Bears Offensive Line Shines: A Hidden Gem Emerges After Panthers Game
The Chicago Bears are celebrating a big victory after their dominant win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. They are now 3-0 at home and have an impressive eight-game winning streak at home, the longest active streak in the NFL. While the Bears have shown growth across all phases of their game in recent weeks, their offensive line has been better across the board.
In their latest game, the Bears offensive line allowed just one pressure, which resulted in a sack by second-year right tackle Darnell Wright. Aside from that, the line performed nearly flawlessly. According to Pro Football Focus, here are the pass-blocking grades for the Bears offensive line in Week 5:
Matt Pryor: 87.5
Bill Murray: 85.7
Coleman Shelton: 83.7
Braxton Jones: 83.4
Teven Jenkins: 82.8
Darnell Wright: 73.0
Nate Davis: 72.5
One notable player is undrafted free agent guard Bill Murray, now in his fourth NFL season after spending three years in New England.
Murray stepped in for Teven Jenkins, who left the game with an ankle injury, and delivered an outstanding performance. In 37 snaps, he received high grades from PFF:
Overall: 83.9
Pass Block: 85.7
Run Block: 79.2
Hurries, Sacks, Hits, or Pressures: 0
Penalties: 0
Teven Jenkins was having one of his best games of the season before his injury, and Murray’s seamless transition and strong performance highlights the Bears coaching staff’s ability to develop depth on the offensive line, which may be better than many initially thought.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus confirmed Monday morning that Teven Jenkins will travel with the team to London as they assess his ankle injury, which is a positive sign.
In the meantime, the Bears can be confident that Murray can fill the position until Jenkins fully recovers.