Eberflus defends Patrick passing Jenkins on Bears depth chart

Chicago Bears offensive lineman Lucas Patrick. David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Eberflus defends Lucas Patrick passing Teven Jenkins on Bears depth chart

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated Sep 27, 2022 6:41 PM ET

Offensive lineman Lucas Patrick appears to have made a good impression on Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.

Patrick, who started over Teven Jenkins at right guard in Chicago’s 23-20 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday, has seen his playing time increase the last two games despite sharing a 50-50 split with Jenkins in Week 1.

While Jenkins has had better on-field results than Patrick — he’s allowed two fewer pressures and is a higher-graded run blocker, according to Pro Football Focus — Eberflus recently explained why Jenkins has seemingly fallen out of favor.

per PFF, Lucas Patrick has been the Bears' lowest-graded offensive lineman (52.1 overall grade, 42.2 in pass blocking )

who has been their best-graded offensive lineman, you ask? why, it's Teven Jenkins* (71.7)

*tied with Cody Whitehair
— Jeremy Layton (@JeremyLayt0n) September 26, 2022

"It's about practice,” Eberflus told reporters on Monday. “We evaluate practice. Wednesday is a big day for us, Thursday and Friday. We thought that Lucas did a good job of practicing. He was solid in his practice. Teven did a nice job on Thursday and Friday but needs to have a better Wednesday for him to step into that role.”

Patrick, 29, played 47% of Chicago’s offensive snaps against the San Francisco 49ers, 54% against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2, and 67% against Houston on Sunday.

Conversely, Jenkins has been on a downward trajectory, dipping from playing 53% of snaps in Week 1 to 46% in Week 2 and 35% in Week 3.

Michael Gallagher

Michael Gallagher is a longtime sports journalist based out of Nashville with a decade of experience covering college football, mixed martial arts and prep sports plus the NFL and NHL — specifically the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. He’s covered several notable sporting events including an AFC Championship game, a Stanley Cup Final, an NHL All-Star Game and an NHL Stadium Series. Some of his past bylines can be found at the Nashville Scene, SB Nation, The Hockey News and Fox Sports Knoxville

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