The Chicago Bears had a quarterback decision heading into their Week 4 game against the New York Jets. with a starter Caleb Williams is still sidelined with a very real hamstring strain.Head coach Ben Johnson had to choose between Case Keenum and Tyson Bagant. Bagent finished training camp No. 2 on the depth chart, but suffered a setback after writing Williams in Week 2. That opened the door for Keenum to start Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles. It turned out to be a magical night for the 38-year-old With an impressive performance to lead the Bears to an unlikely victory.
Can Keenum do it again? Did Bagent really deserve to lose his backup job because of the injury? Johnson played his cards close to the vest all week, but reports circulated over the weekend that Bagent would be the starter.
Those reports saddened Johnson. When the Bears took their first possession of the game, Keenum lined up under center and Bagent played wide receiver. Keenum picked up the ball briefly and it was his only snap of the afternoon. Bagent took over from there, and the Bears crushed the Jets 23-12.
Johnson was asked why Keenum called the first time of the game and described it as “the first pitch of a ritual.” He made the decision in large part to undermine media coverage going into the week. Watch a clip of Johnson’s press conference here:
“I got all the memos that Tyson was starting before I put in the ad,” Johnson said, “so I wanted to get Case out there for the first time.”
Reporters at the press conference said Johnson’s plan meant Keenum — not Bagent — got the win. Johnson is probably a data nerd who hates the idea of winning as much as QB stats. He immediately said that it is a team victory, and at that it is convincing for Chicago.
Johnson’s technique to start the game marked the Bears’ all-star victory in the history books. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago TribuneThe Bears became just the third team since 1950 to beat three quarterbacks in the first four games of a season … Johnson doesn’t care about that. He’s glad the team can continue to grind out another new QB while facing a Jets team that’s a little taller than expected.
Johnson is a psychopath in every possible way. He made it clear that he wanted to set the NFL scoring record. Coming into this season and Williams’ injury may have hindered that, he’s still doing amazing things with this team. Some of these statistics are unbelievable by Biggs and the Tribune. The win over the Jets wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. The Bears had more first downs (34) than the Jets’ total plays (32). Chicago won the possession battle 42:45 to 17:15. The Bears didn’t bat. The Jets’ 32 plays are the fourth-lowest total in NFL history. The Bears ran 57 more games than the Jets, the second-largest margin in league history.
Keenum is under center in the Bears’ win streak in Week 3. Johnson has proven to be a successful NFL head coach at the start of his second season. A win over the Jets with Bagant at QB seems to cement Chicago as a true Super Bowl contender. The Bears aren’t perfect, but the defense has been better than expected and it’s clear that Johnson can game plan well no matter who the QB is playing. If Williams can return to health and regain his form as a 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 felt too good to be true for Bears fans who have suffered through the recent era of Marc Trestman, John Fox and Matt Eberfels. This team is cooking, and we haven’t seen them at their best yet. That’s a scary thought, and it’s largely because of Johnson’s impressive performance as a head coach.
