Due to the BN Bears watch party on Monday Night, Patrick kindly took over Instant Grades for the week, so I couldn’t issue the offensive line a grade after the win. He gave the group a C+ on the night, which, in real time, I do think was fair. However, after watching the tape, I think you can make an argument that it was their best performance of the season. Now, it wasn’t perfect. Three sacks are too many. But it was by far their best performance in the run game, pass protection was solid, and when the Bears needed to run the ball the most, the offensive line put together its best drive.
I’ve said it a million times, PFF grades are far from the end-all, be-all when it comes to offensive line play. The eye test and watching the film are much more accurate ways to judge how a unit played. Having said that, they’re a halfway decent way to measure a unit’s performance. With that in mind, here’s how each Bears offensive lineman graded out on Monday against Washington:
Bears pass blocking vs Commanders:• Joe Thuney: 87.9 pff grade, 0 pressures • Darnell Wright: 80.7 pff grade, 1 pressure • Drew Dalman: 73.1 pff grade, 3 pressures • Jonah Jackson: 70.9 pff grade, 1 pressure • Theo Benedet: 60.9 pff grade, 2 pressures
— I? (@ilannfl) October 14, 2025That’s not half bad! I think this unit’s growing success as the year goes on can be attributed to a few things. First, the talent level is certainly higher than in the past few years. Joe Thuney is an All-Pro. Darnell Wright is All-Pro caliber and usually gets better as the season progresses. Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman may have lacked a little consistency, but they’ve improved significantly since the Week 1 mess against Minnesota. And Theo Benedet, granted in a small sample size, has been solid and certainly moves better than Braxton Jones on a bad ankle.
Another reason is that the unit is starting to gel. Offensive line play certainly is about being better than the man across from you. But it’s also about knowing who you’re playing with and their tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses. If I’m Jonah Jackson at right guard, and I’m double-teaming the defensive lineman in between me and Drew Dalman at center, if I know he has a quick and aggressive first step, I know I might not have to be as heavy on my double team as I would with someone who’s a little slower off the ball.
Apologies if that’s a long-winded example, but it’s just a way of saying it takes a little time to know who you’re playing next to.
Lastly, Ben Johnson seems to be starting to understand his group’s strengths and weaknesses a little better. It’s another testament to how efficiently he and his staff used the bye week to self-scout.
Bears OL Film Breakdown
For this week’s film breakdown, I wanted to take a play I saw making the rounds on X. It was on the final drive, and essentially sealed the game for the Bears, or at least sealed a chip-shot opportunity for Jake Moody to win the game, which obviously he hit.
The blocking scheme is outside zone, meaning everyone is reaching the play side. So the goal is to take a wide step right here, and reach either the man in the gap outside of you, or, in Darnell Wright’s case, the most immediate threat.
Darnell Wright with a game clinching 2 for 1 on this toss. sometimes you just gotta be a football player. if he had *just* noticed the end working around the down block and sealed that, it would have been a really heads up play. this is excellent. pic.twitter.com/ZrHriYS5JZ
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) October 14, 2025Going from left to right, Theo Benedet does a nice job getting in front of the defensive lineman inside of him, then running with him to stay in front. Joe Thuney does enough to get in front of the nose tackle, and once he’s by him, he knows he’s not a threat to make the tackle, so he can move onto the second level. Thuney is thrown a bit off balance by the nose tackle, but once he gets up to the second level, his eyes shift to Swift carrying the ball.
I actually would have liked to see him look farther back and try to pick off one of the backside defenders rallying to the ball. He wouldn’t truly be able to lay any of them out at risk of an illegal blindside block, but he could have attempted to get in the way. However, that’s a little nitpicky, and a tough decision to make in that quick a window. That said, Frankie Luvu is the defender who screams by him untouched and eventually makes the play. But again, I’m not going to nitpick Joe Thuney, who was a force all night.
Drew Dalman does a great job off the snap, getting where he needs to be, but also getting a punch on the nose tackle to slow him down without having to turn or get off his tracks to the right. Jonah Jackson is fine off the snap, but his defender shoots back inside. Jackson does enough to seal him and ensure he can’t make the play in the backfield. Maybe he can get to the second level, but I like his decision to stay back and get an extra punch in to ensure that play isn’t shut down for a big loss.
MORE: Film Room: Ben Johnson’s Bye Week Adjustments Pay Off Big Time for the Bears
Then there’s Darnell Wright. Wright’s likely assignment is to pull around Olamide Zaccheaus’ and DJ Moore’s blocks on the right side. He does just that off the snap, only Zaccheaus gets swum by his man and is beaten on the playside.
So Wright notices that, and while going full steam to lead D’Andre Swift outside, he slows down and gets a punch in on Zaccheaus’ man to prevent him from making the play without really even breaking stride, then he adjusts to pick up his actual man on the outside. Even though he doesn’t make a clean block outside, he covers him up enough (and avoids a holding call), which allows Swift to read the block, get vertical, and essentially ice the game.
So much about that play showed not only how skilled an offensive lineman Wright is physically but also how smart a player he is. I know the penalties were an issue early on, but truly, I’m not worried about those. He got off to a slow start last season, too, and right about this point, he turned it on and was a top ten or fifteen tackle in football for the rest of the season.
We discussed Wright’s performance on the BN Bears podcast on Tuesday, so if you want a little more talk about him, make sure to check that out. But long story short, the Bears have an offensive line anchor for the next several years, provided he stays healthy.
Jul 23, 2025; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears guard Theo Benedet (79) and offensive tackle Darnell Wright (58) run a drill during training camp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesHence then, the article about bears offensive line progress report darnell wright leads the way was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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