There are many reasons why the Chicago Bears are 9-3, first place in the NFC North, and currently the No. 1 seed in the NFC as Week 14 looms.
Ben Johnson has redefined the culture inside Halas Hall. Dennis Allen’s defense is leading the NFL in takeaways. Caleb Williams is developing exactly how a franchise QB should. The running game is the best in the league.
But there’s one variable that Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer says is the biggest in the Bears’ rebirth: the rebuilt offensive line.
“Because it’s always about the quarterback, people are going to make this about Caleb Williams,” Breer wrote. “But for Ben Johnson to get the most out of this Chicago team in his first season, he had to do what he was a part of in Detroit: making the offensive and defensive lines his and GM Ryan Poles’s top priority from the jump.
“So they traded for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, signed center Drew Dalman, and drafted Ozzy Trapilo on offense. They also signed Dayo Odeyingbo and Grady Jarrett, and took Shemar Turner with a second-round pick on defense. Because of injuries, that emphasis has tracked better on offense than defense.”
Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
The Chicago Bears have long been a franchise that prides itself on running backs and linebackers, and the 2025 season has awakened that history of ground success.
D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai won’t be the first two running backs mentioned whenever football fans list the NFL’s top runners, but the duo has led the Bears to the No. 2 ground attack in the NFL. Chicago averages 153.8 rushing yards per game and 4.8 yards per carry, which qualifies as fifth-best in the league.
“It’s been an awesome effort from the coaches to put us in great spots,” center Drew Dalman said after the Bears’ huge Week 13 win over the Eagles.
Dalman was one of the biggest pieces to a Chicago Bears’ 2025 offensive line overhaul. He signed a three-year, $42 million contract to finally fix the Bears’ center problem, and he’s responded in a big way.
Dalman has the Bears’ highest Pro Football Focus grade on offense (82.1) and now a centerpiece to the team’s success, both in 2025 and seasons to come.