When the Chicago Bears take on the Las Vegas Raiders, there will be plenty of battles in the trenches. Which areas do the Bears have the advantage, and where might they struggle this weekend?
3. The Chicago Bears RT Darnell Wright will face Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders
Maxx Crosby is entering this game as one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. He leads the NFL in pressures created, per PFF, and is in the top ten in any pass-rushing metric you can find this season. Crosby spends the majority of his snaps against the right tackle, and that is unlikely to change this weekend.
It is nothing against Crosby, but the competition he has faced has not been the toughest yet. We are not over-rating Darnell Wright, but he will be one of the better tackles Crosby has faced. Last week, he took on Vederian Lowe, a backup that everyone picks on.
He beat up on Zach Tom and Trey Pipkins. Chukwuma Okorafor of the Steelers and Spencer Brown of the Buffalo Bills are not the team's top linemen, and neither is Mike McGlinchey on the Broncos. In the case of McGlinchey, it was his first game on a new team. So, overall, you could make the case that Zach Tom is the best right tackle that Crosby has faced.
Meanwhile, Darnell Wright has faced off with Rashan Gary, Montez Sweat, and Danielle Hunter so far this season. Crosby may still be the toughest he has faced, but Wright may be more prepared than we think. The one issue is that Wright is much better against power than speed, and while Crosby can do both, his bendy body is the type of rusher that can beat Wright.
2. The Las Vegas Raiders have Malcolm Koonce and Tyree Wilson against the Chicago Bears LT Larry Borom
Tyree Wilson and Malcolm Koonce will often rotate across from Maxx Crosby, who has an unreal snap rate. Wilson is still a rookie, but as a former top-ten pick, he is not living up to expectations. He is currently last in the NFL in pass rush win rate, and he is next to Dominique Robinson in almost all pass rushing metrics you look at. Bears fans know that is an issue.
Malcolm Koonce has better, but he has a lot less invested in him, and he was not drafted by this regime. Still, he has 11 pressures. However, eight of them came against Pittsburgh and Green Bay, which meant a backup Rasheed Walker in Green Bay and Dan Moore, one of the worst left tackles in the NFL in Pittsburgh.
That is not to say that Larry Borom is better. Still, Borom had a tough time against Chase Young but has not been embarrassed otherwise. That is not to say that he has been good, though. Still, this may be the easiest matchup that Borom has seen this year. If Borom gets Tyree Wilson going, the Bears have serious issues on the left side. Even Malcolm Koonce can only beat bad tackles, but that does not mean the Bears are going to be safe in this game.
1. How does the Chicago Bears interior OL matchup with the Las Vegas Raiders OL
The Las Vegas Raiders interior defensive front largely consists of Bilal Nichols, Adam Butler, and John Jenkins. At times, they will rotate Jerry Tillery and Isaac Rochell into the mix. None of these three have been anything to write home about. Jenkins leads the group with seven pressures.
He is a 34-year-old journeyman who had a stop with the Chicago Bears back in 2020. Another former Bears lineman is Bilal Nichols. Nichols looked like a bargain signing after his 2022 season, but he has not been that same player in 2023.
Adam Butler has bounced around the NFL, too. Of course, he spent most of his career with the New England Patriots, so Josh McDaniels knew him well.
Overall, the Raiders have a bad run defense, and this group has a lot to do with it. They are all rotational pieces at best. The Chicago Bears have to take advantage, but they may not have the horses to.
Teven Jenkins has played well in his return, and it is fair to say the run blocking looks better in the last two weeks. Still, they have been shuffling at center, and neither Lucas Patrick nor Cody Whitehair can step up to beat down this unit.
Beyond that, reports are that the Bears will shift Whitehair back to left guard, start Lucas Patrick at center, and then shift Teven Jenkins to right guard. Jenkins played right guard last year, but is that asking a lot of him on the fly? Will he perform as well in a different spot?