Chicago Bears Grades: How Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet fared vs. Bills

The Chicago Bears’ left tackle competition took center stage in Week 2’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, and after breaking down the All-22 film, there wasn’t much separation gained by either Braxton Jones or Theo Benedet.

It’s true that there’s a chance the Bears’ left tackle could end up being someone other than Jones or Benedet, as rookie Ozzy Trapilo and second-year pro Kiran Amegadjie are both in the mix, too. But with roughly three weeks until Chicago kicks off the 2025 NFL season against the Minnesota Vikings, the LT1 battle has filtered down to Jones vs. Benedet.

So, we graded every snap.

Jones ended the game with a 67.0 BTG (BearsTalk Grade). He was solid in pass protection (68.8) and was serviceable in the run game, too (62.5).

Benedet, meanwhile, ended the Bills game with a 68.0 BTG, highlighted by a 70.4 run block grade and a 65.8 pass block score.

Braxton Jones vs. Theo Benedet coming down to the wire

With in-game performances that are this close, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Braxton Jones isn’t the opening-day starter. The tie will go to the veteran, especially against an aggressive Minnesota Vikings defense that’s led by Brian Flores, who is a master defensive play caller.

Benedet did play nearly three times the number of snaps that Jones did (39-14), which suggests his BTG is a bit more reliable than Jones’. A bad rep or two in pass protection — which Braxton Jones tends to have — would’ve knocked his score down quite a bit.

For now, the race at left tackle continues without a clear frontrunner. And time is running out for Ben Johnson to make the call on who will be charged with blocking his franchise quarterback’s blindside.

Note: We’ll have complete BearsTalk Grades for every player after every game of the 2025 season. They’ll be featured on player profile pages and season-long exclusive content. Make sure you upgrade to a premium BearsTalker to have access to all the intel.

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