Wild Card Round Comparisons: Offensive Line

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By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor

Leading up to the Eagles matchup with the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Sports Talk Philly and Eagledelphia will compare the personnel of the two teams each day until gameday is here.

In this edition of our week-long comparison we will look at the offensive linemen that the Bears and Eagles will field on Sunday.

Chicago OL | Bobby Massie, Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair, James Daniels, Charles Leno Jr.

The Bears offensive line is good, but that’s it – good. The unit is nothing to write home about but performs well enough to be ranked in the top half of the league.

The most experienced of the bunch is right tackle Bobby Massie. He is in his seventh year and is also the only lineman not drafted by the Bears themselves. He was signed three seasons ago from the Arizona Cardinals.

Kyle Long, the brother of Eagles defensive end Chris Long, is the anchor of the Bears line. He was named to the 2013 All-Rookie team and has been selected to three Pro Bowls (2013, 2014 and 2015). He was also named a second team All-Pro by the Associated Press in 2014. He fortifies the right side playing next to Massie.

Charles Leno resigned with the Bears on a longer-term contract prior to his fourth season in the league. He has been an a steady force on the line. Much like Bobby Massie at right tackle, he is not the greatest player at the position, but he has not had significant injury issues, starting all 16 games for the Bears for the last three seasons (2016-18).

The other two linemen the Bears roll with are all still on their rookie deals. Whitehair is the better of the two, making the 2016 All-Rookie team as the starting center.

The left side of the line has an obvious weakness at guard as rookie James Daniels has struggled at times throughout the season alongside left tackle Charles Leno.

Philadelphia OL | Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Stefan Wisniewski, Jason Peters, Halapoulivaati Vaitai

The Eagles had the most dominant offensive line last season and only added two players to the position group this season. While they have not been as dominant this season as they were last, they have dealt with a lot more injuries this season and remain in the top five offensive lines in the league.

Kelce is the clear leader on the line. Elected as a captain in 2018, Kelce has been selected to two Pro Bowls. Those were in 2014 and 2016. The fact that he was not selected to the Pro Bowl this season or last season goes to show you how useless a Pro Bowl nomination can sometimes be due to fan voting. Last season, Kelce registered the highest grade for a center since PFF started grading players and was the best offensive lineman in the game. This season, he has suffered a few injuries, but is still ranked as the number one interior lineman. He shines in the run game and has consistently improved in the passing game – registering a career high rating in pass protection this season.

The right side of Kelce is well fortified by Lane Johnson and Brandon Brooks. Johnson, a Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection last season, was ranked as the 95th best player in the sport by his fellow players this offseason. He suffered a high ankle sprain and MCL tear early in the season that derailed his chances of repeating those accolades. Since his return to health, he has dominated the league again. Brooks is an overlooked member of the crew who has been selected to the Pro Bowl the last two seasons. He is one of the best free-agent signings that the Birds have made over the past few seasons and has missed the fewest amount of snaps to injury than any other lineman on the Eagles this season.

Also frequently overlooked are Wisniewski and Seumalo. One of the two will start at left guard, but may not end there. The two have played at a high level while moving around the line. Wiz plays the three inside positions while Seumalo plays any position on the line – a trait that has come in handy with both starting tackles missing significant time.

Peters is an absolute Hall of Fame left tackle, but has not been good this season. The nine-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro has landed in the NFL Top 100 three times over the past six seasons, but injuries have derailed his productivity. He has only played every snap in six of the 16 games this season, meaning Vaitai needs to come off of the bench quite frequently. Vaitai can be counted on to play well – he did take on some of the top defenses throughout the season and playoffs last season, but he often needs some time to get into rhythm when he comes off the bench.

Edge

There is barely any discussion here. Kyle Long is a top quality guard, but the Eagles have three elite linemen in addition to competent backups who can move around the line to account for any injuries.

The Bears also have a very young line and, unlike the Eagles, don’t have elite veterans for them to constantly be learning from. The clear-cut edge goes to Philadelphia. That’s good news as both teams rely heavily on the pass rush to help the secondary play efficiently.