The Chicago Bears picked up a critical win on the road in Week 11 as they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 19-17. Although the Bears will be thrilled to get out of Minneapolis with a 7-3 record, they still need to take note of the things that could derail their playoff push. One of those is their issue at left tackle, where Theo Benedet had another rough game.
According to Pro Football Focus, Benedet posted a 62.3 overall grade but allowed a pair of pressures on 37 pass-blocking snaps. While it was an improvement over his recent performance, it still registers as a concern that opens the door for rookie blocker Ozzy Trapilo to make his return to left tackle.
Bears May Need to Bench Theo Benedet for Ozzy Trapilo
Benedet had been struggling the past two weeks before Sunday’s matchup with the Vikings, especially when it comes to pass protection. With nine pressures on 85 pass-blocking snaps (10.5% pressure rate) and a pair of penalties, it was clear the Canadian undrafted free agent's Cinderella story was nearing its end. But his struggles were also apparent on true passing sets.
A true passing set is “a pass-blocking play that excludes ‘high-noise’ or ‘gimmicky’ plays which might artificially inflate or deflate a player’s performance grade,” per PFF. These plays typically happen when the offense is facing four or more pass rushers and the play is not a play-action, screen play, or a short dropback by the passer.
Benedet has played 117 true passing snaps this season and has allowed 17 pressures, including a sack. While Benedet did better on these plays Sunday with just one pressure on 17 true passing snaps, he allowed eight pressures on 35 snaps in the previous two games.
With the addition of a false start penalty, it should have the Bears thinking about an upgrade. Since the trade deadline has passed and Braxton Jones is currently on injured reserve with a knee injury, the best option may be Trapilo.
Trapilo was considered to be a favorite to win the left tackle position during training camp, but was beaten out by Jones. The result had Chicago’s second-round pick move to the right side of the offensive line while Benedet filled in for Jones on the left side. But Trapilo has slowly worked his way back into the conversation.
The rookie made his offensive debut in a Week 4 win over the Las Vegas Raiders and allowed four pressures on 15 true pass sets. But over the past three weeks, Trapilo has mixed in sparingly, not allowing a single pressure on eight pass-blocking snaps and one true pass set.
That small sample size would bring up the argument that it wouldn’t be worth making a rash decision; however, Benedet’s performance in a much larger sample size suggests that a change needs to be made. The Bears were able to live with it in Sunday’s victory, but that doesn't change that they can't afford to tempt fate and expect to survive each week.