Windy City Gridiron
The NFL season is an evolving state of affairs, and week 6 in DC will be no different. The Bears head to the nation’s capital with some reinforcements, while the Commanders are riding high off a West Coast win. Both of these teams have playoff aspirations, though only Washington tasted the postseason last fall, after the last meeting between these two ball clubs resulted in opposite directions – perhaps something Bears fans should be thankful for. But what will be key this time around. Or should I say: “who?”
In this weekly series, I’ll be featuring one player from each team on each side of the ball who I believe to be integral to their respective team’s success. Like seasons past, you won’t see any QBs, and you also won’t see any star defensive players like Micah Parsons and Maxx Crosby.
No, these are more of the unsung variety. Yet, often just as critical to the success of the team.
The “Canadian Eagle” got his first start last week on the right side of the offensive line before sliding over to the left side just before halftime. Though Maxx Crosby almost single-handedly won the game for the Raiders, Benedet put forth a respectable performance and looked even better at Left Tackle than he did at Right Tackle, where they moved him at the end of the first half and for the entire second half. Though head coach Ben Johnson played it coy when asked who will be the starting LT this week, Theo will be likely be starting at one of the tackle spots. With Dorance Armstrong tied for 4th across the entire league with 5 sacks on the year, Benedet will have his hands full no matter where he lines up. Add in future Hall of Famer in Von Miller and former Bear Killer Preston Smith and protecting Caleb Williams in the passing game will be paramount for the 2nd year UDFA. How he handles the Monday Night lights on the road will be massive.
The obvious candidate here is Tyrique Stevenson in his own revenge game after the “Fail Mary,” where he embarrassed himself, directly causing a loss that spiraled his team’s entire season. But not only does he seem to have genuinely matured from the incident, he is also playing some of the best ball of his career the last few weeks, and I think he will be ready. Make no mistake, I will be watching Stevenson as well, but the return of ‘Spidey’ has me all sorts of excited this week. One of the few players singled out by both Ben Johnson and new Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen this off-season as a versatile asset they were excited to work with, we finally get a chance to see how Kyler will be deployed in this defense. Of course, the 4th year pro will be relied upon in coverage, but...
