68 sacks allowed on Williams \u2014 only David Carr (76) and Randall Cunningham (72) had worse single-season beatdowns.<\/p>\n
27 different starting OL combos. That\u2019s not a line \u2014 it\u2019s speed dating.<\/p>\n
Ranked 24th in PFF\u2019s OL grades, which somehow felt generous.<\/p>\n
Finished dead last in total offense.<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t just a weak link \u2014 it was an entire chain snapped in half.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/most-sacks-by-a-quarterback-in-a-season-973x580.png\")
<\/p>\n
Top 5 most sacks by a quarterback in a season (NFL History)<\/p>\n
Enter Joe Thuney: The Best Damn Guard in Football<\/p>\n
Joe Thuney isn\u2019t just a nice addition. He\u2019s the gold standard of pass-blocking guards.<\/p>\n
The resume (PFF):<\/p>\n
4\u00d7 Super Bowl champ (Brady and Mahomes era)<\/p>\n
2\u00d7 First-team All-Pro, 3\u00d7 Pro Bowl (2022-2024)<\/p>\n
80+ PFF pass-block grade since 2021 \u2013 #1 among guards<\/p>\n
Allowed 1 pressure in 316 snaps from Weeks 5\u201312 in 2024<\/p>\n
Missed only 2 games in 9 seasons<\/p>\n
This dude\u2019s a human firewall. He doesn\u2019t just hold the line \u2014 he erases defenders from tape. His 2024 tape with Kansas City was so clean, you could eat off it.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Joe-Tuneys-PFF-Pass-Blocking-Grades-2021-2024-777x580.png\")
<\/p>\n
Joe Thuney\u2019s PFF Pass Blocking Grades from 2021 \u2013 2024<\/p>\n
Jonah Jackson: Ben Johnson\u2019s Prodigal Son<\/p>\n
Now let\u2019s talk Jonah Jackson. His 2024 stint in L.A. sucked \u2014 no denying it. He got shoved into a center role he never played and predictably floundered. But under Ben Johnson in Detroit? Different beast.<\/p>\n
The highlights (PFF):<\/p>\n
Pro Bowl in 2021 (under Johnson)<\/p>\n
Started 57 straight games (2020\u20132023)<\/p>\n
Only 2 sacks allowed in 928 pass-blocking snaps (2022\u20132024)<\/p>\n
When playing guard, his pressure rate was top-tier.<\/p>\n
Jackson isn\u2019t a reclamation project \u2014 he\u2019s a proven player misused by a team that didn\u2019t know what the hell they were doing.<\/p>\n
Why This Duo Matters More Than You Think<\/p>\n
PFF nailed it when they said the NFL lacks elite guard tandems. Here\u2019s what Chicago now has:<\/p>\n
Thuney\u2019s rock-solid floor + Jackson\u2019s high ceiling<\/p>\n
System fit with Ben Johnson<\/p>\n
Immediate stability for Caleb Williams<\/p>\n
Compare this with the rest of the league:<\/p>\n
TeamGuard DuoCombined PFF GradeBearsThuney + Jackson81.1 (projected)FalconsLindstrom + ???74.7BrownsBitonio + Teller (aging)70.3LionsGlasgow + replacement-level68.9Chiefs (post-Thuney)Smith + Rookie65.2<\/p>\n
Everyone else either has one star or two decent starters. Nobody\u2019s got two guys who\u2019ve both played at an All-Pro or Pro Bowl level in the last four years, per PFF.<\/p>\n
Chicago Put Its Money Where Its Mouth Is<\/p>\n
The Bears didn\u2019t just luck into this. They committed real capital:<\/p>\n
Thuney: 2-year, $35M extension ($17.5M AAV, $33.5M guaranteed)<\/p>\n
Jackson: Traded for a 6th-rounder and signed through 2027<\/p>\n
Total OL Investment in 2025 FA: ~$50M<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not patchwork \u2014 that\u2019s a damn renovation.<\/p>\n
What It Means for Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson<\/p>\n
This is about more than pass protection. This is about unlocking the #1 overall pick\u2019s potential and letting Ben Johnson run his wide-open system without watching his QB die on every other drive.<\/p>\n
Williams now has:<\/p>\n
A clean pocket to work from<\/p>\n
Leadership and communication from two veteran guards<\/p>\n
Scheme continuity with Johnson + Jackson familiarity<\/p>\n
If the Bears fail now, it won\u2019t be because the interior line couldn\u2019t hold up.<\/p>\n
Final Verdict<\/p>\n
When PFF crowned the Bears\u2019 guard pairing as the best in the NFL, they weren\u2019t hyping Chicago \u2014 they were stating the obvious. You\u2019ve got the best pass-blocking guard alive and a Pro Bowl-caliber talent returning to a coach\/system where he thrived. That\u2019s not projection \u2014 it\u2019s precedent.<\/p>\n
For a franchise that\u2019s mostly bungled offensive line decisions for the last two decades, this feels different. It\u2019s smart. It\u2019s strategic. And it might be the most important thing the Bears have done to protect their investment in Caleb Williams.<\/p>\n
So yeah, PFF got it right. Chicago has the best guard duo in the league. And for once, the Bears didn\u2019t screw it up.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let\u2019s get this out of the way: the 2024 Chicago Bears offensive line was a flaming dumpster. Caleb…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158849,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,692,391,2493,7,1814,2550,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-158848","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-bears","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-bears","11":"tag-chicagobears","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-joe-thuney","14":"tag-jonah-jackson","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114747216270792159","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158848\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}