As a general concept, when one doesn't hear much about a team's offensive line that tends to read as a positive. Such is likely the case with the Chicago Bears and their 2026 group.
Through four games, the Bears rank first in the NFL in total yards (1,716), ninth in yards per play (5.8), 15th in passing yards (931), and first in rushing yards (785). They also league the lead in first downs (101) and are ninth in the league in drives ending with an offensive score (47.6 percent). Suffice to say that for a team that has started three quarterbacks in those four games and has leaned as heavily on the ground game as they have, it doesn't happen without strong line play.
In fact, one would be hard-pressed to find a measure out there that doesn't indicate
not only quality from the team's offensive line to this point but elite performance.
From a Pro Football Focus standpoint, the Bears grade out 11th in the league for pass blocking (67.2) and second in run blocking (77.5). Darnell Wright ranks as the highest-graded offensive lineman both in general (92.0) and in the run game (93.3). Not to far down the list, though, is Jonah Jackson checking in at the eighth overall grade (84.8). Interestingly, Joe Thuney has graded out as more effective in pass protection (73.9).
As far as more tangible measures go, the Bears are first in the league in pass blocking efficiency (89.3), which indicates how well the line is at avoiding pressures allowed. In terms of win rate, the Bears may be floating around the middle of the league in both the pass (50 percent) and the run (74 percent), but there are a couple of things to keep in mind there.
First is the fact that the difference between teams in win rate is very marginal. It isn't until you get into the top five that you find a team with a pass block win rate more than five percent higher than the Bears. And the Cincinnati Bengals lead the league in run block win rate at 78 percent, not a far cry ahead of where the Bears stand. So while they may sit 15th and 14th in the two rankings, respectively, it's not a particularly massive gap between them and the top of the league.
Which is a belief only further enhanced when one considers some of the names involved near the top of each leaderboard. Darnell Wright sits sixth in pass block win rate (92 percent) among offensive tackles while Garrett Bradbury (2nd; 96 percent) and Joe Thuney (13th; 93 percent) sit near the top for interior linemen.
While the run block win rate leaderboard doesn't favor them quite as much, NFL Savant's run block grade of 113 puts them in fifth as a unit (100, in this case, is league average). They're also at a positive EPA per play in five of the seven zones at which a run could be directed.
It isn't all perfect, of course. Garrett Bradbury, for example, grades out near the bottom of the PFF leaderboard and is averaging a penalty per game. Thuney hasn't been as sharp in the run game. The left tackle situation in the absence of Ozzy Trapilo remains in flux until he returns. Nevertheless, this is a unit that is very, very good by a number of statistical measures and remains a distant group performance-wise to some of the units to which Bears fans have been accustomed prior to Ben Johnson's tenure as head coach.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Most measures indicate Bears' offensive line has been dominant in 20
