It wasn't all that pretty, at times, but the Chicago Bears made their way to 3-1 with a Week 4 victory over Aaron Glenn and his New York Jets.
Ben Johnson was able to get the better of his old friend from Detroit, as the Bears won a game with their third different starting quarterback this season.
Well, technically, Case Keenum got the first snap -- a fun-loving move by Johnson before tossing Tyson Bagent in for the rest of the game.
But, it was Bagent whom the Bears called upon in this one, and the result was no different. Chicago won the game and it didn't matter who was under center.
Now, what about some instant takeaways?
Oh, we've got them.
The Bears' Week 4 win over the Jets came with some telling takeaways
Tyson Bagent didn't do anything to keep the backup QB job
Tyson Bagent had THREE -- I repeat, three -- interceptions called back due to penalties on this day.
Yes, he ended the game with just one pick and the Bears came away victorious. However, it is hard not to think about what this game would've looked like with Case Keenum under center.
Bagent spread the ball around to the Bears' top three weapons -- truly the first time, this season, we've seen Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze all have a good chunk of production in the game game. But, he was incredibly inconsistent with his play.
Johnson clearly made the offense easier on Bagent for most of the game, as the quarterback took many easy completions throughout. Yet, his performance was erratic, at best.
Tyrique Stevenson has no chance of coming back to the Bears in 2027
Usually, a contract year means you'll see the best version of that player, especially when they're a fairly-high draft pick. But, Tyrique Stevenson was atrocious against the Jets.
In the first half, he dropped an easy interception. I mean, it quite literally went through his hands.
In the second half, he was beaten on a 58-yard touchdown from Geno Smith to Isaiah Williams. The last we saw Stevenson, on the play, he was lunging and grasping at Williams' back as the Jets' wideout scampered on into the end zone.
Overall, in this game, Stevenson gave up four receptions on six targets for 82 yards and a touchdown. He allowed Geno Smith an opposing quarterback rating of 149.3, per PFF.
We are at the point where putting Malik Muhammad on the outside and using just about anybody else in the slot should yield greater returns. Thankfully, it appears Kyler Gordon is nearly back.
Stevenson will undoubtedly be relegated to the bench.
Kyle Monangai is the better Bears running back right now
For the second-straight game, D'Andre Swift lost a fumble. Last week, it was on the goal line, but to see him lose one in his very next game was tough.
From then on, the Bears chose to leave Swift on the bench. It was the Kyle Monangai show, and he took over. Monangai ran hard and wound up with 146 yards on a whopping 30 carries.
Even Roschon Johnson got some touches inside the red zone after Swift's fumble. Swift stayed on the sideline while Johnson spelled Monangai and gave him a breather.
This was a clear message sent to Swift by Ben Johnson.
Bears defensive line has officially turned a corner
For three games in a row, now, the Bears' defense has played extremely well. It was hard to say much after the rain game against Minnesota, but now in back-to-back games against the Eagles and Jets, Chicago's defensive line has played some excellent football.
We have seen the likes of just about every defensive lineman get in on the action, getting after the quarterback and putting the pressure on.
I give Dennis Allen a ton of credit for this, because the Bears truly don't have the talent to be playing at such a high level up front. That sounds harsh, but most Bears fans would agree. Ryan Poles didn't do much to improve this defensive line in a big way, and they're playing lights-out.
Chicago sacked Geno Smith three times on Sunday, making that 13 sacks in four games -- that's a number Bears fans can live with.
The Kalif Raymond experiment is over
For fans wondering if we were going to continue to be Olamide Zaccheaus-ed this year, this was a pleasant sight to see. Now, that's not a slight on Kalif Raymond. He's a good football player.
But, through three weeks, there is no way Raymond should be leading this offense in targets.
Finally, that turned a corner against the Jets. Loveland had nine targets, Odunze had seven and Burden had six.
Raymond ended the game with just two.
Rome Odunze showed encouraging signs, but one lingering issue remains
The aforementioned Odunze had six receptions for 94 yards to lead the Bears against New York. He looked like the guy we always knew he could be, only if he got the targets to do so.
It was encouraging to see Odunze have a breakout game, but early on in this one, he did cause us some concern. In the first quarter, Odunze caught a pass and, as he went to the ground, the ball was ripped out by a Jets defender.
It looked like a fumble, but the referees made sure to review it and saw that he had hit the ground before the ball came loose.
Last week, Odunze dropped an easy touchdown.
Are these ball security issues going to continue? Or, are these just two back-to-back scares that we'll ultimately forget about?
Bears' goal line offense has serious problems
The Bears have won in convincing fashion for two games in a row, but their red zone offense is leaving much to be desired. The Bears went 3-for-3 on drives inside the 5-yard line in Week 1, but since then, they've gone 4-for-10.
Something is broken.
When they're between the 20's, the Bears are a different team. But, when it's time to punch it in close to the goal line, they cannot get a push. What's going on with this top-notch offensive line when they get so close to pay dirt?
All in all, the Bears are 3-1 and look like a contending football team. Whether it's Williams, Keenum or Bagent, the Bears have been able to win games.
Now, if they're able to correct some of these questions and/or issues, the possibilities go through the roof.
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