After acquiring left guard Joe Thuney in an offseason trade with the Chiefs, the Bears counted on him to protect the quarterback and open holes in the run game.
The veteran left guard responded with a stellar season that earned him Pro Bowl honors for the fourth straight year. Thuney's elite performance and veteran leadership helped propel the Bears to the NFC North title with an 11-6 record.
"Joe has meant a lot to our offense," said offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. "He's meant a lot, both on the field with the offensive line being able to communicate and talk in the meeting room and things like that, and then also just his experience in the league."
Thuney's championship pedigree is impressive. Over his first nine NFL seasons with the Patriots (2016-2020) and Chiefs (2021-24), he won four Super Bowls, two with each team. He became the first NFL player to start in the Super Bowl in each of his first three seasons in the league with New England and remarkably went to the last three Super Bowls with Kansas City, playing in two and missing one with an injury.
Thuney's 21 career postseason starts are tied with Jon Runyan for the second most in NFL history by an offensive lineman behind Gene Upshaw's 24.
With the Bears winning the NFC North in Thuney's first year in Chicago, he has now played on nine division championship teams in 10 NFL seasons.
"This is a guy that has won," Doyle said. "There's been one season that he's been in the league that he hasn't won his division. It's a guy that's been in multiple successful organizations that knows what winning looks like. He's very open to sharing that with his teammates, and the guys are open ears when they have a guy like that with pelts on the wall."
Rookie tight end Colston Loveland described Thuney as a "very valuable" resource.
"Just the way he handles his business and does everything, you can tell that he's done it before," Loveland said. "I look up to that guy a lot. He's the definition of a vet and a pro in my opinion."
With the Bears preparing for Saturday night's wild card battle against the Packers at Soldier Field, Thuney has advised his teammates about the importance of preparation and treating the game like any other.
"You've got to take this week day-by-day," he said. "Everyone knows it's a huge game and it's a great experience and everything, but at the end of the day we're still playing a football game. It's still 60 minutes, same football dimensions. So, once you get in the rhythm of the game, just go with it."
Thuney feels that the Bears embody some of the same characteristics as the championship teams he played for, beginning with their selflessness.
"It doesn't matter who gets the yards or touchdowns or who has good stats or who doesn't," Thuney said. "All that matters is that we want to win. It doesn't matter how we win, what it looks like. Offense, defense, special teams; we're a whole unit going after them. Each game's different, but everyone wants to play for each other, and I think that kind of theme has been constant."
