pressure on only 11 of 37 drop-backs in the victory that ended with Josh Blackwell’s blocked field goal. That’s too much pressure but Williams took only one sack. He’s at seven sacks through four games, which is fewer than 18 others.
Credit the rebuilt interior of the Bears’ line, with guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson flanking 26-year-old center Drew Dalman, who was the team’s top free-agent acquisition.
After ranking 25th in offensive line spending over the previous seven seasons, Poles raised that investment to $54.38 million, according to Spotrac. Only six teams are spending more on the position.
In praising Thuney’s work against Dallas in Week 3, PFF declared the two-time Kansas City All-Pro as “arguably the best pass-blocking interior offensive lineman of the past decade.” He’s in his age-33 season at a position where few remain effective in their mid-30s.
Thuney saw it all while earning four Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and Chiefs. His experience and ability to think on his feet is invaluable for a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game since 2010, when Lovie Smith was the head coach.
Right tackle Darnell Wright, the Bears’ first-round pick in 2023, is arguably the anchor of the line. But he missed Sunday’s game with an elbow injury, and fourth-year starting left tackle Braxton Jones was benched in the second quarter.
The rebuilt interior of the line has been sturdy if not always in sync with each other. Dalman has played all 262 of the offensive snaps, with Jackson missing only one and Thuney missing four. That time playing alongside each other should reap benefits for Johnson’s creative offense as the season progresses.
In terms of PFF grades, the Bears’ new linemen are ranked in this order through four games: Dalman (10th among 35 center), Thuney (30th among 77 guards) and Jackson (51st among 77 guards). Jackson, a former Detroit standout whose health limited him to four games with the Rams last year, has looked rusty but was a standout against Dallas in Week 3.
Jones got pulled in favor of the undrafted Theo Benedet on Sunday because he was having a horrible game blocking for Swift and Kyle Monangai in the running game. Johnson’s play-action schemes are another way he is working to protect Williams.
Swift has managed only 187 yards on 56 carries, although he does have two touchdowns. Dalman is considered an excellent run-blocker but both Thuney and Jackson face a learning curve in adjusting to Johnson’s blocking schemes.
Ozzy Trapilo, a second-round pick from Boston College, got the start in place of the injured Wright. He moved to left tackle when Johnson decided to sit Jones, with Benedet at right tackle.
Look for the Bears to address tackle through a trade, free agency or the 2026 draft. But the saving grace for Williams is the interior of the line is giving him a better chance to reach his potential.
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