Olin Kreutz has been among those who haven’t stressed much about the Chicago Bears‘ left tackle situation. In his mind, you get what you pay for. If your lowest-paid player is your left tackle, you should expect the performance to be less than ideal. The bigger issue is whether the highly touted players, such as high draft picks or pricey veterans, are performing. That is why you should be focused on Darnell Wright, Joe Thuney, and Drew Dalman. However, Kreutz wasn’t surprised by the Bears’ decision to bench Braxton Jones in favor of Theo Benedet.

He told 670 The Score that the embattled left tackle wasn’t doing himself any favors in recent weeks. The pass protection issues were well-documented, but it was likely the three mistakes Kreutz saw in the run game against Las Vegas that got him pulled. While he doesn’t think Benedet is a huge improvement, there are a few things the second-year tackle does that convinced the Bears to give him this opportunity.

He’s better with timing silent counts and is more efficient in the running game. Whether that is enough to keep the job remains to be seen.

Theo Benedet has some issues to fix.

The primary concern with him coming out of college was his length. While he has good size, his arms are under 32 inches long, which is painfully short for an NFL tackle. That meant if Theo Benedet was ever going to survive, he needed excellent technique. Kreutz claims he has a consistent problem with ducking his head. Doing that can lead to serious issues because it makes it impossible to react to fakes, stunts, or other movements and limits the ability to adjust the block. Smart pass rushers feast on tackles who do that.

Benedet is a tough, strong, and determined blocker. What he wasn’t coming down from Canada was polished. His progress since last season can’t be understated. There is a reason Ben Johnson trusts him to take over such an important spot. However, this doesn’t mean Benedet will hold it for long.

Everybody remembers how divided the fanbase was. The Chicago Bears held the #1 pick again. It was believed they would take a quarterback. However, several people thought it was a bad idea. Justin Fields won seven games in 2023. The team seemed to respond to his leadership well. Better to trade the pick again for an enormous haul and build the roster around him. GM Ryan Poles never really took that option seriously. He had his eyes set on USC phenom Caleb Williams. Fields was eventually traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Fast forward a year and things have changed. Williams is showing rapid signs of growth under new head coach Ben Johnson. Meanwhile, Fields has quickly discovered the Shakespearean tragedy of being a quarterback for the New York Jets. His rock bottom arrived on Sunday. Not only did the Jets lose 37-22, but Fields played poorly against the NFL’s worst defense. Ironically, it’s the same unit run by his former head coach, Matt Eberflus. Don’t be fooled by the decent stats.

Most of them came in the 4th quarter when New York trailed 30-6. Fields was ineffective all day against the same defense Williams torched for four touchdowns two weeks ago.

Letting Justin Fields go was difficult. It was also correct.

The Bears had already seen what can happen when you cling to a quarterback for too long despite mounting evidence that he wasn’t good enough. It happened with Mitch Trubisky in 2020. Instead of going for options like Jordan Love or Jalen Hurts that year, they stuck it out with him one more season. That is how they ended up with Justin Fields the next year. It could’ve happened again in 2024 had the Bears chosen to bypass Williams for one more year with Fields. Poles had no intention of passing on that opportunity. He’d seen two years of Fields. That was enough.

Time will tell whether Williams morphs into one of the best quarterbacks in football. One thing is clear. He is an upgrade over Fields. He’s a better passer, protects the ball more effectively, and performs significantly better in crunch time. Imagine where this team would be now had they waited even one more year.

At first glance, the Chicago Bears don’t have a good defense. They are 18th against the pass, 32nd against the run, and are 25th in points allowed. There are some reasons for this. Multiple starters have missed significant time with injuries since the season began. Kyler Gordon and T.J. Edwards have yet to play this season. Jaylon Johnson is on injured reserve. The same goes for key pass rusher Austin Booker. On top of that, Dennis Allen arrived with a new scheme that they’re trying to learn. Yet despite all of that, something weird is going on.

As of the beginning of week five, the Bears have the league’s top defense on third down. Opponents are converting only 29.27%. That is far better than last year’s 37.56%. It gets better. A new metric was released, showing a graph that displays a team’s blitz percentage and their pressure rate. Not only are the Bears the least blitz-happy team in the NFL, but they also rank just above average in pressure rate. This is despite them having only seven sacks in four games.

How is Allen doing this?

Dennis Allen is working some dark magic right now.

He’s missing several key players, and the best ones still on the field aren’t producing. Montez Sweat has one sack in four games. Dayo Odeyingbo has had a hot and cold season. Even Jaquan Brisker hasn’t made any impact plays since he returned from his lengthy concussion absence. Many feared after the 52-21 demolition in Detroit that this defense was headed for the worst in franchise history. Instead, Dennis Allen somehow made adjustments. The unit is far from great, but they find ways to make plays in key moments. They have eight takeaways in the past two games and have really stepped up in the second halves. It would be great if things were better all around, but what Allen is accomplishing right now should be deeply appreciated.

Matt Eberflus has a case for being the worst head coach in Chicago Bears history. Sure, others like Abe Gibron and John Fox had worse win-loss ratios, but those guys also had mostly atrocious rosters and/or quarterbacks. Eberflus had two 1st round picks at quarterback to work with and a roster that included a solid defense and some capable weapons on offense. Even average head coaches would’ve at least been able to produce one winning season. Not Eberflus. That is why he became the first head coach in Bears history to get fired midseason. Ben Johnson arrived a few months later to replace him.

Nothing could sum up this transition better than what happened last Sunday. Johnson helped engineer a 4th quarter comeback to topple the Raiders in Las Vegas. While it was ugly, the win put Chicago at 2-2 at the bye week, giving them a chance to build momentum. What many didn’t realize about that game is what it represented. That was the first time since December 26th of 2021 that the Bears had won a Sunday game on the road. Johnson had done that in a month. Eberflus had failed to achieve the same in three entire seasons.

Ben Johnson already has the team pointed in a better direction.

Eberflus was bad all around in his time with Chicago, but nothing sums up his tenure better than his 4-23 record on the road. There was not a safer bet on the planet than picking the Bears to lose when they were away from Soldier Field. That is the sign of a mentally weak football team. Those 4th quarter collapses were just the signs that drew headlines. Anybody who’d paid closer attention would’ve seen the problem far earlier. Watching Ben Johnson lead this team, made up of mostly the same players, to a go-ahead TD drive and then a field goal block to win it felt surreal. Having seen that movie end so many times with heartbreak under Eberflus, fans weren’t sure how to feel.

The win itself doesn’t drastically change their fate, but it signals how much better the franchise is without Eberflus on the sidelines anymore.

The epidural had done its job.

In October 2024, my back stopped working, and a herniated disc was causing a series of spasms down my left leg that rendered me basically immobile. (I had a cane!) After a series of useless doctor visits, and 22 minutes in an MRI machine that caused me more pain than I thought I could physically endure, the Hospital of Special Surgery in NYC finally got me onto the table and got that sweet, sweet medical nectar injected in my spine. By the end of the month, when the Bears traveled to DC to face the artists formerly known as the Redskins, I could walk. Not well, mind you. But better. Which is a good thing, because the awful building currently housing the Commanders is seemingly miles from the closest train station.

That game was one of the strangest experiences of my life as a sports fan. We had to abandon our (expensive) seats because, for some reason, nobody sits down at Commanders games. (And I couldn’t physically stand for three straight hours.) We ended up watching the game on concourse TVs, where our viewing pleasure was complemented by a stream of drunken Washingtonians picking fights with one another. (And not a normal amount of drunken squabbling. Four straight quarters of it.) The comeback by the Bears that day was remarkable, and it’s been forgotten entirely. That comeback put a charge into every Bears fan in the building. When the Hail Maryland happened, I didn’t see it. I heard it. I looked over at Noah, co-founder of DaBearsBlog, and said, “After all that?” I limped back to the subway, the pain growing with each step, thinking what we just watched was the strangest game of the season. But not thinking it was any more than that.

I didn’t know about the Tyrique Stevenson video. Not until later that night, when I saw it on a muted TV as I was slamming down overpriced Stellas with a fella named Billy Beavers at the Hotel Salamander’s bar, where I had spent most of the evening pretending to be a pharmaceutical salesman from Parsippany, NJ. (I’ll save that for another column.) When I saw that video, I knew the game went far beyond “strange” status. The season, and Stevenson’s career, were irrevocably changed.

Ben Johnson was not there. One of the recuring themes we’ve been hearing since the summer – mostly from the players themselves – is about a change of culture at Halas Hall. The old culture, the recent H.I.T.S. nonsense (which I believe stood for Here Is Trite Shite), was summed up in the final moments of that game in the D.C. suburbs last season. The Flus play call before the final throw. Stevenson taunting the crowd instead of, you know, playing in the ongoing game. Several defensive backs in position to end the game, and nobody does. The Bears of recent years have been about slogans. They have been about trying to convince us that everything is fine, even when the results depict a different story altogether. The only Ben Johnson slogan I’ve heard is “not good enough.” It is pretty damn refreshing.

Next Monday night in D.C. won’t be a determinative result for the 2025 campaign. If the Bears lose, all hope is not lost for meaningful football at the end of the calendar year. If they win, they’re not guaranteed a spot in the tournament. But it is, definitively, an opportunity. To rebound from two opening losses with three straight wins. To show this is a new group, a new era. And for Tyrique Stevenson, a player who has been shockingly good to start this season, a chance to firmly purge the memory of that afternoon in 2024.

Of all the stories emerging from these first four games of 2025, Stevenson is perhaps the most surprising. Fans (and media, to an extent) are so quick to call for the excommunication of players that do not meet their arbitrary standards of excellence. One mistake, even a significant, visible, dramatic one, is grounds for dismissal. It would have been very easy for Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen to see Stevenson’s 2024 tape, to look at that video from D.C., and think it wise to move in a different direction; see him as a symbol of the past regime’s ineptitude and ship him elsewhere. They didn’t. They coached him up. And after a rash of injuries to the secondary, they have found themselves relying on Stevenson even more. Their confidence in the player has been rewarded. All Tyrique has done is play the position at a Pro Bowl level.

Tyrique should embrace this coming week, and the inevitable questions. He shouldn’t run from past mistakes; he should embrace him. November 2024 in D.C. is part of his story, the hurdle he has overcome, the villain he has vanquished. Mistakes are made every day in the world of sport. Watching athletes overcome them is why we watch.

Many believed Tyrique Stevenson’s career in Chicago ended in D.C. last season. Ben Johnson did not. A big night back in the capital next Monday could cap off one of the more remarkable redemption stories this organization has witnessed in my lifetime.

Editorial Note: DBB will be taking the next week off and returning with an audio monologue on Tuesday October 14. (Barring anything happening that requires a serious column.)

Picking a quarterback isn’t just about identifying the right talent. Timing can also play a huge part in finding the right guy. For years, the Chicago Bears have always seemed just a little too early or late to the party. They drafted Jim McMahon a year before John Elway, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly entered the NFL. They drafted Rex Grossman a year before Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger arrived. Then they drafted Justin Fields a year after Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and Jalen Hurts came in. That is why it felt somewhat fortuitous that the Bears managed to land the #1 overall pick in a year many felt the draft class was deep in talent. That is how they ended up with Caleb Williams.

While his rookie season was rough to watch at times, Chicago’s young quarterback has matured rapidly over the past few months. Since November 24th, he has 19 touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 96.2. He also has two 4th quarter comebacks in his last five games. It’s looking more and more like he is a keeper. What makes drafting him look even better is how iffy the landscape of young quarterbacks has been after that year. Early returns from the 2025 class are meh. Cam Ward doesn’t look great in Tennessee. Jaxon Dart won his first start, but hardly carried the load. Nobody else has remotely stood out.

If that weren’t enough, the 2026 class is looking even worse based on the latest evidence.

• Drew Allar – Just lost to winless UCLA
• Arch Manning – Lost to 1-3 Florida and has 5 INTs in five games
• Garrett Nussmeier – Pedestrian stats and ugly game in loss to Ole Miss
• John Mateer – Injured
• LaNorris Sellers – Looked inconsistent all year with losses to Vanderbilt and Missouri

The Bears’ selection of Caleb Williams was a remarkable case of timing.

Don’t forget they had a chance to shoot their shot a year earlier in 2023. GM Ryan Poles chose to pass, trading the #1 pick to Carolina. They took Bryce Young, who is 7-25 as a starter with an 80.8 passer rating since the start of his second season. C.J. Stroud has had more team success, making the playoffs in back-to-back years, but his productivity has cratered since mid-October of last season. He has 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in his last 15 games. Caleb Williams has soundly outplayed both of them.

Poles deserves plenty of blame for Chicago’s continued struggles with winning football games. He has made lots of mistakes. However, it appears he may have picked his moment to grab a quarterback perfectly. Based on the information we have, 2024 was the absolute ideal time to take a swing. Every other year he’s been on the job has produced underwhelming classes. It looks like 2026 will be no different. Maybe karma was on the Bears’ side for the first time in decades.

One great thing about football is it can manufacture some amazing stories practically out of thin air. Often, when you least expect it. Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall probably thought they’d never play together again after they were separated in Denver. Then the Bears got the bad back together in 2012. The Bears lost a game to Washington 7-3 in 1940 and were called crybabies by the opponent’s owner afterwards. Sure enough, they met again in the championship game and the Bears throttled them 73-0—pure poetry. There are many nuances like that across the past century.

It appears another one fell into the Bears’ lap without the organization ever realizing it. Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times stumbled onto it last month. Apparently, three members of the Bears roster were childhood friends. Not only that, but three members of the Bears’ starting offense. Wide receiver D.J. Moore and running back D'Andre Swift hung out together as kids for years in Philadelphia. Olamide Zaccheaus later joined them during their middle and high school years.

Small world, indeed.

Every morning when Bears wide receiver DJ Moore and running back D’Andre Swift see each other at Halas Hall, they instantly get a read on each other’s mood without saying hardly anything.

They grew up together in the Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia and know each other well enough to have an entire conversation through facial expressions…

…Not only have he and Swift gotten to play together for the Bears, but they also brought in wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus this season. Zaccheaus grew up just across the Delaware River in New Jersey and ran track against Moore — “DJ was slow as hell,” he said — and played with Swift at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School. All three were on the same seven-on-seven team.

This trio has a chance to do something special with the Chicago Bears.

All have had what can best be described as adventurous careers. Moore and Swift were traded by their original teams. Zacchaeus wasn’t re-signed by his. They remained productive anyway and drew enough interest from the Chicago Bears to earn roster spots. Now all three are starting for the same team. Try to imagine how cool this story would be if they led the organization to its first winning season in seven years—no doubt they’d gain plenty of stature in the eyes of fans. There is tons of work to do.

Moore is off to somewhat of a slow start this season, at least for him. Swift hasn’t found any traction on the ground. Zacchaeus has filled his role well, even if the numbers aren’t anything interesting. The Bears are 2-2, and it looks like quarterback Caleb Williams is maturing rapidly. If those three do their jobs, this offense should experience serious growth over the next two months.

Ryan Poles knew what needed to happen when he took over the Chicago Bears in 2022. The roster was old, expensive, and nowhere close to competing for a championship. If the new GM wanted to change that, he’d have to bite the bullet. That meant unloading everything that wasn’t nailed down and starting from scratch. The only way to make this team competitive was by building a strong foundation of young, cheap talent and helping them grow. That meant stocking draft picks and using them. No more trading them away in expensive bold moves like Ryan Pace did.

Everybody remembers his words at the opening press conference that year. They’re seared into the brains of Bears fans across the country.

“What am I about and what’s my philosophy? We’re gonna build through the draft. We’re gonna acquire young, fast and physical football players. We’re gonna be selective through free agency. And we’re gonna connect evaluation with valuation. We’re gonna have a relentless approach to fix our weaknesses. We’re gonna make … great self-awareness of who we are. We’re gonna solve problems with open communication and candor. And we’re gonna consistently put players in positions to succeed.”

Four years later, those words come across as nothing more than fancy lip service. Poles failed to keep his word in every regard. Rumors are that he doesn’t operate with open communication or candor. He hasn’t been “selective” in free agency and hasn’t fixed the team’s weaknesses. Worst of all, he hasn’t built through the draft. A new graphic showing how many homegrown players each organization has on its roster says it all.

Ryan Poles has fallen into the same trap as his predecessors.

As of the time of writing, 29 players on the current roster did not start their careers with the Bears. Ryan Poles has drafted 34 players to date. Ten of them are no longer on the team. Another 15 are backups. Only nine are current unquestioned starters. None of those nine have made a Pro Bowl. While there is a strong possibility these numbers will change in the near future as several current picks mature, the fact is Poles has not put together a strong enough roster despite four drafts and 11 picks in the 1st and 2nd rounds.

This is not a man who has operated with limited resources. He’s had more than enough swings to put together a competitive team. Pace ran into the same problem. The only reason it didn’t show sooner was that he managed to score some high-quality veterans, such as Akiem Hicks and Khalil Mack, to fortify the defense. Poles has not been nearly as fortunate. His lone saving grace right now is the maturation of Caleb Williams at quarterback. That is his only lifeline, and in all honesty, it shouldn’t be enough to justify keeping his job.

The Chicago Bears have a few moves they could look to make before the trade deadline, and one of the most obvious positions to address is running back. There are several potential options, but most would have to be initiated by GM Ryan Poles—unless he decides to wait until closer to the deadline, which is still a month away.

However, a few teams have already started to wave the white flag, and one of them is the 0-4 New York Jets. Enter star running back Breece Hall. According to Bleacher Report, the Bears should look to the trade market soon to fix their backfield issues—and Hall could be the perfect target.

With the Jets off to a rough start under new head coach Aaron Glenn, they’ve quickly fallen out of contention. That could open the door for players on expiring contracts, like Hall, to be moved. For Chicago, this deal would be a massive addition to the backfield alongside D’Andre Swift.

Here’s what the trade could look like:

Chicago Bears receive: RB Breece Hall

New York Jets receive: 2026 third- and sixth-round draft picks

If that’s all it takes to land Hall, it would be an absolute steal for Chicago. The Bears need more explosiveness on offense, and Hall is as electric as they come—even with his injury history.

Insider Believes Chicago Bears Have A Shot At Star D-Lineman