The Chicago Bears’ offensive line wasn’t playing well in the first half of the game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Caleb Williams was under duress too often as they struggled to contain superstar pass rusher Maxx Crosby. Yet the far worse part was the maddening struggle to run the ball against a defense that had been pretty soft against it all year. Finally, after watching D’Andre Swift get blown up for another loss, head coach Ben Johnson had seen enough. Left tackle Braxton Jones was benched. Theo Benedet moved over to that spot, opening the door for 2nd round pick Ozzy Trapilo to get his first game action.
It was a surreal moment. Trapilo had spent the two previous games inactive, leaving many to wonder if the Bears had already abandoned hope of him being any good. Now they were throwing him into the fire to block Crosby. Apparently, he played well enough that teammates didn’t even notice he was on the field, as D’Andre Swift told Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
“I didn’t even notice until damn near the end of the game,” running back D’Andre Swift said. “I got in the huddle and I looked and I saw Ozzy. I’ve got confidence in the whole group.”
The rookie stepped up big time.
In 26 snaps, he allowed just two pressures. The Bears also averaged just over five yards per carry on the ground after he joined the action. Trapilo admitted his biggest obstacle was not psyching himself out once the coaches told him to go in.
“You are always going to be ready,” Trapilo said. “It’s a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. It’s hard to tell now (how I did). Obviously the opponent is a pretty good player. Great opportunity for me, especially being a young guy, to go out there and face someone like (Crosby). So it’s hard to tell without seeing the tape.
“There are always plays you are going to want back. I think as a team we would say that as well. There is a lot of stuff we wish we would have back.”
The Bears face a conundrum with Ozzy Trapilo.
They clearly want to continue integrating them into the offense. The problem is that rotating offensive linemen is not something teams do. It can disrupt chemistry in too many ways. That means the Bears must decide whether to start him or not. Doing that would mean keeping Jones benched and moving Darnell Wright to left tackle, allowing Ozzy Trapilo to remain at right tackle. Technically, the Bears could try him again on the left side, but it already didn’t work out once. It’s hard to imagine the light went on for Trapilo in only a month.
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That doesn’t even mention Benedet, who has played well since getting increased playing time over the past two weeks. It is clear the coaches like him. How does he fit into this scenario? Head coach Ben Johnson has some interesting decisions to make over the next two weeks.
