The Bears’ confidence in backup quarterback Tyson Bagent prompted questions about whether he one day could be a starter. But coach Ben Johnson faced a drastically different question Monday after benching him in the Bears’ 31-7 meltdown against the Packers:
Is Bagent a capable backup?
Johnson replied defiantly that all three of his quarterbacks — injured starter Caleb Williams, Bagent and veteran third-stringer Case Keenum — are winners, but the fact that it had to be asked showed how sharply the outlook on Bagent has flipped after two starts.
Johnson also didn’t answer whether, if Williams remains out, Bagent or Keenum would be his first-team quarterback at practice Wednesday. His evasion said plenty. If he is sure of all three, it would have been easy for him to name one.
If Williams isn’t healthy enough to play Sunday at the Falcons, Johnson needs to go back to Keenum.
The Bears must set aside whatever loyalty they have to Bagent and their intrigue about whether he can develop into a valuable trade asset. This is a vital game for them, considering the teams who played in the Super Bowl last season are looming after the Falcons.
Johnson will weigh the total body of work, but Keenum has made a stronger argument in games than Bagent. Bagent completed 12 of 21 passes for 87 yards with two interceptions for a 27.4 passer rating — the worst by a Bears starter since Caleb Hanie in 2011 — against the Packers before Johnson sent in Keenum at the start of the fourth quarter.
The interceptions were brutal, and that was an issue the week before, too, when the Bears beat the Jets. Bagent posted an 83.9 passer rating on 25-for-34 passing for 268 yards with an interception, but three other picks were negated by penalties.
The top responsibility for a backup quarterback is to do no harm, to avoid dicey throws and to secure the ball in the pocket. Keenum failed to check those boxes Sunday, as well, with an interception on a desperate throw at the goal line and a lost fumble when the game already was decided.
Bagent’s interceptions were more his fault than they were great plays by defenders. When he threw into double coverage for wide receiver Luther Burden to the right in the first quarter, safety Javon Bullard broke up the pass and safety Xavier McKinney caught the deflection.
Johnson said Monday that Bagent should have recognized Burden was blanketed and gone elsewhere. He bypassed a checkdown to running back Roschon Johnson on his left and missed wide receiver Kalif Raymond potentially sprinting into open space deeper down the left side.
The interception that broke Johnson’s patience came late in the third quarter, when the Packers fooled Bagent into thinking they were in Cover 0 before the snap but actually were playing Cover 2. McKinney was waiting when he tried to hit tight end Colston Loveland over the middle.
‘‘He didn’t make those same type of throws over the course of camp,’’ Johnson said.
It turns out there’s a big difference between practice and games.
Bagent has more arm strength and athleticism than Keenum does at 38, but he made mistakes the last two weeks in coverage recognition and decision-making. Keenum’s experience makes him sharper in those departments.
Neither option is particularly alluring, but the Bears must resist the temptation to rush Williams back. That’s a bad idea. It would be better to endure this for one more game than to rush him onto the field and risk a setback that would keep him out longer.
If the Bears take it cautiously, as they should with a player they think is their franchise quarterback, they’ll be hesitant to play Williams twice in five days — the Bears host the Patriots the next Thursday — coming off a Grade 2 strained hamstring. The soundest plan is to hope for the best with Keenum in Atlanta and target the game against the Patriots for Williams’ return.
If Bears QB Caleb Williams is out vs. Falcons, Case Keenum should start over Tyson Bagent 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-10-13 00:23:20
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