The Chicago Bears put up a dominant, physical performance against the Philadelphia Eagles on Friday.

Chicago’s offensive line paved the way for a big day for the team’s running attack. The Bears rushed for 281 yards, just three yards shy of breaking their season-best performance. Rookie running back Kyle Monangai led the way with 130 rushing yards while D’Andre Swift wasn’t too far behind with 125.

It was a performance Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson had hoped for after their offseason moves. The Bears traded for guard Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson a week before free agency started and then signed the top center available in Drew Dalman.

The Bears’ offensive line has passed the eye test and looked dominant. But the statistics also back it up. So 13 weeks into the season, do the Bears have the best offensive line in the NFL?

Here’s a look at the numbers and what they tell us about this season’s Bears offensive line.

Amongst the best

Chicago’s offensive line has played a major role in the team winning nine of its last 10 games.

The Bears’ top-six rushing games have all come after the team’s Week 5 bye when it felt like the unit started to jell together. Meanwhile, five of quarterback Caleb Williams’ top-six passing performances also came after the bye with better protection from the unit.

Not surprisingly, it took some time for the offensive line to come together during the first four games of the season. It usually takes a bit whenever there’s a new head coach who brings in a new system and coaching staff. The Bears also inserted three new starters and had a competition for most of training camp to find out who would be the left tackle.

But once the Bears figured it out, it’s worked just as well as Poles and Johnson hoped.

Chicago ranks amongst the best-graded offensive lines in the NFL through 13 weeks, according to Pro Football Focus. The Bears are third overall in pass blocking with a score of 72.1 and fourth in run blocking with a 76.3. They’re the only team to be top-four in both categories.

Those grades are reflected in the statistics the Bears have put together on the field. Chicago has the second-highest rushing yard average per game at 153.8. While the Bears’ running success has involved scheming from Johnson and buy-in blocking-wise from the tight ends and wide receivers, the offensive line has been the catalyst to its success by creating open lanes for its rushers.

PFF also ranks the Bears highly in another one of its categories that’s important for Williams. Chicago is second in pass blocking efficiency with a rating of 87.9. The score is the website’s signature stat that measures pressure allowed on a per-snap basis with weighting toward sacks allowed.

These numbers are just one way to measure how successful the Bears offensive line has been. But it provides good insight into how well-regarded the unit has been this season.

Breaking down the Bears’ top performers

Behind those top unit grades are some of the NFL’s best individual performances.

Dalman leads the group of starters with the best overall grading according to PFF. He ranks second amongst centers who’ve played at least 20% of the season’s snaps with an 82.1. Dalman is fifth in run blocking (82.9), sixth in pass blocking (75.2) and has allowed 14 quarterback hurries and one sack, which is tied for 17th.

Thuney has also brought his Hall-of-Fame worthy play to Chicago this fall. He leads guards who’ve played 20% of the snaps as the top-graded pass-blocker with a score of 85.9. He’s tied for 10th with Bears right guard Jonah Jackson with a 74 overall score and Thuney hasn’t allowed a sack and given up nine hurries.

Wright has also taken a big step in his third season after being selected No. 10 overall. He’s graded as the 14th overall tackle who’s played 20% of the snaps with a 78.5 score. Wright’s run-blocking has been featured in the offense and he’s 10th according to PFF with a 80.3 rating. He’s also allowed one sack and 11 hurries, tied for 18th.

It takes a village

While the offensive line has gotten deserved credit, it’s also had some support.

The biggest aid has come from the tight end position. Both Cole Kmet and rookie Colston Loveland have been used in run-blocking and some pass-blocking to create lanes for running backs and offer support for Williams. Loveland ranks 14th amongst tight ends who’ve played 20% of the season’s snaps with a 68.9 grade run-blocking grade. Kmet is 17th as a pass-blocker at 73.9.

Chicago’s wide receivers have also bought into Johnson’s “no block, no rock” mantra. Rome Odunze ranks 24th as a pass-blocker (67.6) while Olamide Zaccheaus is 28th (66.2). DJ Moore is 50th as a run-blocker (59), the highest amongst Bears starting wide receivers.

Protecting Caleb Williams

A major goal for revamping the offensive line was to protect Williams after teams sacked him a team-record 68 times last season. It’s safe to say that’s been a major success.

Teams have sacked Williams 19 times this season, which puts him on pace for 26.9 sacks this season. Williams’ 19 sacks is tied for 20th amongst all quarterbacks this season. This year’s No. 1 overall pick Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward lead the league with 48 sacks taken.

Williams has shown growth by getting out of trouble either by throwing the ball away or running away. The Bears’ offensive line has played a role in the drastic shift. Starters have allowed eight sacks, five quarterback hits and 89 hurries.

Who’s at left tackle?

If there’s one uncertainty about the Bears offensive line, it’s the left tackle spot.

Braxton Jones started the season as the starter for the first four games of the season before Theo Benedet took over. Then second-round draft pick Ozzy Trapilo stepped in for an injured Benedet and earned the start against the Eagles once Benedet was healthy. Meanwhile, the Bears placed Braxton Jones on injured reserve at the end of October.

Johnson will need to decide whether to keep Trapilo at left tackle or bring Benedet back into the role. The two are fairly evenly graded in the pass-blocking. Benedet is graded 57.7 while Trapilo is listed at 57.4. But Trapilo has been a stronger-rated run-blocker at 67.8 compared to Benedet’s 61.4.

The Bears’ offensive line has performed well whether Trapilo or Benedet are at left tackle. But Johnson will want a consistent starter during the final five-game stretch of the regular season.