The Chicago Bears had a quarterback decision to make heading into their Week 4 game against the New York Jets. With starter Caleb Williams still sidelined by a very real hamstring strain, head coach Ben Johnson had to choose between Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent. Bagent ended training camp No. 2 on the depth chart, but suffered a concussion after he spelled Williams in Week 2. That opened the door for Keenum to start Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles, which turned into a magical night for the 38-year-old in a brilliant performance to lead the Bears to an unlikely win.
Could Keenum really do it again? Did Bagent really deserve to lose his backup job because of an injury? Johnson played his cards close to the vest all week, but reports circulated at the end of the week that Bagent would be the starter.
Those reports pissed off Johnson. When the Bears came out for the first possession of the game, it was Keenum lined up under center while Bagent was playing wide receiver. Keenum handed the ball off for a short gain, and it was the only snap he took all afternoon. Bagent took over from there, and the Bears demolished the Jets 23-12.
Johnson was asked about why Keenum took the first snap of the game, and described it as a “ceremonial first pitch.” He mostly made the decision to mess with the media reports leading into the week. Watch Johnson’s press conference clip here:
“I got all these memos saying Tyson was starting before I ever made an announcement,” Johnson said. “So I wanted to get Case out there first time.”
The reporters in the press conference quickly noted that Johnson’s plan meant Keenum — not Bagent — earned the win. Johnson is a data nerd who probably hates the idea of wins as a QB stat more than anyone. He immediately said it was a team win, and a convincing one for Chicago at that.
Johnson’s ploy to start the game did put an asterisk on the Bears’ win in the history books. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears would have become the third team since 1950 to have three quarterbacks win in the first four games of the season … but not Keenum gets credit for the win over the Jets, not Bagent. Johnson won’t care about that at all. He’s just happy his team could keep it humming with another new QB against a Jets team that has been a little feistier than expected.
Johnson is a psychopath in the best way possible. He spoke openly about wanting to set the NFL scoring record coming into this season, and while Williams’ injury might derail that, he’s still doing incredible things with this team. Some of these stats via Biggs and the Tribune are just unbelievable. The win over the Jets was not nearly as close as the final score indicated. The Bears had more first downs (34) than the Jets did total plays (32). Chicago won the time of possession battle 42:45 to 17:15. The Bears didn’t punt. The Jets’ 32 plays is the fourth-lowest total in NFL history. The Bears ran 57 more plays than the Jets, the second biggest margin in league history.
The Bears’ win in Week 3 with Keenum under center proved Johnson is an elite NFL head coach early into his second season. Their win over the Jets with Bagent at QB feels like it certifies Chicago as a true Super Bowl contender. The Bears are far from perfect, but the defense has been better than expected and it’s clear Johnson can draw up a good game plan regardless of who is playing QB. If Williams can come back healthy and regain his form as a potential top-10 quarterback league-wide, the Bears will be right there with the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks in the NFC.
Landing Johnson and Williams together feels too good to be true for Bears fans who suffered through the Marc Trestman, John Fox, and Matt Eberflus eras recently. This team is cooking, and we haven’t even seen them at their best yet. That’s a scary thought, and it’s largely because of Johnson’s remarkable competence at head coach.
