Bears offensive line continues to show its mettle

Lake Forest, Ill. – At the height of training camp in mid-August, Chicago Bears rookie Ozzie Trapillo was out of competition to be the starting left tackle. According to general manager Ryan Poles, after being in a battle for several weeks, which also included three others, the second-rounder was “out of whack”, and was struggling to adjust to a position where he had not played since 2022.

The Bears moved Trapillo back to his home base at right tackle, where he logged 1,467 snaps during his final two seasons (2023–24) at Boston College. Hitting a rookie wall didn’t mean his chances of playing left tackle were over, but the 6-foot-8 lineman needed a reset.

So for the past three months, the Bears cross-trained Trapillo at both left and right tackle behind respective starters Theo Benedette and Darnell Wright.

When Benedette suffered an injury during practice on November 20 and was forced to miss Chicago’s 31–28 win over Pittsburgh, the Bears were confident in Trapillo’s preparation, even as his first NFL start came against a Pittsburgh defense that entered Week 12 with the most pass-rush wins in the NFL (145).

“You just have to prepare like you’re going to be the starter,” Trapillo said. “That’s the process I follow every week, just in case. You never know what’s going to happen. The preparation is exactly the same.”

The benefit of that preparation? Trapillo allowed one pressure in 65 snaps.

“They haven’t lost a win there,” coach Ben Johnson said. “The communication between him and (left guard) Joe (Thuney) was really good. I think he did a good job whenever he had a slow ball to pull out, so he was helping out, being solid on the inside and letting the guys on the outside do their thing. A complete understanding of the game plan and what we’re trying to do. It’s a great start for him moving forward.”

Trapillo’s development is a bright spot for the Bears’ offensive line, which underwent a major rebuild in the offseason, and he’s not the only rookie who had to step up in adversity in Week 12. When Jonah Jackson suffered an eye injury and exited the game before returning in the third quarter, sixth-rounder Luke Newman filled in at right guard for 20 snaps.

The Bears’ offensive line came away from the Steelers game with an 85% pass block win rate, their second highest rate in a game this season. Pittsburgh was able to pressure quarterback Caleb Williams on only eight of his 37 dropbacks (22%), the lowest rate Williams has faced in a game this season. It’s a credit to the pass protection in front of the 24-year-old quarterback, Williams was 1 of 6 for 4 yards under pressure and all three of his touchdown passes – which came from clean pockets in the middle of the field – came without pressure.

“Guys did a great job running great routes and they did a great job on the O-line,” Williams said. “That one sack was on me, but they did a great job of protecting me against that D-line.”

Trapillo and Newman were part of an offensive line overhaul that began a few weeks into Johnson’s tenure as head coach. To create the type of unit that fueled his offenses during his three seasons as offensive coordinator in Detroit, Johnson began building from the inside out through trades for Thuney and Jackson and the signing of center Drew Dallman in free agency last March.

What was once a serious weakness on the Bears’ offense is now arguably the team’s strongest unit. According to ESPN Analysis and Next Gen Stats, Chicago leads the league with a 73% pass block win rate this season and is fifth in run block win rate (73%).

“I think more than anything it’s probably just their abuse,” Johnson said. “They definitely understand the schemes we’re running at a high level. We try to help sometimes with our running backs or our receivers or our tight ends, whether it’s presence or chips and tackles, to be as solid as we can be on the edges.”

Some plays demonstrate that better than a designed run to Williams on fourth-and-1 from the Bears’ 39-yard line in the second quarter. Williams gained 8 yards after making a strong wall on the interior of the O-line, while Cole Kmet pinned Pittsburgh linebacker Nick Herbig, who was lined up directly at the tight end.

Along with running back D’Andre Swift laying down a block on the outside, the protection around Williams led to a conversion on the play and an 11-play drive that ended with Williams finding rookie tight end Colston Loveland for a 12-yard touchdown.

The Bears offensive line also deserves credit for forcing Steelers defensive tackle Jack Sawyer to jump for offsides in the third quarter. Dallman timed his snap effectively so Williams could take advantage of the free play and find wide receiver DJ Moore for a 25-yard touchdown.

“I think everyone should have a good implementation knowing what’s going to be fixed, whether we broke it or not,” Dallman said. “Then it’s a good job by Caleb to sell it throughout the game. It’s not like, it happens in one play, but it really establishes the rhythm of the game and things like that throughout the game. Great job by him and great job by the guys responding.”