Windy City Gridiron
The NFL season is an evolving state of affairs, and week 13 finds your 8-3 Chicago Bears as the #3 seed in the NFC Playoff race with a visit to the City of Brotherly Love on Black Friday to face the defending Super Bowl champs and #2 seed Philadelphia Eagles.
In this weekly series, I’ll be featuring one player from each team on each side of the ball who I believe to be integral to their respective team’s success. It’s not always about the quarterback or superstar defensive players like Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt. Importance is all relative, and while the “star” players are obviously important each week, this series will also highlight some of the other guys.
Because let’s face it, often, the unsung players are just as critical to the team’s success.
Here are the players that I will be keyed in on in this one.
Just last week on Bears Over Beers I mentioned Dalman as my favorite OL addition this last off-season. While Joe Thuney has continued playing at an All-Pro level, Dalman has stabilized the Center position for the first time since the prime Roberto Garza years, who took over for Olin Kreutz. We are talking at least 10-15 seasons of mediocre Center. Cody Whitehair was a better Guard than Center but had issues snapping the ball. Hroniss Grasu, Sam Mustipher, Lucas Patrick and Coleman Shelton have each had their shots at the pivot for The Beloved in that timeframe. But it’s been a long time since we have seen the level of play we are seeing from Dalman this season, ranking in the top 5 of most Center metrics so far in 2025.
Week 13 will be his biggest test yet with 6’6”, 340+lb DT Jordan Davis and 6’3”, 315lb 3T Jalen Carter. Between those two players alone, Dalman will have to deal with immense size, insane athleticism, and some blue-chip talent to go with it. How he fares up front will be critical in determining how we move the ball on offense. Look for #52 on Black Friday to provide the biggest bargain of the day with his 3 year $42 million contract. If he can, Bears win. If not, Bears lose in my opinion.
Through the first 11 games of the season, Dexter has already tied his career high for TFL and FR and is 1 sack away from his career high (5). With 11.5 total sacks so far in his 2+ seasons, Big Dex has the same amount of career sacks as the aforementioned Jalen Carter, who was taken in the first round of the same draft, 9th overall, with the selection the Bears traded back from with the Eagles to then select RT Darnell Wright with the 10th selection. Dexter was taken 44 spots behind the Eagles’ DT, but the Bears were in need of a DT then and still...
