Things were rough all over for the Chicago Bears in their 30–16 Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
It was so bad, Bears starters were getting humbled by Ravens rookies in postgame comments. Chicago’s starting left tackle, Theo Benedet has held his own at times this season, but he got his behind handed to him several times against the Ravens.
The Bears allowed 13 total pressures in the loss, and it felt as though quarterback Caleb Williams had constant pressure in his face. Clearly the Ravens prepared well, as is evidenced by rookie edge rusher Mike Green’s comments after the game.
Baltimore Ravens Edge Mike Green Has Damning Comments on Chicago Bears LT Theo Benedet
GettyBaltimore Ravens rookie Mike Green had some telling words about Chicago Bears offensive tackle Theo Benedet.
Green, the Ravens’ second-round pick out of Marshall (No. 59 overall), had his first NFL sack going up against Benedet in the first quarter. It was a huge play that ended Chicago’s first drive, holding the Bears to a field goal instead of letting them score a touchdown.
Green revealed after the game that he decided on a move he knew would be effective against Benedet in paragraph.
“Watching film this week, I knew the left tackle’s tendencies. One move that I wanted to do was a cross chop on him, so that’s what I did, and it worked out perfectly.” Green said the game, explaining how he beat Benedet for the sack.
It was a revealing comment — if young and raw pass rushers are noticing ways to beat Benedet, what’s going to happen when seasoned vets and All-Pros get their chances?
Baltimore Beat Chicago By Being Smarter & More Physical
The Ravens leaned on Derrick Henry’s physical running and Tyler Huntley’s mistake-free efficiency, outscoring Chicago 16–0 through the middle quarters.
“They came out, and they played a physical brand of football, just like you would expect,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said after the loss.
“They were hungry, they were determined, and truth be told, I expected a little bit more out of our squad to counter that on up. So, we fell short. It’s our first game in a while, really all season, that we didn’t have a takeaway. When that happens, you really have to play a clean game, and we didn’t. We were double digits in penalties, once again. We are not scoring in the red zone, and we couldn’t quite get off the field as often as we would like on defense.”
Benedet Still Has Time to Grow & Improve
Benedet’s rise to the starting lineup was born more out of necessity than dominance. He took over in Week 6 after Braxton Jones’ inconsistency and injury issues left the job open.
Rookie Ozzy Trapilo—originally in the mix at left tackle—shifted to the right side behind Darnell Wright after not feeling comfortable at LT.
For Benedet, he’s going to have to improve his footwork, as he gets caught leaning too often, leaving too much space for inside counters. He should have time to improve, though.
Jones is now on injured reserve and will miss at least the next three weeks. Trapilo’s athleticism might one day make him a left tackle candidate again, but the Bears seem intent on developing him on the right.
That leaves Benedet at LT for the remainder of the regular season. If he can show marked improvement down the stretch, he could stick, but the reality is that the Bears may need to invest premium capital in a left tackle when the draft comes next April.
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