Bear Digest

Darnell Wright and Chicago Bears offensive line go viral again

Drastic improvement in pass and run blocking and Wright's pancakes at right tackle are bringing attention to positions normally faceless for even the best teams.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams puts his faith in a revamped Bears offensive line that has done nothing but deliver.
Caleb Williams puts his faith in a revamped Bears offensive line that has done nothing but deliver. | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The second-guessing of Bears GM Ryan Poles goes on with some of it warranted, particularly at defensive end.

Not only are they thin, but Dayo Odeyingbo didn't live up to big contract  expectations. Neither has Grady Jarrett at defensive tackle. For now, though, Poles will get the benefit of the doubt because the other great improvement they pursued has succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams.

When Poles and coach Ben Johnson got together to devise their plan, the  offensive line interior came ou t at the top. When a team allows 50 sacks or more four straight years, a team-record 68 last year, and finished 27th in yards per rush, they could probably have put three traffic cones at the three interior line positions and improved.

Poles and Johnson's collaboration of Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney was brilliance, and now Darnell Wright is coming into his own as a possible Pro Bowl tackle. Can left tackle Theo Benedet be far behind?

They've given up 14 sacks in nine games, the same number allowed as Green Bay, the Rams and Atlanta. Only Denver (11) and Seattle (10) have allowed less. ESPN's analytics ranks the Bears offensive line No. 3 in pass block win rate and No. 4 in run block win rate.

Toss in the fact they're second in rushing and it's easy to see how they've overcome their defense's injuries and a passing attack that runs hot and cold.

"I think offensive line play in general, it tends to get overlooked," coach Ben Johnson said. "You got a lot of ball watchers around this league, as fans, or even as coaches and personnel guys. You tend to overlook that trench play at times.

"We certainly have a great appreciation for what those guys bring to the table. We've invested a lot from a draft capital and a free agency standpoint of bringing those guys in. We value those guys tremendously. And so it's good to see that pay off for us. They’re a huge part of what we do. Our offense doesn't really go unless they're functioning at a high level. So yeah, really happy with where they are."

The Giants have only two wins and their  coach is now fired, but that was Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns, with a few other effective players thrown in. And on Sunday the Bears offensive line had its second sack-free day of the season.

Once again, Wright had several highlight blocks. He had a few on NFL sacks leader Burns, including one on a spin move that rivaled the pancake run block he had against Cincinnati.

“Yeah, I think Darnell did a heck of a job throughout that game, really, our entire offensive line did that," Johnson said. "I said it early in the week, and I'll say it after the game as well, that you could argue that that's going to be the best defensive front that we'll face all year long. I mean, it's first rounders galore, talented pass rushers galore. They made it a mission to stop our run game.

"We weren't nearly as efficient running the ball (Sunday) as we  would've liked to be. But in terms of pass protection, you know, you look up and we had zero sacks. I thought Caleb was certainly a big factor in negating some of those sacks. But our offensive line did a pretty solid job down in and down out."

Dalman is graded third among all centers, Wright is 13th among tackles, third as a run blocker, and ESPN has Wright ninth in pass block win rate. Thuney is 12th among guards but right where he usually is as a pass blocker in PFF's eyes, as No. 1 among guards. ESPN has Thuney No. 2 in pass block win rate for all interior offensive linemen.

Jackson has come on strong the last three or four games and ESPN ranks him sixth in pass block win rate among interior line players. Even Theo Benedet, who has only been doing this since Week 4, is getting analytics to notice as ESPN has him rated fifth among tackles at right block win rate.

The whole league was taking notice of Wright last week with his  pancake blocks, and it seems the same now with a video clip of him snuffing out Burns.

"So on that particular play, it's just a great instance of how strong he is as an individual," Johnson said. "He caught Burns in a spin and was able to capitalize on it, so that was great."

During the offseason, Johnson was asked how long it would take them to get their  offensive line functioning as a cohesive, capable group and his answer was sometime around the bye if not a little later.

They've gone beyond that level by midseason, to a height no one would have thought possible after a 68-sack season and 3.9 yards per rushing attempt in 2024.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.