Case Keenum Was Great, but Tyson Bagent Should Start for Bears in Week 4 if Caleb Williams Cannot

The Chicago Bears' season appeared to be imperiled just a few days ago when Caleb Williams' hamstring injury was revealed to be worse than originally thought. With a daunting Monday night matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles looming, a second straight loss seemed imminent. However, third-string quarterback Case Keenum guided the Bears to an upset Week 3 win over the Eagles, keeping the team in the thick of the division race.

But the Bears should leave it at that. Tyson Bagent, not Keenum, should get the start in Week 4.

It was a big night for both the Bears and for Keenum, and some fans are understandably excited to see if the wily 38-year-old will be rewarded with another start next week. However, head coach Ben Johnson has already thrown cold water on that idea, telling Bears media after the game, "We'll have a discussion as a coaching staff and we'll see where we need to go from here but I said it last week and I'll say it again: There was a reason why Tyson [Bagent] ended training camp as our No. 2 quarterback."

Ben Johnson has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to roster decisions

Some fans may not agree with Johnson. They may think that it'd be better to ride the hot hand and still with Keenum until he gives the Bears a reason to bench him. But Johnson is onto something with what he said, and Bears fans would be wise to listen to him.

We know that Johnson doesn't play favorites with his depth chart. He doesn't award starting or backup spots based on seniority or anything like that. Plus, Johnson wasn't part of the staff that signed Bagent as an undrafted rookie free agent to begin with, so there's not a situation of Johnson feeling like his credibility as a talent evaluator is on the line if he can't make Bagent work.

If Johnson is telling us that Bagent won the backup quarterback job fair and square, then Bears fans need to set their preferences aside and trust Johnson. He's earned the benefit of the doubt by now, and we should be excited for what that means for Bagent.

Don't discount how lucky Case Keenum and the Bears got in Week 3

Another reason why Johnson would be correct to give Bagent the start in Week 4 is something Bears fans probably don't want to consider the morning after an epic prime time victory, but it must be talked about. The fact is that the Bears' blowout win over the Eagles could have very easily been a blowout loss, and Keenum was a big reason why.

Former NFL quarterback Troy Aikman called the game alongside Joe Buck, as usual, and he noted several times how this or that pass attempt from Keenum could have been picked off and carried back for a defensive touchdown. I thought he made this comment a few times too many, but on at least one such attempt he was absolutely right. If the defensive back had been just a fraction of a second faster, he could have tied the game at seven apiece in the first quarter.

Keenum also fumbled the ball on a scramble early in the fourth quarter, but was lucky that the ball bounced straight back up into his hands. It was only a 20-7 game at that point, and a turnover could have gotten the Eagles right back into the contest if they scored a quick touchdown there.

There's several more examples of the Bears getting lucky on Monday, including Jalen Hurts having to undergo a concussion evaluation while the Eagles were in the red zone, which led to an Andy Dalton interception, but you get the idea. It was a great team win and no team should ever apologize for getting lucky, but fans can't deny that a handful of plays going the other way could have resulted in a very different ending.

The Bottom Line

Tyson Bgaent — Chicago Bears QB Tyson Bagent runs onto the field before a game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ben Johnson hasn't named the Week 4 starter yet, but it sounds like it's going to be Tyson Bagent, and I think that's the right call. Case Keenum made the most of his start for the Bears in Week 3, but I would worry about how repeatable that brilliant performance was. It's time to see what Bagent can do in Ben Johnson's offense, and prove that he was right to call Bagent one of the top 32 quarterbacks in the NFL.

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