Von Miller is one of the greatest pass rushers of his generation. The eight-time Pro Bowler is one of the few defensive players in NFL history to win a Super Bowl primarily because of his individual play. He will end up in the Hall of Fame after he retires, most likely on the first ballot. Another thing about his storied career? He’s rubbed shoulders with several excellent quarterbacks. It began with Peyton Manning in the early 2010s, with whom he won his first Super Bowl. Then he teamed up with Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles in 2021. After leaving the Rams the next year, he spent three seasons watching Josh Allen morph into an MVP in Buffalo. It’s no surprise he avoided the Chicago Bears during most of his career.

That is why it was interesting to hear his assessment of Caleb Williams. The 36-year-old is now a member of the Washington Commanders, who play the Bears on Monday night next week. He was asked about Williams and what to expect. It turns out Miller has been a big fan of his dating back to his college days at Oklahoma and USC. He believes the Bears found themselves a special talent.

The Chicago Bears can trust Miller at his word.

Maybe he’s just trying to avoid saying anything controversial, but the star pass rusher has always been somebody honest with his thoughts. He is one of the few who had the guts to say Tom Brady is not the greatest quarterback in NFL history, despite the seven Super Bowls. If he had little respect for Williams, he wouldn’t have said those things. Of course, that won’t stop Miller from trying to humiliate the Chicago Bears quarterbacks at every opportunity Monday night. He remains a dangerous pass rusher, boasting three sacks and five QB hits in the first five games this season. Williams must be careful about getting the team into long down-and-distance situations. No doubt, head coach Ben Johnson will want to run the ball effectively in this game. If the game can be kept close, Miller’s assessment may prove prophetic.

The Detroit Lions were not going to draft a quarterback in 2024. They had Jared Goff, who was a Pro Bowler. Still, smart teams always do their homework. Ben Johnson spent time that spring looking into the top quarterbacks of that class. He immediately knew it would be one of the strongest in years. The two names at the top were Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. Johnson had no idea at the time, but he would end up coaching one of them less than a year later.

Johnson was asked about his assessment of Williams during that pre-draft process. He didn’t mince words. The Chicago Bears head coach saw a great athlete who could escape trouble better than anybody and boasted elite arm strength. Williams was one of the biggest reasons Johnson wanted the Bears job.

While he was interested in Caleb’s talent, Johnson knew he’d have to determine if the quarterback had the intelligence and work ethic to reach his full potential. In their few months together, the head coach has gotten everything he could’ve asked for. Those rumors of possible tension between the two appear dead.

Ben Johnson is developing Williams in the exact areas needed.

He knew from the start that scrambling and improvisation were nothing to worry about. Caleb has a natural instinct for that. Few quarterbacks can do what he does. Ben Johnson knew his goal was to teach Williams the finer points of the position: pocket awareness, footwork, timing, pre-snap reads, post-snap reads, and knowing when to get rid of the ball. These were all major issues last year, which led to 68 sacks and way too many stalled drives. Williams has exhibited significant growth in only the past month, drastically increasing his sack avoidance and playing much smoother from the pocket.

That Johnson has managed to get this much so quickly should tell you how bad the coaching was last season. It feels like the two are great for each other. Things will only get better as Williams’ mastery of the offense grows. If they figure out the running game along the way? Look out.

Back in the 2024 NFL Draft, there were several quarterbacks who sparked first-round discussions. Caleb Williams, however, was the consensus No. 1 overall pick, though some teams and scouts considered Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye to be stronger prospects.

Here are the first six QBs drafted, listed in the order they were selected.

This draft class clearly has a lot of talent and the potential to be truly great. During his Wednesday press conference, Ben Johnson called it one of the better classes in recent years. Naturally, he was asked to compare Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels ahead of their Monday Night matchup.

Johnson said it’s standard to evaluate all the QBs in a draft class, but he added that he wouldn’t have come to Chicago if it weren’t for Williams. “Williams is everything I wanted him to be so far,” Johnson said. He also noted that both QBs are dynamic and share similar traits, calling them “two ascending quarterbacks in this league that we’re going to talk about for a long time.”

Johnson emphasized the importance of the upcoming game, noting that a win would reinforce the team’s belief that they can compete in and win big games.

As the Bears return from their bye week, they’re set for a big-time Monday Night Football matchup against the Washington Commanders. It’s a rematch from last season — a game Chicago lost in dramatic fashion after a last-second Hail Mary that the Commanders converted because of a defensive breakdown.

One player especially eager for redemption is cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. He went viral last year for taunting Commanders fans on that final play and was late to his assignment to defend the tipped pass in the end zone. But since then, Stevenson has matured — and his play has taken off.

With Pro Bowl corner Jaylon Johnson sidelined and Kyler Gordon also missing time (though expected back Monday night), Stevenson has stepped up in a big way over the past two weeks:

• 12 targets
• 3 receptions allowed
• 6 yards allowed
• 1 interception
• 3 pass breakups
• 1 forced fumble
• 1 fumble recovery

In a recent interview with Kevin Byard, Stevenson shared that he’s embraced that low moment from last year and used it as motivation — determined not to be defined by it.

What’s crazy is that everyone wanted to move on from Stevenson after the Hail Mary debacle. But Ryan Poles kept believing in him. The Bears didn’t cut him—they let him learn and grow from it, and now it’s really starting to pay off.

His growth is showing both on and off the field. If he can make an impact Monday night — this time for the right reasons — it’ll be another strong step in rewriting his story and proving just how valuable he’s becoming for this Bears defense.

The Chicago Bears had a rather different approach to the 2025 draft than many were expecting. Expectations had been they’d focus on upgrading the trenches and running back. However, they pulled a swerve by selecting a tight end (Colston Loveland) and a wide receiver (Luther Burden) with their first two picks. It wasn’t until their third selection that they finally looked to the offensive line. Yet even this was a surprise. Their choice was Ozzy Trapilo from Boston College. While no one disputed his ability, the pick was odd because he had been exclusively a right tackle throughout his career. The Bears, of course, already had a right tackle, Darnell Wright.

It didn’t make sense. Why take a right tackle when you already had one? You could’ve targeted other positions of more pressing need. The Bears ultimately allowed Trapilo to compete for the left tackle spot, but it didn’t work out. At last, head coach Ben Johnson revealed what many had theorized for months during his Tuesday press conference. While discussing what Trapilo’s role could be on Monday night in Washington if Wright misses another game due to his elbow injury, he admitted the primary motivation for the pick was simple, if hard to understand for fans.

Depth and competition.

Ozzy Trapilo was too talented to pass up.

Big tackles with his pass protection skills are difficult to come by. Draft experts felt that with some added weight and some refinement in his technique, he would develop into a quality NFL starter. In the meantime, he would make a perfect swing tackle who can step in when needed. Johnson and GM Ryan Poles know one fundamental truth about the NFL. It is a league of attrition. Injuries occur every year, and the offensive line is often the area where they are felt the most due to the sheer physicality involved. Having quality depth in that area isn’t just beneficial, it’s imperative.

Plenty of people will disagree. You don’t spend 2nd round picks on backups. You spend them on guys you think will be starters. While that is a perfectly logical mindset, the reality is 2nd round picks fail far more often than anybody wants to admit. Only 31% of them pan out to become anything in the league. You always want them to thrive, but few things are more important to an organization than great depth. If that is the role for Ozzy Trapilo, at least for now, the Bears deserve some credit for keeping that perspective.

After all, having him on the roster already proved beneficial when he stepped in against Las Vegas. His play was a key part of their eventual victory.

The Chicago Bears have a long history of great rushing attacks. One can imagine players from those eras aren’t happy watching this iteration of the team. The Bears have struggled to run the ball effectively all season. They’re 31st in the league through four games. Nobody is more upset about it than head coach Ben Johnson. He has stated his dissatisfaction about it every chance he gets. This shouldn’t be a surprise. Running the ball was part of his core identity during his run with the Detroit Lions. It is the essence of his playbook. Not being able to run has limited what the Bears can accomplish.

However, his opinion on why it hasn’t worked contradicts that of everybody else. Most believe the Bears have a running back problem. D’Andre Swift hasn’t taken full advantage of his opportunities due to his poor vision and inability to break tackles. Kyle Monangai and Roschon Johnson can’t do much better because of a lack of speed. In reality, Johnson believes the problems lie elsewhere. He explained during his Tuesday press conference.

“Our guys are going to be fine. It’s not always the runners — it’s everybody. It’s the quarterback carrying out his fake, it’s the receivers blocking down the field, the tight ends doing their job and same thing with the offensive line.”

Analytics people disagree with Ben Johnson.

ESPN released its updated data on run-block win rates for every team. They have the Bears listed as #1 in the NFL. In other words, their blocking has been the best of any team through the first month of the season. Guard Joe Thuney and center Drew Dalman both rank in the top 10 among run blockers. This means one of two things. The tracking data is mistaken, or Ben Johnson is lying.

Why would he do that? The answer isn’t that difficult to discern. He is covering for his players. By dismissing the idea that the running backs are the problem, he spreads blame to the entire offense and keeps the microscope off Swift and the others.

It is difficult to know the truth. Johnson understands the last thing he needs is controversy being stirred up with the trade deadline approaching. Swift needs to stay focused on what could be the most important stretch of the season.

The Chicago Bears‘ offense has been a mess for most of the past decade. Probably longer if we’re being honest. It has either been unmanned from a talent perspective or poorly coached in that time. Head coach Ben Johnson was hired primarily to fix the latter, as the team felt they’d finally addressed the former. He spent months evaluating where the issues were with the team last year. Obviously, the offensive line was a big part of it. That is why the Bears spent considerable money bringing in veterans like Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, and Jonah Jackson. However, Johnson noticed there was another issue. One that had a cascade effect on everything else. Caleb Williams revealed what it was before the team’s bye week.

“Once we get our first down, that’s when we start rolling,” Williams said Tuesday. “That’s within each drive. That’s something that we’re conscious of, something that we’re working our tail off to be at and get to, is to get that first first down each and every single time we go out there.

“From there, everybody gets into a rhythm, gets rolling.”

The Bears had serious issues last season with not staying on the field. They were 31st in 3rd down conversions. They had 47 drives that went three-and-out—three plays and a punt. That doesn’t include turnovers and drives briefly extended by penalties. This year, they’ve jumped to 6th in 3rd down conversions. Keep in mind this is despite having the 24th-ranked rushing attack and serious concerns at left tackle. There is legitimate improvement in this area.

Caleb Williams can see Johnson’s logic.

Ask any expert who knows the game down to the fundamentals. They will all tell you that this sport is won and lost at the highest level on 3rd down. Look at last year’s Super Bowl champions. Philadelphia was 11th on offense and 8th on defense. The previous year, Kansas City ranked 6th on offense and 5th on defense. In 2022, they were 2nd on offense and 22nd on defense. History shows you must be good on both sides of the ball or great at one of them to win a championship in this league. The Bears are 6th on offense and 1st on defense so far this season. That is a big reason why they’ve managed to rebound from their brutal 0-2 start.

If this trend can hold the rest of the season, they might achieve their first winning record in seven years. Johnson deserves credit for getting this team to execute better in such important situations. Caleb Williams is at the forefront of it.