David Banks-Imagn Images

Bears’ revamped offensive line still struggling to crack NFL’s top tier

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI | By Bryan Perez | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 3:27 PM ET

The biggest story of the Chicago Bears' 2025 offseason -- aside from the hiring of Ben Johnson -- was the moves that general manager Ryan Poles made to improve the offensive line.

You know the story by now. Poles traded for Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson to solidify the starting guard spots, and signed Drew Dalman to take over as the Bears' starting center.

Poles spent a second-round pick on Ozzy Trapilo, an offensive tackle who at one point in training camp was viewed as the favorite to become the starter at left tackle.

But here we are, three weeks into the 2025 NFL season, and the Bears' offensive line remains a work-in-progress.

Sure, it's an improved unit over last year's starting five, a group that surrendered the most sacks in the NFL in 2024. But the Bears are still struggling to field an offensive line that's viewed as one of the best in the league.

Take the latest offensive line rankings from Pro Football Focus, who, at one point in the run-up to the regular season, ranked Chicago as one of the best O-lines in the league.

After three games, the Bears have plummeted to 20th.

"The Bears' offensive line played its best game to date and held up well in pass protection against the Cowboys," PFF's Zoltan Buday wrote. "The unit surrendered six pressures — including no sacks — on 29 pass plays, leading to an 89.7 PFF pass-blocking efficiency rating (fifth best).

"Guard Joe Thuney, arguably the best pass-blocking interior offensive lineman of the past decade, played at a star level. He did not allow a single pressure against Dallas. His 88.3 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked second among all offensive linemen this past week."

The Chicago Bears' offensive line is no different than any other part of the offense that's adjusting and adapting to Ben Johnson's system. Only Jonah Jackson has prior experience with Johnson, and three of the five starters up front have never played together.

It takes time on task together for offensive lines to reach high levels of play. With each passing week, the Bears will get one game closer to that goal. And if Week 3 is any indication, the first game of Caleb Williams' career that he wasn't sacked, the Bears' O-line is a lot closer than we think to emerging as one of the best in the NFL.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: