The Chicago Bears have a fatal flaw — the offensive line doesn’t appear capable of keeping rookie QB Caleb Williams upright.
The implications of that concern are far-reaching and could include problems as severe as a major injury to Williams and/or the impeding of his development as potentially one of the better signal-callers in the NFL over the next few years. There is little the Bears can do in the short-term to fix the problem other than hope that their opponents’ best edge rushers play poorly or come up lame.
As it turns out, Chicago’s offensive line was gifted the latter on Tuesday, September 17, with news that Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner is headed to the injured reserve list (IR).
“The #Colts placed DT DeForest Buckner on injured reserve,” Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reported via an X post. “He’s out at least four games.”
Buckner suffered a severe ankle sprain in Indy’s Week 2 matchup with the Green Bay Packers and while X-rays were negative, the results of an MRI led the Colts medical team to shelve the defensive tackle for at least the next month.
Buckner tallied 2 QB hits and 1.5 sacks through his first two games of the season, per Pro Football Reference. For his career, the Colts DT has amassed 163 QB hits, 81 tackles for loss and 62.5 sacks. He has earned Pro Bowl honors three times and All-Pro honors twice during his nine-year career.
Bears QB Caleb Williams Has Been Hit 15 Times in 2 Games
GettyHouston Texans defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter sack Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams.
Chicago has allowed 9 sacks of its rookie quarterback through the first two games of the season as well as 15 quarterback hits, including 11 QB hits to the Houston Texans alone in Week 2.
That pace is unsustainable and may call for the Bears to keep extra blockers in on pass downs, including tight ends, fullbacks and/or running backs committed solely to pass protection.
Chicago will undoubtedly invest financial and draft capital into the offensive line next offseason, but the coaching staff simply must get better production from the front it has now with 15 games remaining on the regular-season schedule and high hopes for the offense throughout the fan base.
Bears Offensive Line Has Been Bad Across Board Pass Blocking for Caleb Williams
GettyChicago Bears left tackle Braxton Jones.
Three of Chicago’s starting offensive lineman are below average through two games, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), including both starting tackles in Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones.
PFF ranks Wright 50th out of 68 players who qualify at the position, while Jones is 44th. Right guard Nate Davis, who has garnered criticism from within the organization for his lack of practice work ethic, ranks 49th out of 68 qualifying guards after Week 2.
PFF ranks Teven Jenkins 22nd at the guard position, while Coleman Shelton is the 12th-ranked center out of 33 qualifiers. However, both men have pass blocking grades in the mid-50s, which is well below average for their positions.
Meanwhile, Ryan Bates is on IR with a shoulder injury and hasn’t been great when he has been on the field this season. Chicago doesn’t have a lot of depth to which it can turn on the roster, either. The team selected rookie left tackle Kiran Amegadjie out of Yale in the third round — the only offensive lineman it drafted in 2024.
Like Heavy.com’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy.com
The post Bears’ Beleaguered O-Line Catches Big Break Ahead of Week 3 appeared first on Heavy.com.