There are three things that apparently don't change in this world: death, taxes, and the Chicago Bears' offensive line struggling.
Chicago saw those early-season struggles on the offensive line in their Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, with penalties being called twice on right guard Jonah Jackson and right tackle Darnell Wright. It didn't help that left tackle Braxton Jones also got off to a rough start to the season, getting beaten off the line multiple times.
Those problems were magnified in Sunday's 31-point loss to the Detroit Lions, where it was both tackles, Wright and Jones, who struggled. Jones allowed the most pressures in the game with seven, while center Drew Dalman and Wright each allowed a pressure.
The performance of Jones against the Lions was so bad, he was responsible for a staggering 77.8% of the pressures that the Bears' offensive line. It was pretty bad.
Chicago ended up allowing four quarterback hits and four sacks in the loss. Here's a look at the final Pro Football Focus grades from the Bears-Lions game from the offensive line:
- Jonah Jackson: 80.4
- Drew Dalman: 69.3
- Joe Thuney: 58.7
- Braxton Jones: 46.9
- Darnell Wright: 43.7
What has to change in Chicago to fix the offensive line?
It might be time to have a conversation about Jones at left tackle. This was the one position on the line where Bears head coach Ben Johnson was going to evaluate on a week-by-week basis, and it's needed. Jones is constantly getting beaten off the edge and looks rough compared to the rest of the line.
One surprising grade from last week was left guard Joe Thuney, who had a great debut in a Bears uniform. His 58.7 grade is tough to look at, but the Lions' left side of the defensive line was dominant in the game.
Despite a holding penalty called on him in the Lions game, Jackson actually had a bounce-back game with a grade of 80.4, the highest among the Bears' line. This shows good progress from Week 1 to Week 2, but still not where the team needs him to be.
The overall theme of the offensive line so far can be summed up in one word: inconsistency. Outside of Jones just being bad through two weeks, everyone else on the line has been inconsistent, with one good week and one bad week.
Chicago is currently tied for eighth in the NFL with six sacks and is on pace to allow 51 by the end of the year. Something has to give with this offensive line.
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Whether it's calling more runs or quick passes, the Bears have invested a lot of money in this offensive line, and they are not getting the return on investment they were hoping for. Chicago might have to make some adjustments quickly on the line if it doesn't get any better in the near future.