Another year, another left tackle headache for the Chicago Bears, as they rotated Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet at the position in their 59-37 Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Jones got the heavier load with 56 offensive snaps, while Benedet logged 19 snaps for the Bears. Many Chicago fans wouldn't worry about the position, since the offense put upting up over 500 yards and nearly 60 points.
The Bears got lucky in Week 1 by facing a horrific defense, but that won't be the case for the rest of the season. With the Minnesota Vikings next on the schedule in Week 2, Chicago now has to stop playing around at left tackle and decide who to play more. Opening weekend clearly showed that Benedet should be the man over Jones.
Why Theo Benedet is the better choice over Braxton Jones as Bears' starting LT
Let's break down the numbers, according to Pro Football Focus.
Jones will start things out since he had more snaps. He got an overall grade of 63.3, ranking 38th out of 64 tackles. Jone also received a pass-blocking grade of 51.9m ranking 51st and a run-blocking grade of 67.9, ranking 24th.
A quick note about Benedet: he didn't get enough snaps to be ranked, but PFF still gave him grades. He received an overall grade of 69.1. Benedet also got a pass-blocking grade of 81.4 and a run-blocking grade of 64.7.
To be fair to Jones, he had 34 pass blocking snaps, while Benedet had only six. Jones gave up two pressures and Benedet had zeros across the board in the win over the Panthers.
So why should Benedet start over Jones when one guy got more snaps than the other? First, Benedet performed better overall on the field than Jones. Second, the Bears will run the ball better with Benedet at left tackle.
Last season, in Jones' first four starts at left tackle, the Bears averaged 102.2 rushing yards per game. In the next four games with Benedet, they averaged 186.5 rushing yards per game.
Yes, Jones might be a more consistent pass blocker than Benedet is, but this offense was better with Benedet on the field over the last year-plus. Chicago keeps wanting to go back to Jones because of his experience, but throughout training camp and the preseason, fans saw and heard about him struggling.
To quote the great Regina George from the movie "Mean Girls": "Stop trying to make fetch happen. It's not going to happen.
The Vikings' defense is not the Panthers. They won't give up the kind of yardage Carolina did a week ago. Minnesota is typically a great run-stopping defense, allowing just 66 yards and a 3.1 yards-per-carry average in their win over the Packers last week.
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Chicago's best decision to maximize an incredibly important early-season game is to start Benedet over Jones. The Bears probably won't, but a mid-game adjustment to put Benedet at left tackle and keep him in could be recommended.
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