T.J. Watt is not only the type of player that opposing offenses have to gameplan for; He's one they fear. The 31-year-old is fully capable of singlehandedly wreaking havoc on an offensive line from the left side.
Luckily for Chicago, unlike some of the other pass-rushers around the league, Watt tends to only play on the left side. That means he'll predominantly be lining up Darnell Wright, who has established himself as a rising star at right tackle, more often than not. The matchup will be one of the top ones to watch throughout the game. Iron sharpens iron, and this will be a true battle of best on best.
Watt has had double-digit sacks and multiple forced fumbles in six out of the past seven seasons, and he only played in ten games in the outlier season during that span. He's also led the league in sacks three times and tied the all-time sack record by taking down opposing QBs 22.5 times in 2021. While some believe he might be slowing down with six sacks through the first ten games of this season (which is saying a lot), the advanced metrics indicate he's been just as dominant as ever.
death, taxes and tj watt making highly impactful plays https://t.co/ti9u9C4H7C pic.twitter.com/AAxjXZrIeq
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) November 13, 2025
Meanwhile, Wright has made the leap in a big way this season. He's developed into one of the league's best right tackles and seems to only be getting better as the season progresses, which makes sense considering he's playing alongside three new starters on the interior of the offensive line. While he struggled with pre-snap penalties early in the season, when he committed seven over the first four games, the 2023 first-round selection hasn't had one since the team's Week Five bye.
It's time to put Darnell Wright in that elite tierpic.twitter.com/p4lNDtJhKV
— Dave (@dave_bfr) November 3, 2025
This is an especially important opportunity for Wright. While Watt has already established himself as one of the league's premier pass-rushers, the 24-year-old is still in the process of cementing his status among the game's elite at the right tackle spot.
With the Bears rolling at 7-3 and consistently winning games at the buzzer, there's been much more national attention around Chicago than there was in Wright's previous two years in the league. He's certainly made the most of it. He's allowed only one sack and one QB hit in 600 pass blocking snaps this season.
Will he be able to neutralize Watt? Probably not. It will be by far his most difficult matchup of the season (since he was injured when the Bears took on the Raiders and Maxx Crosby), and Watt will almost certainly come out on top of a few reps. It would be naive to expect otherwise. However, slowing him down would go a long way in helping Chicago's chances to come out on top.
An All-Pro nod is well within Wright's reach if he continues playing at the level he has over the first ten games. With many eyes being on the matchup for the added Aaron Rodgers effect, this will be a perfect opportunity for him to make his case to the voters. He'll have to survive a date with a wolverine to prove whether he's worthy of the honor, though.
The game might start at noon, but it's a primetime matchup between two of the league's best at their respective positions.