The Chicago Bears won for the seventh time in their last eight games to improve to 7-3 and take the lead in the NFC North on Sunday. Despite an impressive winning streak, the Bears haven't been particularly impressive offensively. They squeezed by against the Giants and the Vikings, while putting up fewer yards than their opponents in back-to-back weeks.
The bigger problem facing the offense is the passing game rather than the rushing attack. One of the main reasons has been the play of the offensive line, most notably Theo Benedet. The undrafted Canadian has been excellent as a run blocker but struggles in pass protection, as highlighted by Dhruv Koul of Sports Mockery. Benedet allowed a sack and a QB hurry in 37 pass-blocking snaps on Sunday, per Pro Football Focus. He also had a penalty call against him, finishing with a 63.8 offensive grade on PFF.
Benedet Will Face a Gauntlet of Pass Rushers in Bears' Next 4 Games
This was still a step in the right direction for Benedet, who had one of his weaker games against the Giants in Week 10. Since taking over as the starter at left tackle in Week 6, Benedet has shown flashes but has been inconsistent. He initially offered stability to a key position that has been at the center of the discourse for Bears fans since the start of the season. His emergence out of nowhere was a nice Cinderella story, but things have soured in recent weeks.
Even before the Vikings clash, Benedet had allowed nine pressures on 85 pass-blocking snaps in the prior two games. This was especially evident in "true passing sets" as defined by PFF, in which Benedet allowed eight pressures in 35 such snaps against the Bengals and the Giants.
This presents a problem for Benedet over Chicago's next four games. The Bears are set to face off against the Steelers, Eagles, Packers, and the Browns over the next month. These are all matchups against elite pass rushers like T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons, and Myles Garrett. In fact, the Steelers and the Browns rank in the top five in sacks, and the Eagles have a much better pass rush since the trade deadline after the acquisition of Jaelan Phillips.
If Benedet can hold his own in these matchups, the left tackle job will be his to lose. If he continues to give up pressure, there will increasingly be calls about the need to replace him with Ozzy Trapilo. This next stretch of games will be critical not only for Chicago's playoff hopes, but also for Benedet's future with the Bears.