Just for One Day

The Bears started undrafted, D-II rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent yesterday in place of the injured Justin Fields, and Holy Virgil Carter, Bagent looked good in a Munsters’ 30-12 win over the visiting Raiders. Of course, Coach Matt Eberflus used a game plan provided by George Halas from the other side: Run, run, pass if you must, but only if you have no one fresh to run. Given those parameters, Bagent handed the ball off thirty-eight times to runners who accumulated 173 yards while passing for 162 yards himself on twenty-one of twenty-nine attempts with no interceptions (or fumbles). If he had managed a few completions downfield (his longest pass went for sixteen yards), Bagent would be the subject of a heated quarterback controversy this week, with Bears’ fans in his corner and the coaching staff behind Fields. But that controversy may only be delayed, depending on the extent of Fields’ dislocated thumb. Bagent wins again on the road against the Chargers, talk radio will be in meltdown mode. As it was, former Bears’ Ed O’Bradovich and Dan Hampton could barely contain themselves on their postgame radio show. They kept talking about Bagent’s poise, which did in fact show throughout the game. I think it was O’Bradovich who said the rookie made his offensive line look good. The o-line allowed two sacks on the afternoon. Heck, they do that on a single play behind Fields. This is how dysfunctional the Bears’ offense has been for years, that a display of competence stands out. Fox analyst Rob Gronkowski wasn’t impressed, but he doesn’t live here, doesn’t see on a daily basis what passes—pun intended—for NFL football in Chicago. Let’s see if Bagent gets a start next Sunday and connects with D.J. Moore a few times for some yardage. In the meantime, maybe somebody could call up Virgil Carter for a comment, or write about why that should matter.