Chicago Bears Week 8 Loser No. 2: Tyson Bagent
I will preface this by saying that Tyson Bagent is still a quality backup quarterback from what he has shown so far. The thing is, that is what he has shown. His performance against the Raiders sparked the conversation, but he came back down to earth against a much better defense in the Los Angeles Chargers. He looked confused a lot and was not able to recognize the different coverages that the Chargers were throwing at him.
While the narrative of him being a potential option for the future of the quarterback position was nice, the Bears will be a better football team with Justin Fields on the field. While some of Bagent’s strengths make Fields’ weaknesses look worse, the dynamic of Justin Fields and his abilities do put pressure on a defense, and he gives the Bears a better shot to score with teams.
Bagent threw two picks against the Chargers, one of them was just a bad read in which he did not see a defender in the area he wanted to throw to. That is a classic rookie mistake that an undrafted D2 quarterback is bound to make. The other pick was late in the game in which he hit Darnell Mooney in the chest but a big hit popped the ball out and into the hands of Derwin James.
The main reason he struggled in to extend drives was because the Chargers defensive line contained him in the pocket for the most part and they also made an effort to take away throws to the outside. It was clear Bagent wanted to stay away from the middle of the field and the Chargers were able to live with the dink and dunk plays. Besides the nice throw to start the day, there were not many opportunities for a big pass down the field.
Bagent is a good backup, but Justin Fields is the better starter. That is the reality of the Chicago Bears quarterback situation, and that is what can be gleaned from Tyson Bagent's outing against the Chargers.