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Tyson Bagent Proves to Be No Bears Iceman and Ben Johnson Must Adjust

Tyson Bagent is capable but not Caleb Williams, so their defense, the running game and Ben Johnson will need to step forward.
Gene Chamberlain|
It all came crashing down on the Bears Sunday when Dallas Turner sacked quarterback Tyson Bagent to end the game..
It all came crashing down on the Bears Sunday when Dallas Turner sacked quarterback Tyson Bagent to end the game.. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

Back during the NFL combine, Ben Johnson had them rolling in the aisles when his reaction to the possibility of trading quarterback Tyson Bagent was a loud, coughing "no."

They never did trade him despite interest elsewhere, and it's a good thing because they might need their backup from Division II Shepherd University to play like their starter going forward after Caleb Williams' hamstring injury.

They're also going to need something else. They need their defense to play the way it did in Sunday's 9-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Bagent is not going to play like Williams, obviously. Maybe the ball will come out quicker but with much less zing. They'll have to get used to the idea of winning the way the Bears traditionally have won — with the running game and defense. With Bagent, the goal will have to be avoiding mistakes at all costs, just as it is with all backups.

"Tyson is as ready as it gets," receiver Rome Odunze said. "You know what I'm saying. He's the type he's ready each and every week for his opportunity to go out there and shine and we're going to support him and get in as many passes as we can and get accommodated to one another and get that chemistry down as much as we can."

They did it well enough Sunday to get back to the 12-yard line on the final drive after starting at their own 35 with a minute left and no timeouts. Bagent went 4-for-7 for 53 yards on the final drive to set them up for a last-second chance that ended with Will Turner's sack. He finished the game 5 of 9 for 54 yards, with one 1-yard completion on the drive when Williams was injured, a march that ended in a blocked field goal.

Alas, Bagent was no Iceman.

Bagent nearly pulled it off

"I felt like we responded good," Bagent said. "It would have been nice to put it in that end zone initially when I went in (the game). We were that close to the end zone.

"And I thought the drive after that we had a chance at the end zone. I think that's all you can ask for. On my end you've just got to be better executing when you get down there."

Bagent's entire NFL career before Sunday consisted of 99 completions in 149 attempts (66.4%) with three TDs and six interceptions for a 73.0 passer rating. The Bears went 2-2 with him at starting quarterback in his rookie year of 2023, when they had much less on offense to complement him.

It's going to require Johnson to make an adjustment. His play calling can't depend as much on Williams-style runs as a backstop. It's a different approach with Bagent.

"I called plays for him all preseason," Johnson said, obviously trying to calm everyone. "So we'll be fine."

In Ben everyone will have to trust. Johnson has never called plays for a backup quarter in a starting role. When he was in Detroit, Jared Goff started every game for all three years. WIlliams started every game last year and both this year.

Bagent does have more mobility than the last QB Johnson coached, Detroit's Goff, but nothing close to Williams. Bagent ran for 109 yards in the five games he played, with four starts, in his rookie year.

On Sunday, it was the defense making it possible so Bagent could try to win it at the end after the offense failed to get into the end zone, and then a poor, high snap by rookie long snapper Beau Gardner helped lead to the block of Cairo Santos' 23-yard, game-tying field goal try following Williams' injury injury.

Defense delivered

The Bears allowing nine points wasn't foreseen after they had given up 37, just like scoring three wasn't expected after they scored 59 against Carolina. Carson Wentz had only 143 yards passing and completed just 11 of 20, while Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo and rookie slot cornerback Malik Muhammad made three sacks each.

"Having a good week of preparation," defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. "I think coach gave us a really great plan going into this game. We were physical up front and we were sticky in coverage for the most part.

"Something to definitely build off of but like (reporters) said, you definitely want the win but I'd be remise to not acknowledge the growth that we had this week."

It's growth, but they did allow 105 rushing yards to 31-year-old Aaron Jones and 4.3 yards a carry. They also allowed the 67-yard, clock-eating drive to Will Reichard's 39-yard field goal that made it so Bagent had to get a touchdown at game's end instead of a field goal try.

Now, it's going to need to be a case where the defense rallies to support the backup QB.

"It's a cognitive effort by everybody and keep the morale up because obviously Caleb is the guy here," Jarrett said. "You know? And so nobody wants to see him go down. So definitely we've got to rally up and do more.

"We've got to finish the game at the end of the day. I think the guys rallied up really well. I mean we were a play away from winning that game. So I'm super proud of everybody today and there's a lot of things to build from."

The trouble is, Philadelphia will come into Chicago on Monday Night Football next looking to take advantage of the backup QB, and will have seen the way the Vikings pushed around the Bears on the ground when the game was on the line.

Expect they'll also be after the backup QB, who will be getting plays from a coach who has never had to give them to the backup to start a game.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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