The Chicago Bears will get a chance to take a break and evaluate where they are four games into the season. The team has an early Week 5 bye, but it might come at a perfect time after the up-and-down start in Chicago.

It felt like the Bears experienced a full season in the first four weeks of head coach Ben Johnson’s tenure. After a 0-2 start with tough NFC North losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, Chicago recovered with a big win over the Dallas Cowboys and a close one at the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Bears practiced twice this week and looked at what worked and what didn’t early. The early bye week also gave some of Chicago’s starters time to heal up.

The bye week is a great chance to take stock of the team. Shaw Local Bears beat reporter Michal Dwojak and Northwest Herald sports reporter Joe Aguilar are handing out their progress report grades four weeks into the season. Here’s what they’ve seen so far.

Quarterback

Dwojak: B+

It didn’t look pretty during the first couple of weeks. He still misses some obvious throws. But quarterback Caleb Williams is steadily progressing in Johnson’s offense and could live up to being the former No. 1 overall pick a year later.

Aguilar: B

After a rough opener against Minnesota, particularly in the second half, Caleb Williams has shown progression. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week after his performance against Dallas, and his best is yet to come.

Running backs

Dwojak: C-

The running attack hasn’t shown much during the first four weeks. Lead running back D’Andre Swift hasn’t been bad, but there’s not much production from a running back room that just seems to be him and rookie Kyle Monangai for now.

Aguilar: D

Revamping the interior of the offensive line in the off-season should have translated to a better running game. It hasn’t happened yet. D’Andre Swift has been OK, but ignoring the need to upgrade the depth here has been costly.

Tight ends

Dwojak: C

Chicago hasn’t gotten much out of this group, but that’s because of injury and playcalling. Johnson didn’t use the group much in the passing game during the first two weeks, then rookie Colston Loveland injured his hip in Week 3.

Aguilar: C-

Cole Kmet had a stinker against the Raiders, dropping a laser from Williams inside the 10 and committing two false starts. His heir apparent, Colston Loveland (the 2025 10th overall pick), has flashed but hasn’t been on the field enough.

Wide receivers

Dwojak: B+

Rome Odunze is turning into Williams’ No. 1 option while DJ Moore, Luther Burden III and Olamide Zaccheaus have each come up with big plays early.

Aguilar: B+

Rome Odunze has caught a TD pass in all four games, and his ascent has coincided with Caleb Williams’ progression. They are the future. DJ Moore has been reliable, not surprisingly. Luther Burden III needs more touches.

Offensive line

Dwojak: C-

Too much inconsistency from this group that features three new starters. It doesn’t help that it doesn’t seem the Bears found their starter at left tackle.

Aguilar: C-

The Bears brought in three veterans in the off-season and spent the 56th pick on gigantic OT Ozzy Trapilo, who has yet to establish himself. The pass protection has been better than last year, but this group needs to run-block much better.

Defensive line

Dwojak: D

This grade might be too nice. There’s been almost no pass rush four games in and the run defense isn’t better.

Aguilar: F

The Bears have five sacks (1.25 per game). Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo are being paid big dollars to get to the QB, and neither is delivering. The run defense has been equally bad.

Linebackers

Dwojak: C

Noah Sewell has played well in place of an injured T.J. Edwards. Tremaine Edmunds has made an impact in a couple of games so far.

Aguilar: C

T.J. Edwards is missed. Tremaine Edmunds has been a tackling machine and had two interceptions against Dallas. He’s been better than last year.

Secondary

Dwojak: B-

The first two games weren’t pretty for this injury-depleted group. But the unit bounced back in the past couple of games, forcing turnovers.

Aguilar: B

Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon haven’t contributed because of injury, but Tyrique Stevenson and Kevin Byard III have shined the past two games.

Special teams

Dwojak: C

Kicker Cairo Santos rebounded after a bad start to the year, while punter Tory Taylor hasn’t proven why he was worth a fourth-round pick in last year’s draft.

Aguilar: C+

Cairo Santos bailed out the offense with four long field goals against the Raiders, after a poor start to his season. Did you hear about Josh Blackwell’s blocked kick?

Coaching

Dwojak: A-

It hasn’t been perfect with a 2-2 record. There have been plenty of mistakes. But there’s a difference in the Bears culture, and that’s a credit to this coaching staff.

Aguilar: B+

The Bears haven’t controlled either line of scrimmage in any game, and yet are 2-2. Credit to head coach Ben Johnson, who’s still learning, and his staff.