The Chicago Bears beat the Las Vegas Raiders to get to 2-5. The odds of them turning the season around are unlikely, but with a new quarterback coming, it has some fans excited about a potential turnaround for this season. However, fans have to remember that these things are true despite the win.
4. Tyson Bagent did not prove he was the Chicago Bears future
It is hard to say anything negative about the first start for Tyson Bagent, but you have to put it into perspective. Bagent played well for a backup quarterback who is a rookie UDFA making his first start. That does not mean that he would have lit up every defense.
Bagent mainly managed the game. The run game was working, and the Raiders were coming in a bit weak on defense. Bagent completed 72% of his passes, which is great. He also averaged just 5.6 yards per attempt, which is not great. He did not push the ball down the field and did not take risks.
A backup can come in for a game or team and keep things afloat, but if the Chicago Bears were in a tight game that went back and forth and asked more from him, we may have seen different results.
Maybe he is the next Tom Brady, or maybe he is the next Marc Bulger or a player along those lines. However, the performance he showed on Sunday is just that he is a quality backup. His play on Sunday was similar to someone like Garnder Misnhew. We saw the Jaguars draft Trevor Lawrence even though Minshew could win a game or two against bad defenses. Let's wait to see more before we get too excited.
3. The Chicago Bears offensive line will still have issues this year
The Chicago Bears run game looked as good as we have seen, and Tyson Bagent only took one sack. Maxx Crosby got a sack in an obvious pass situation when Bagent was looking to make something happen before halftime.
Beyond that, the line looked fine on paper. However, there are still questions about how good this unit can be. Larry Borom had multiple holding calls, and most of his day was against Malcolm Koonce and the struggling rookie Tyree Wilson.
Lucas Patrick and Cody Whitehair looked fine in this game, but the interior of the Raiders featured Adam Butler and Bilal Nichols. The Raiders were statistically one of the worst defenses the Bears faced when it came to the run. When Borom, Whitehair, and Patrick have to face better interior linemen, they are still going to struggle.
Beyond that, there is a question of what will happen when the team gets Nate Davis back. They will be moving Teven Jenkins back to left guard, which is asking a lot from him. It was nice to see what happens when the Chicago Bears can win in the trenches, but it is hard to expect that to continue. Especially with Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack up next.
2. The Chicago Bears signing Tremaine Edmunds has not been worth it
Sunday was the biggest impact we had seen from the Chicago Bears' big free agent signing Tremaine Edmunds. Edmunds had eight tackles; two passes defended and an interception. While that is great, that should be expected, and one good game out of seven has not made his signing worth it yet.
Edmunds played fine, but the interception was off of a deflection by Yannick Ngakoue. He made the play, Edmunds just was there to capitalize. It was the best that we had seen Edmunds in coverage, but it also was a backup quarterback in Brian Hoyer. He was easily the worst quarterback that they have faced.
Josh Jacobs has also not been the same this season. The Chicago Bears have to hope that this game wakes Tremaine Edmunds up. We could look back in three weeks and think that Edmunds has proven all of the doubters wrong, and he is a fit for the defense. However, after one week, we have to say that we need to see more.
1. The Chicago Bears defense still has a lot to prove
The Chicago Bears defense played well on Sunday. They allowed 12 points, and a touchdown came in garbage time. The defense played well against the Minnesota Vikings as well, with just 19 points allowed, including a defensive touchdown. So, there is reason to think the defense has turned things around. Getting Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon back has certainly helped as well.
Still, while the Chicago Bears' defense has played two good games, there is still reason to be a little nervous. First, today they beat Brian Hoyer. It is nice to walk away with the win, but Hoyer is a long-time backup and has lost seven straight starts. It is expected to shut him down, which is not impressive. The Minnesota Vikings offense was in a funk, but the Vikings offense also was playing their first game without Justin Jefferson when they took on the Bears. It is good for the Bears' defense to show up and perform in the moment, but at the same time, we saw them handle themselves against a couple of wounded ducks.
The Los Angeles Chargers will be a real test. Their offense is not perfect, but Justin Herbert will push this unit a lot more than Brian Hoyer. We will see just how real this defense is in the coming week. It is fair to say they are improving and have improved. It is just as fair to say that they have not proven enough yet.