The Chicago Bears have strung along a four-game win streak and own a 4-2 record on the season. Last week, the Bears decided to make some changes along the offensive line and started Theo Benedet at left tackle.
Benedet started on the left side for the second straight week, but took a step back against the New Orleans Saints. On Monday, head coach Ben Johnson spoke about it. When talking to the media, he said, "Its inconsistent to say the least." Johnson highlighted the two false starts that Benedet got called for and some of the problems he had in the run game.
These problems for Benedet only translate as good news for Braxton Jones, who was benched in week 5.
Theo Benedet’s Week 7 Problems Are Good News for Braxton Jones
In the contest against the Saints, Benedet finished with 43.2 overall grade (lowest offensive grade on the team), 53.7 run-blocking grade, and a 44.4 pass-blocking grade. He also allowed three pressures and hurries.
This is a step back for him, since he played well against the Commanders, logging a 62 overall grade and 69 run-blocking grade. In that game, it looked like Jones' chances of getting back on the field seemed slim to none.
Jones hasn't touched the field since he got benched against the Raiders in favor of Benedet. Prior to getting sent to the bench, Jones struggled in his 210 offensive snaps.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jones had a 55.5 overall grade (74th among 115 graded tackles), 62.7 pass-blocking grade (51st among 115 graded tackles), and a 47.2 run-blocking grade (103rd among 115 graded tackles). He allowed 15 total pressures and two sacks. One area where he has an edge on Benedet is penalties. Jones commited just one penalty, while Benedet has four.
Penalties is an easy way to get one your coaches bad side, as we can see from Johnson's comments. That said, it'll be interesting to see if the Bears consider making another move at left tackle down the line. Chicago will likely give Benedet another shot in Week 8. Sending him to the bench after one bad game is how you kill a player's confidence but the 24-year-old needs to step his game up.
Although Jones has struggled, he has 44 career starts under his belt and could be asked to jump back into the lineup. That will depend on how Benedet performs but Jones' chances of getting back on the field are higher this week than they were last week.