Matt Eberflus, for all his flaws, is one of the better defensive coaches in the NFL. He’d put together a pretty good defense for the Chicago Bears during his tenure, even though things fell apart last season. When Dennis Allen arrived this year, he was tasked with picking up the pieces and building on what Eberflus had done. One of the toughest jobs was overseeing the development of younger players. Gervon Dexter already has 2.5 sacks through five games, putting him on pace for a career high of eight. Tyrique Stevenson has played some of his best football over the past few weeks. Noah Sewell has become a solid starter at linebacker. However, the biggest stunner has to do with a name everybody forgot.

Everybody had thought Dominique Robinson was a lost cause. The former 5th round pick out of Miami of Ohio had 1.5 sacks in his first game as a pro. Then he had just a half sack all the way through the 2024 season. Most expected him to be cut by the end of training camp this year. It was a shock when Allen chose to keep him around. Five games into the season, Robinson has 1.5 sacks and is fourth on the team with six QB pressures despite playing only 49 snaps.

Did Allen manage the impossible?

Dennis Allen is no stranger to developing lost causes.

John Jenkins had done little as a rotational backup defensive tackle for New Orleans in two years. When Dennis Allen arrived in 2015, he posted a career high 49 tackles and became a reliable run defender. That helped sustain him enough to draw interest from other teams, and he’s had a 13-year career to date. Allen also helped rescue the floundering career of cornerback Eli Apple, who’d had a rough exit from New York. The Bears’ defensive coordinator has proven many times that he can get the most out of a player, even if they might’ve struggled before his arrival. Robinson will probably never be an elite pass rusher, but his progress from where he was a year ago is hard to ignore.

Getting anything out of him should be considered a miracle. Fans wrote him off several months ago. If this upward trend continues, he might be one of the best comeback stories in recent memory.

Star power is what drives success in professional sports. The last two times the Chicago Bears were truly competitive football teams, they had plenty of it. We all remember the 1980s teams with a bevy of future Hall of Famers like Walter Payton, Dan Hampton, Jimbo Covert, Mike Singletary, and Richard Dent. Then, in the 2000s, the team featured Brian Urlacher, Devin Hester, Charles Tillman, Lance Briggs, and Olin Kreutz. For years, GM Ryan Poles has tried to build a strong roster. While he’d found some good talent, nobody had stepped up to that star level.

Until now.

There were signs, even dating back to last year, that the Bears had something special brewing with Darnell Wright. He played really well down the stretch. However, the mayhem around him on offense made it difficult to single out. This year, there are no further doubts. Wright has emerged as one of the best offensive tackles in the league. He ranks first with only four pressures allowed this season among tackles who have played at least 50% of their team’s offensive snaps. If that weren’t enough, he also ranks fourth among all tackles in run-blocking.

He is a complete player and a dominant one.

The Chicago Bears are finally seeing some of their planted seeds sprout.

Wright is the first notable draft pick to emerge as a legitimate stud. Gervon Dexter might not be far behind. He has 2.5 sacks in five games, putting him on pace for another career high of eight this season. That is excellent for a defensive tackle. Then you have Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze, both steadily ascending in their second year. Bit by bit, you’re starting to see a core of young talent emerging. The unusual aspect for the Chicago Bears is that it appears to be centered on offense, which goes against the franchise’s tradition. Normally, it’s been focused on the defensive side.

If things continue to progress as they have, this team will be something to reckon with in the near future. Luther Burden already looks like a strong pick this year. Two or three more quality additions next offseason, and the Bears will enter the NFC contention picture. It seems fitting that Wright, their first offensive line selection in the 1st round in a decade, will lead the way.

Contrary to popular belief, not every beneficial thing that happens during a game results from a smart decision by the head coach or quarterback. They rise from unintended mistakes. The draw play, now a staple of NFL offenses, originated from a situation where a Cleveland Browns running back accidentally stumbled before a handoff, freezing the defense and leading to a long gain. Ben Johnson’s famous Stumblebum trick play was inspired by Jordan Love stumbling after a snap against the Bears and hitting the resulting pass for a big gain. Caleb Williams prefers to avoid moments like that.

However, the young quarterback nearly ran into a disaster on Monday night. Washington had just gone up 24-16. The Bears were teetering on the edge of losing the game. They needed a score. Everybody remembers what happened next. On 3rd and 4 from his own 45-yard line, Williams hit D’Andre Swift on an outlet pass, and the running back took it 55 yards for a touchdown. The play saved the game for Chicago, and the quarterback admitted to Adam Jahns of CHGO that he came dangerously close to screwing it up.

Quarterback Caleb Williams admitted after the game that he “messed up” the play call.

“So great job to the guys, getting lined up in that situation and us being able to get something off and great job to Swift, ran a great route,” Williams said. “His eyes got around and had a lot of space. I wanted him to get the ball early so he could make a play in space, which he does best.”

When did the Bears get the play right?

“We ended up fixing it when the ball got snapped,” Williams said.

Caleb Williams showed his awareness and composure in that situation.

It is fair to wonder if he’d have had the wherewithal to make that last-second adjustment a year ago. Odds are he would’ve run the wrong play, it would’ve misfired, and the Bears would’ve had to punt. Caleb Williams didn’t panic. He recognized the problem, quickly got the offense into the right play, and knew exactly what he wanted to do at the snap. Washington was crowding the line of scrimmage. D.J. Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus were bunched together on the left. That meant Swift would have some space to work with if he got the ball quickly enough. Hence why Williams made sure to unload it immediately.

No moment better epitomizes his growth as a quarterback. Good ones can see the game at high speeds before the snap. Williams didn’t let his initial blunder spiral out of control. He trusted the play call, got the alignment right, and put the ball where it was supposed to go. Touchdown. That play reversed momentum in an instant, giving the Bears just enough of a window to steal the game a few minutes later.

The Chicago Bears haven’t been mentioned much regarding the trade deadline, at least at the national level. Part of that is probably the uncertainty with their record. They started 0-2 and only now reached 3-2 after three consecutive wins. They look like a team poised to go on a run with a slate of winnable games lining up for the next month. It isn’t unreasonable to think a calculated trade might give them some extra juice. The question is how aggressive GM Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson want to be.

Information on that is uncertain. Some believe Johnson isn’t ready for such moves this early into his tenure. Others think his desire to win now might push Poles to make a move. As always, it comes down to the right opportunity. If the Bears don’t want to get too aggressive, Bill Barnwell of ESPN believes there may be a potential bargain worth exploring. It would involve unloading one of their former mainstays in exchange for some much-needed help on the defensive line.

The idea seems sound.

Raiders get: OT Braxton Jones
Bears get: Edge Tyree Wilson

Jones would step in at left tackle on an emergency basis for the Raiders, who are going to be without Kolton Miller for an extended period of time after he suffered a serious ankle injury in that loss to the Bears. Stone Forsythe has been at left tackle and allowed sacks and quick pressures in each of his first two games. He’s not a viable solution. The Raiders have another option in third-rounder Charles Grant, but he is more of a developmental player and hasn’t played a single offensive snap so far in 2025. It’s unclear if the Raiders can or will actually trust him to protect Geno Smith, who needs more help up front…

…With their pass rush managing just seven sacks through five games, the Bears need to add more help. Their expensively assembled edge rush duo of Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo has more roughing the passer penalties (two) than sacks (one) this season while playing starter workloads. Adding Wilson would be taking a swing on a dynamic prospect who just turned 25 in May. At the very least, Wilson might reduce the workload of the starters, helping to keep them fresh for passing downs. He’s owed $4.2 million in guaranteed money next year and has a potential fifth-year option available in 2027, though it would take a dramatic turnaround for the Bears to pick up that year given Wilson’s existing form.

Wilson would be the type of player Ryan Poles has liked.

History shows he prefers bigger guys with long arms and power, as evidenced by Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter, and Dayo Odeyingbo. Wilson very much fits that mold, standing at 6’6 “, 275 lbs, and boasting 35-inch arms. The former 1st round pick hasn’t lived up to his lofty draft status in Las Vegas, but he’s been fairly productive. Last season, he had five sacks and 37 pressures. This year, he has two sacks and 11 pressures, with eight of them coming in the last three games. Not only that, but he’s shown considerable progress as a run defender as well.

Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen would know exactly how to use him. He deployed players of his type for years in New Orleans. If the Raiders feel Braxton Jones could help them, it’s not a crazy idea. It would be an unfortunate end for him in Chicago, but it would open the door for him to get back on the field. Meanwhile, Wilson joins a defense that fits him better.

Beating the Washington Commanders is not easy these days. They have a great head coach and a talented young quarterback. Reaching the NFC Championship last year didn’t feel like a fluke. That meant the Chicago Bears needed to play a smart football game to win. That has not been their style for years, largely due to the questionable competency of their coaching staffs. However, Monday night showed that things have changed in the past several months. It feels like, for the first time in ages, the Bears have intelligent individuals running the show.

Few things are more important in the NFL than adjustments. Going into the bye week, it was evident the Bears had two problems. They couldn’t run the ball well and couldn’t stop it either. That meant head coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen had to find solutions. On Monday night, they rolled them out against the unsuspecting Commanders.

It started with Johnson.

Self-scouting is a vital component of good coaching. It appears during the bye week that he recognized the problem with the Bears’ rushing attack. They can’t run inside well. So, they switched to attacking the edges in Washington. Of the eight runs of 7+ yards they had on the night, all eight were either outside zone or toss plays.

The Chicago Bears weren’t done there.

Allen had some adjustments of his own. However, his weren’t schematic. They were personnel-driven. It involved multiple position switches for key players. Most notably, he had linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards switch spots. For years, Edmunds had been the middle linebacker, and Edwards played the weakside. That changed Monday night. The two combined for 22 tackles and were essential to slowing down one of the NFL’s best rushing attacks. If that weren’t enough, Allen also deployed rookie Shemar Turner at defensive end, which was a change from his usual defensive tackle spot.

These adjustments were logical and effective. They were also something previous Bears staffs would’ve overlooked or outright ignored. They would’ve been too stubborn to change. Johnson and Allen aren’t about that life. They are only interested in what wins the football game. It seems their homework during the bye week was wasted.

The nerves were palpable among Chicago Bears fans going into Monday night. They still had night terrors from the last time their team visited Washington to play the Commanders. What should’ve been their fifth win of the season became one of the great disasters in modern franchise history. Matt Eberflus’ blown call that gave up 13 free yards. Tyrique Stevenson jawing at fans during the final play. Jayden Daniels hits Noah Brown for the Hail Mary—game over, and in hindsight, season over. Chicago only won one more game after that fiasco. However, Caleb Williams didn’t see it as a life-altering experience. He saw it as unfinished business.

That game should’ve been a signature moment for him. Nobody remembers how he overcame a rough performance to lead the team on a 72-yard drive with four minutes left to score the go-ahead touchdown. Instead, it was a comedy of errors that became Daniels’ launch point. Going into the rematch, Williams had something to prove. He didn’t just want to win. He expected to win. Don’t believe it?

Cameras captured a moment just before the game, showing the quarterback waiting in the tunnel. He was calmly chewing gum. At one point, he glanced right into the camera and nodded. It was a fourth wall break that told everybody he had things under control.

Caleb Williams’ steadiness was evident all night.

He didn’t have a perfect game. There were some missed opportunities and lulls. However, the Bears’ young quarterback never seemed to fear the moment. The situation certainly did everything possible to change that. Bad weather made passing the ball difficult. The referees made some horrible calls to rob Chicago of points. Washington led a furious comeback to take what felt like a crippling 24-16 lead.

To his credit, Caleb Williams didn’t flinch. He quickly answered with a touchdown to make it 24-22, then after a defensive takeaway, guided the offense to a game-winning field goal. He’d told everybody with that nod. Everything would work out. Just trust him. That marked the sixth time Williams had tied or taken the lead in a game during the 4th quarter.