Chicago Bears Dud No. 2: The entire offensive line
Not everyone on the line has been bad this year. Braxton Jones has been very serviceable for a fifth-round rookie left tackle and Teven Jenkins has solidified himself as the best offensive lineman on this team. Yet, this team has not been able to protect their quarterback with the offensive line unit.
Everybody knows that a Don Martindale defense is going to blitz and do it creatively. We saw that on many plays today, especially third downs. It seems the Bears either were not prepared to pick them up or just were not able to pick them up. We saw a lot of Khalil Herbert blocking in the backfield and he just could not hold up against the Giants pass rush.
It feels like every third down that the Bears had today resulted in either a sack or a pressure on Justin Fields. The Bears get lucky that Fields can escape the pocket to make up for the poor blitz recognition by him and his offensive line. The team is making it harder than it has to be, and it starts with the job up front by the line. Fields was sacked six times against the Giants, who were missing one of their top pass rushers in Leonard Willaims.
The Bears need to change something up with the offensive line. The injury to Cody Whitehair means we might see Lucas Patrick continue to play left guard and Jenkins will be the full-time starter at right guard. If Whitehair does not miss time, maybe finally moving Patrick to center and benching Sam Mustipher will bring some more stability and consistency to the front five.
The offensive line has done a fine job this season in run blocking, as the Bears have a top-five rushing attack on the year. They did not do so well against the Giants though, as they were losing the line of scrimmage on most plays. The Giants were just more physical than the Bears blockers today, and it showed with the lack of consistent production on the ground.