Man, that 34-17 loss to the Chicago Bears still stings, doesn’t it? Our Hawks got absolutely punched in the mouth at Lumen Field. And while we’re all still processing that L, the Bears just dropped some major news: starting offensive tackle Braxton Jones is officially done for the season after knee surgery. Yeah, the same team that just ran all over us is now without a key piece, and it just makes you wonder even more what happened to our defense.
Jones Tried to Push Through, But It Was Over
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Jones had surgery on Tuesday, confirming what many probably feared after he landed on injured reserve way back after Week 3. This wasn’t some minor tweak either. We’re talking about a partially torn patellar tendon. Seriously, the guy tried to rehab it, tried to get back on the field, but it just wasn’t happening. This is brutal news for Jones personally, too. This marks the second straight season his year has been cut short by knee problems; he only played six games in 2025 because of another knee injury. That’s gotta be frustrating for any player.
What This Means and The Lingering Sting for Our Hawks
So, with Jones out, Theo Benedet has been holding down the left tackle spot for the Bears. And here’s where it really hits home for us 12s. A team missing their starting left tackle since Week 3, a guy who tried to delay surgery, still managed to come into our house and put up 34 points on our defense. What in the world was going on out there? Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba were out there fighting, but our defense, man. When a team with a significant O-line injury can still execute like that against us, it highlights some real issues we need to fix FAST.
Our Hawks need to regroup, and they need to regroup yesterday. We can’t let a loss like that fester, especially against a team that’s dealing with a season-ending injury to a key starter. Let’s see what Mike Macdonald and Brian Fleury cook up this week, because we can’t afford another performance like that.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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