The Chicago Bears have plenty of good things going for them right now. They have one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL despite no clear star at running back. Their offensive line has improved significantly thanks to the arrivals of Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, and Jonah Jackson. Dennis Allen has the defense leading the league in takeaways despite a slew of injuries. These are all key reasons the team is 7-3. However, most know that the pillar around which all of this spins is the partnership between quarterback Caleb Williams and head coach Ben Johnson.

So far this season, the results have been mixed. Williams had 17 total touchdowns with just four interceptions, has only been sacked 16 times, and has five 4th quarter comebacks. He’s also only completing 59% of his passes and still tends to hold the ball longer than he should. Johnson has been careful about criticizing his quarterback too much, but some wonder what their relationship is like. Dianna Russini of The Athletic appeared on Hoge & Jahns to talk about it.

She revealed the thoughts of a top NFL general manager on the situation. He believes Williams is trending in the right direction. However, there is a concern about whether Johnson has the patience to let the process play out.

Caleb Williams isn’t in immediate danger, but the leash isn’t infinite.

His numbers aren’t actually that much better than they were last season as a rookie. His passing touchdown total is practically identical. The completion percentage is actually worse. You must remember that Johnson operates with a mathematical brain. He crafts plays that are meant to be run a very specific way. Having a quarterback who lets them break down because he doesn’t get the ball out on time must be frustrating. It feels like the Bears have left a lot of points on the field because of this.

The good news is that Caleb Williams has made significant progress in key areas. A big one is his pre-snap operation. He has a much stronger grasp of the offensive system, can identify what defenses are showing, and knows how to counter them. That was particularly apparent against Minnesota last Sunday. If he can become just a little less lenient on his mobility, things should start clicking.

Johnson is willing to be patient. Winning certainly helps. If that changes, it could lead to tension.

The Bears head into Sunday’s matchup with the Steelers carrying a lot of momentum, but this game has all the ingredients for chaos—and a few surprises. Here are three bold predictions for what could be a dramatic afternoon at Soldier Field.

1. Aaron Rodgers Suits Up—and Shines

It feels strange to even type it, but don’t rule out Aaron Rodgers playing on Sunday. By all accounts, he’s pushing hard to get back on the field, and no opponent motivates him quite like the Chicago Bears. If he’s active, expect vintage Rodgers: quick reads, precision throws, and just enough magic to remind Chicago fans why he’s long been their nightmare.

2. Caleb Williams Struggles

This isn’t about talent—Caleb Williams has all the tools. But something about this matchup feels off. Pittsburgh’s defense thrives on confusion and pressure, and my gut says this could be one of those rough outings where timing feels off and drives stall. Hopefully Williams proves this prediction wrong, but it has the makings of a frustrating watch.

Expect multiple turnovers on each side, and whichever team turns those mistakes into seven instead of three will walk away with the win. The Bears, unfortunately, haven’t been great in that department.

Final Score Prediction:

Steelers 24, Bears 23

When the Chicago Bears heard that Joe Thuney was available, they were shocked. Teams aren’t usually in the business of trading future Hall of Fame players. However, it was a unique situation with the Kansas City Chiefs. They were hard-pressed for cap space and needed it to secure some of their younger pieces. As a result, they were forced to trade the All-Pro guard. It was a no-brainer for the Bears. Not only would he lock down their troublesome left guard spot, but he’d also provide essential leadership in a room that hasn’t had enough.

Ten games into the season, Thuney has been everything the Bears could’ve hoped for. He’s been a brick wall in pass protection for most of the season and is a trusted mentor to younger players like Theo Benedet and Darnell Wright. Chicago’s offensive line is playing some of its best football in years. However, it doesn’t stop there. Head coach Ben Johnson and his staff have found another way to exploit Thuney’s presence. Adam Jahns of CHGO revealed that it comes from watching the guard’s film.

It is basically teach tape.

Blocking clips are shown in position meetings, as an offensive unit or, in some cases, to the entire team. The previous game is highlighted on Mondays during typical weeks but the clips don’t stop. More is presented during the installs that happen from Wednesday to Friday. It helps if some of the highlights include your current players. Thuney might not produce the same viral pancakes as his teammates but he remains a model for consistency and technique.

“It’s one of those things where we harp on all the details, like all the time with every position group,” Doyle said. “You don’t ever want to ignore it, because it’s such a huge part of what we do. And so anytime we have visual evidence of, ‘Hey, this is exactly what we want it to look like,’ we want to try to highlight that and paint that player in a positive light to his teammates and also maybe shape the way everybody else is thinking about how we might block a scheme or how we’re going to use a technique.”

Joe Thuney has a bright future as an offensive line coach.

The four-time Super Bowl champion already has a spot waiting for him in Canton after he retires. His mastery of the art of blocking is as good as you’ll ever see. Plenty of guys win with size, power, or athleticism. You always find that the best of the best are the technicians. They are fundamentally flawless. If the NFL ever made an instructional video, they would be the ones who would likely pop up in every example clip. It seems the Bears were smart enough to realize they should do exactly that with Joe Thuney.

You can’t say it hasn’t worked. The offensive line has gotten more fundamentally sound as the season has progressed. Watching Thuney operate on film every week would have that effect. You may not be able to emulate a guy’s power or quickness. There should never be an issue copying his technique.

One can only feel bad for Dennis Allen at this point. The Chicago Bears defensive coordinator thought he was inheriting a unit stacked with talent at all three levels. Yet the defense has been snakebit with injuries since before the season even began. Jaylon Johnson didn’t even attend training camp and has missed most of the year. Kyler Gordon only played in two games. Terell Smith is out for the season. Grady Jarrett missed time. Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner suffered season-ending injuries. It’s just one thing after another.

Sadly, the bad news won’t stop. Just when it looked like Johnson and Gordon were nearing a return, the Bears were hit from a different direction. All three of their starting linebackers have not practiced yet this week. Their status for Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers is feeling increasingly in doubt. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune offers pretty clear hints about which directions it’s trending. Put simply?

Best not wear your Tremaine Edmunds or T.J. Edwards jerseys to the game.

The Bears’ top three linebackers — Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards and Noah Sewell — were held out of practice Thursday for a second consecutive day, and the possibility Edmunds and Edwards will miss Sunday’s meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers at Soldier Field appears to be moving toward a likelihood. Sewell’s uncertain status adds to the dilemma.

Team officials haven’t speculated about the possible return of cornerback Jaylon Johnson (groin) or nickel back Kyler Gordon (calf) in time for Sunday’s game, but neither can be ruled out. That would provide the defense more options on the third level as things are getting thin at linebacker.

The multitude of linebacker injuries could push the Bears into a scenario in which D’Marco Jackson and rookie Ruben Hyppolite II start against the Steelers. That would create an entirely new set of challenges for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who has been juggling the lineup every week.

Dennis Allen faces a brutal task if this is true.

They had the 25th-ranked run defense in the NFL, even with Edmunds healthy in the lineup. Without him and Edwards, it threatens to expose them even further. Not only that, but the Steelers have found success frequently with their tight ends, Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington. There is no question that Aaron Rodgers will look to exploit those matchups at every opportunity.

It leaves Dennis Allen in a dilemma. How in the world does he counter such an approach? One possibility is to go heavy at defensive back with more dime packages. If Johnson and possibly Gordon suit up for this game, the Bears could run a defense with those two, Jaquan Brisker, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, and Kevin Byard on the field together. Brisker, Gordon, and Gardner-Johnson are all capable of acting as linebacker/defensive back hybrid.

They’d be giving up some size, but not too much in physicality, and would create more coverage problems for Rodgers. One can only hope the plan, whatever it ends up being, is good enough.

When Caleb Williams was building his legacy at USC, evaluators could already see similarities. The more you watched him play, the young quarterback emulated many of the qualities that eventually made Aaron Rodgers a superstar in the NFL. That shouldn’t be a surprise. Williams idolized the former Green Bay Packers legends. It’s only natural that he would craft his play style in a similar fashion. So far in 2025, Williams has made several plays that remind people of peak Rodgers. The ability to dodge pass rushers, make plays on the run, and deliver the ball to the right spot consistently. Ben Johnson agrees, yes?

Well…no.

The Bears head coach was asked about it during his recent press conference. While he didn’t go out of his way to insult Williams, he made it pretty clear the gulf between him and Rodgers remains significant. Like any good coach, he was quick to point out how that could change.

“Um, yeah, I’d probably, probably not right now. You know, I think he’s (Rodgers) elite right now at getting the ball out of his hands. I think he’s got the, if he doesn’t have the fastest snap to throw time in the league right now, he’s got to be close. So, he’s doing a really good job of spinning it out, he’s accurate. You know, I think our guy is the same way, but we probably hold on to it a little bit more. Just where we are in the offense, as we are learning and growing, I think we will gravitate more towards getting it out faster the more reps we have. But, yeah, the guy has done it like I said at a high level for a long time, so it’s a good guy to look up to.”

Johnson continues to prove he won’t offer praise where it’s not earned.

Williams has been solid this year. He’s thrown 13 touchdowns to just four interceptions. His protection of the ball is a big reason for the Bears’ ability to win tight games. Still, his completion percentage is hovering just above 59. That is far below the 70% goal Johnson established in the summer. The head coach revealed how he’s working to help his quarterback with that.

“This is speaking on quarterback terms – I don’t know if you can go 25 for 25 but I do know that you can go one for one each and every single time, 25 times. Just focusing on where we’re at … If we focus on that and go 1-0 each week, we’ll be exactly where we want to be.”

Ben Johnson won’t crown a player until they prove it.

That includes the quarterback. Like it or not, Williams hasn’t done anything in the NFL yet. He hasn’t made a Pro Bowl, won an MVP award, made the playoffs, won a playoff game, or won a championship. Rodgers did all of those things. Until the Bears quarterback starts checking off that list, it makes no sense for Ben Johnson to act like the two should be in the same conversation. That doesn’t mean the head coach isn’t in his quarterback’s corner. Quite the opposite. His entire goal is getting Williams to that same echelon.

What he’s trying to convey is that becoming like Rodgers takes hard work. It took the future Hall of Famer four years of relentless study and preparation before he emerged as an elite quarterback. People forget he wasn’t a completion machine early in his career. His first season saw him finish at barely above 63%. That should be the first reasonable goal for Williams to shoot for.

If there is one thing we know about the NFL, it is that they will jump at every opportunity they can get their hands on to feature the Chicago Bears. Even if there’s a slight indication the team might be good, the league does everything in its power to put them in premium television spots. That is the power of being in one of the world’s largest media markets. Sure enough, it felt almost inevitable that once the Bears got out to their 7-3 start this season, the NFL would take advantage by tweaking their remaining schedule.

News broke that Chicago’s big showdown with the Green Bay Packers on December 7th has been flexed from the noon slot to the 3:25 CT slot.

This is not a surprise. Bears-Packers has always been a major draw for ratings, even when one of the teams (mostly the Bears) was bad. Now that both appear to be good? This was almost inevitable. A late afternoon showdown between the NFL’s oldest rivals is an easy sell for national audiences. Caleb Williams returns to the place where he won last year. Ben Johnson vs. Matt Lafleur. The stories write themselves.

The Chicago Bears may not be done with the flexing.

Two other games could possibly see that happen. One is the other matchup against Green Bay at Soldier Field, which is also currently in the noon slot. The other is the season finale at home against the Detroit Lions. That might be the one to watch because, depending on how the next several games play out, it’s possible that game could decide who wins the division. There isn’t much greater theater than that.

The Chicago Bears have actually fared well in the premium slots this season. They beat Dallas and Las Vegas in later afternoon matchups and took down Washington on Monday Night Football. Their only loss was the Monday night opener against the Minnesota Vikings, which they should’ve won. That would suggest this team is much better playing under the lights than in years past.

The Chicago Bears no longer have the massive financial flexibility they had in the previous few years. That is the nature of a rebuild. Around the third or fourth year, the larger contracts start piling up. Now GM Ryan Poles must start navigating the salary cap with more caution. His biggest priority by far is deciding what to do with Darnell Wright. The team’s 10th overall pick from 2023 has blossomed into one of the NFL’s best right tackles. Through 10 games, he has allowed just 10 pressures. He’s also the 7th-highest-rated run-blocker among all offensive tackles.

Given how excellent the offensive line has been this season, it makes perfect sense for the Bears to get him locked down to a new contract. What isn’t certain is when that will happen and how much it will cost. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune offered a small update on that. The way things are headed, the likely outcome is that the Bears will exercise Wright’s 5th-year option in his rookie contract. That would be a formality, buying them time to hammer out an extension that will have a floor of at least $20 million per year.

Based on how he’s playing, the likeliest scenario for Wright is the team exercising the fifth-year option in his contract and then looking to hammer out a multiyear extension that could be finalized in the spring or over the summer. There won’t be any rush to strike a new deal, but the team can save a little money by doing a deal before the season starts, and Wright can lock up security.

You’re probably looking at a big deal too. It’s premature to speculate on numbers with seven games remaining, but just know there are six right tackles with an average annual salary of $20 million or more.

Wright’s contract situation will be the biggest piece of business for general manager Ryan Poles. After that, I’m not sure there is another player the team will want to pay.

Darnell Wright will be a costly investment, but well worth it.

Good-to-great offensive tackles are hard to find. He is proving to be one of them. Right now, the highest-paid right tackle in football is Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs at $28.125 million per year. As things stand, the likeliest outcome is that Darnell Wright will be sandwiched somewhere between Lane Johnson ($25 million) and Zach Tom ($22 million). Factoring in his lack of Pro Bowl nods and injury history, that feels like a good spot. He will still be a top-five tackle in money while the Bears don’t have to truly break the bank.

Once Wright is secure, the last remaining piece of business is finding a left tackle. Theo Benedet has been a quality run blocker for the Bears, but has clear weaknesses in pass protection. If the team doesn’t feel he can overcome them, then hunting for a replacement is a top priority this coming spring.