You can argue that 50 other quarterbacks could have done what Tyson Bagent did Sunday, but that would be missing the point, the point being … have you lost possession of your faculties? Have you been paying attention to the Bears’ long history of godawful quarterbacking? The serial inaccuracy? The fatal inability to read defenses? The interception epidemic? The fumble plague?
If 50 other quarterbacks could have done what Bagent did Sunday, I can guarantee you that none of them ever played for the Bears.
Making his first NFL start, the undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd University completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown in a 30-12 victory over the Raiders. Most of them were short passes. None was spectacular. But he did something that the person he was filling in for, Justin Fields, hasn’t been able to do in two-plus seasons: He went through his reads. He didn’t stare at his first option to the point of distraction. He got rid of the ball quickly. He threw it where receivers could catch it.
You know, basic stuff everywhere but here.
The question hovering over all of this is whether Bagent should get another start next week, no matter if Fields’ dislocated thumb is healed enough or not. If you’re tired of Fields’ inconsistency, it’s an easy yes. The only thing consistent about Fields is that inconsistency. It makes him like a lot of past Bears quarterbacks.
That doesn’t mean Bagent is great or even that he was exceptionally good Sunday. He was as good as the Bears’ play calling allowed him to be. He took full advantage of the table scraps he was given. He was more protected by the coaching staff than he was the offensive line. And the line, by the way, did well enough Sunday.
If you divine something in Fields that hasn’t been on display after 31 NFL starts, my hat’s off to you, great seer. Continue collecting the rollercoaster-ride points.
“Justin’s our starting quarterback,’ coach Matt Eberflus said after the game. “Tyson is the backup, came in, did a nice job.’’
Whenever a Bears coach declares that someone “is our starting quarterback,’’ Chicagoans instinctively look up to see if a piano is falling on their heads.
Let’s not overstate what we saw Sunday at Soldier Field. There was nothing in Bagent’s performance that suggested a star was being born. But if it didn’t offer hope, it at least offered the possibility of hope. And if not the possibility of hope, then at least the possibility of something different.
I’ll take that.
The Bears designed a low-risk game plan meant to give the kid confidence against the Raiders. But he kicked away the training wheels in the first quarter and made plays when he had to. One was a side-armed pass under pressure to Tyler Scott that went for 13 yards. Another, on the same drive, was a 10-yard run after the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby wanted the quarterback’s head on a pike. After the play, Bagent lifted his arm and motioned for the crowd to cheer some more. The crowd dutifully obeyed. The Bears would take a 7-0 lead on the first of D’Onta Foreman’s two first-half touchdown runs.
The kid-glove treatment of Bagent was never more apparent than toward the end of the first half, when the Bears got the ball with one minute, 43 seconds left and three timeouts in their pocket. They never let him throw an intermediate or deep pass. They didn’t take their first timeout until they were at their own 46 with nine seconds left. This wasn’t a two-minute drill. It was a two-minute mosey.
When it came time for a last-ditch heave into the end zone, Eberflus brought in backup Nathan Peterman, which just seemed bizarre. If the intent was to build Bagent’s confidence, why make him feel like his arm is lacking?
“I’ve got a cannon,’’ he said afterward. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. … The ball most definitely would have got there.’’
The Bears’ 173 rushing yards had their desired effect: They kept Crosby away from the rookie quarterback. Bagent lived to play another day. Whenever that day is.
A question for those unimpressed by Bagent’s performance Sunday: If it’s so worthy of shrugs, why was he the first Bears quarterback to get a home victory since Week 3 of the 2022 season?
He’s a great story, no doubt. His most recent start as a quarterback was against the Colorado School of Mines. But Chicago isn’t in it for great stories. Chicago is in it for a quarterback. That’s why some of us are willing to push Fields aside at the first hint of an accurate arm. It’s not personal. It’s business.
