Braxton Jones Continues What Has Been A Dominant Stretch

The Chicago Bears offensive line had its best game of the season against the Green Bay Packers. Justin Fields wasn't sacked and only got hit once all afternoon. A big part of this success came from rookie left tackle Braxton Jones. Many have said the 5th round pick has played with some inconsistencies this year. That is true. However, things have started coming together for him. The last month proves it. People may not want to watch the tape. So let's accommodate them by strictly sticking to the numbers.

Through the first nine games of his career, Jones allowed 28 pressures including five sacks on the quarterback. Over the last four games, he has allowed four pressures and no sacks. Now many people will say the Bears probably masked him with lots of play action, bootlegs, and extra blocking help. In those four games, Jones played 40 true pass set snaps. These plays were purely one-on-one against his often more experienced opponents. He allowed four pressures.

If that weren't impressive enough, Jones is also their second-highest graded run blocker this season. Only Teven Jenkins has been better.

Braxton Jones hasn't been facing scrubs, either.

He's held his own against an array of talented pass rushers. It started with #2 overall pick Aidan Hutchinson four weeks ago. Then there was Carl Lawson of the Jets, who'd had 4.5 sacks in his past seven games before facing Jones. Last but certainly not least was Preston Smith. The Packers defensive end has given the Bears fits for years. Remember, he had two sacks in the previous meeting three months ago. Not this time. He failed to record a single pressure the entire game. Much of that was because of Jones.

People will continue finding ways to nitpick him. That is the nature of this business. Still, what the Bears have gotten from Braxton Jones this season is nothing short of miraculous. This kid went from a 1-10 Southern Utah team in the FCS to starting for an NFL franchise in a span of months. The craziest part is it didn't come about by accident. He earned the job by outworking and outperforming everybody else. Jones looks like he belongs on that field. If he's this effective already, one can only imagine how much better he can get with more experience and better conditioning.