The Chicago Bears extended their season with a comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night, but lost in the euphoria was a season-ending injury to left tackle Ozzy Trapilo. Trapilo was injured just after the final two-minute warning in Saturday’s game, and things got worse when head coach Ben Johnson announced that he suffered a torn patellar tendon in his postgame press conference.
While the injury could also impact Trapilo’s availability for the start of the 2026 season, the Bears have an immediate problem as they prepare to host another playoff game in the divisional round of the playoffs. Out of the most likely outcomes, it feels like Theo Benedet could get the start, and his deficiencies could be weak enough to cut the Bears’ Cinderella story short.
Theo Benedet Could Make Bears Pick Their Poison After Ozzy Trapilo Injury
The Bears’ left tackle position has been a carousel since the start of the season, with Bendet becoming an unexpected participant. While Trapilo and Braxton Jones battled through training camp, Bendet got run as the starting left tackle beginning in Week 4 and held onto the job until he missed a Week 12 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
With eight starts to his name, Bears fans have a pretty good idea of what to expect if Benedet moves into the starting role. From Week 4 to 12, Benedet was respectable in the running game with a 60.7 run-blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus. But his pass-blocking was a problem as he allowed 22 pressures and two sacks on 281 pass-blocking snaps.
In addition, Benedet was prone to mental errors. His seven penalties during that stretch were tied for the league lead with Cam Robinson, and that’s even more concerning when Robinson was an emergency option for the Cleveland Browns after his release from the Houston Texans earlier this year.
This creates a situation where the Bears have to pick their poison. Benedet is solid in the running game, but his issues in pass protection could be a major issue. Chicago could also turn to Jones, but he’s been even worse with a 47.2 run blocking grade and 15 pressures and two sacks allowed on 136 pass-blocking snaps this season. The added risk that Jones could aggravate his knee injury gives Benedet the inside track to start, but it doesn’t mean there won’t be a drop off from what they were getting from Trapilo.
It makes a bad injury situation even worse and could lead the Bears down a bad path as they look to parlay Saturday’s victory into a run to the Super Bowl.