(Photo: © David Banks-USA TODAY Sports, 247Sports)
It was telling that of the five projected starters along the Bears' offensive line, only Braxton Jones saw playing time on Sunday.
Jones got the start for the Bears and played in the first three offensive series. In the midst of a competition at left tackle with rookie Ozzy Trapilo and second-year pro Kiran Amegadjie, Jones needed a solid performance against the Dolphins to leave little doubt that he should still be the unquestioned starter when the regular season kicks off a month from now. Unfortunately, Jones' performance left a bit to be desired in that regard.
Despite playing against mostly backups after the team's first drive that resulted in a three-and-out, Jones simply had too many losses in pass protection that one would expect from someone with as much experience as he has in the NFL for this type of setting. According to PFF, Jones finished with a 44.3 pass block grade and two pressures allowed, including a sack. On true pass sets, Jones had an abysmal 27.5 pass block grade.
While losses do happen from time to time, it was the way that Jones lost that was most worrisome. Jones has typically struggled against power versus NFL edge rushers, but that wasn't the case in this matchup, as Jones failed to keep up with the quickness of the Dolphins' edge rushers. The most notable loss came on the first touchdown of the day for the Bears when Jones was cleanly beaten on an inside counter, resulting in a pressure on Tyson Bagent.
Coming off a serious ankle injury, it's fair to wonder whether Jones is 100% at this point in time. Known for his combination of length and athleticism, Jones had a notable lack of quickness compared to his baseline established in previous years. If Jones has experienced a drop in athleticism due to injury, that could hamper his play this season.
Despite Jones' struggles, Trapilo didn't exactly stand out in a positive way either for his first playing time as a rookie, certainly not enough to take control of the starting job outright. Next week's preseason game against the Buffalo Bills will be a big indication of where the Bears are with their left tackle competition. If Jones wishes to hold on to his starting spot, he will need to bounce back with a good performance.