Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent did not have his magic wand work and the team had a complete breakdown and was blown out by the Los Angeles Chargers 30-12.
The bipolar Chicago Bears continues into Week 8. They had a good game in their upset of the Las Vegas Raiders last week. It was arguably their most complete game, and it gave their fans hope that perhaps they could be on their way to improving.
Then, the next week, they have a game like they did on Sunday. As complete as they were against the Raiders, they failed in all aspects against the Los Angeles Chargers. They had no answers in a 30-13 thrashing. The game was not as close as the score indicated.
It started right from the first play of the game. On the kickoff, returner Velus Jones took the ball out of the end zone instead of taking the touchback. He only made it to the 20, thus giving the Bears a negative play from the start.
It only got worse from there.
On the first play from scrimmage, the Bears tried to show that quarterback Tyson Bagent did not have the weak arm everyone talked about. He threw a bomb to Darnell Mooney for a 41-yard gain.
However, that was another negative for the Chicago Bears. It appeared that Mooney was not touched after he caught the ball. He got up, looked around confused, and headed toward the end zone. Even the officials seemed confused. They were not sure if someone even blew a whistle on the play until they called the play dead. The confusion cost the Bears a possible touchdown.
That bomb was the only good throw deep in the entire game by Bagent. It was also the only catch Mooney made in the game. The Bears proceeded to move backward on the next few plays and were knocked out of field goal range.
The defense did not put up a fight
The Chicago Bears punted the ball to the Chargers’ eight-yard line. They then proceeded to march 92 yards in 10 plays, using just 5:36 off the clock. It continued to go downward from there.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert masterfully took what the Bears gave him. Chicago’s defense played a deep zone to keep Herbert from making the big throw downfield. He was perfectly happy with throwing the ball underneath. Then his receivers turned those short or intermediate passes into bigger plays. Herbert finished the game 31/40 for 298 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The Bears’ defenders helped the Chargers cause. There were plenty of missed tackles all over the field. It seemed like the first would-be tackler missed the tackle on every single play.
The defense did continue its impressive play against the run, however. They allowed just 54 rushing yards and the Chargers only averaged 2.2 yards per carry. Part of the reason for it was the fact that the Chargers did not feel the need to continue to run until the game was in hand. They just kept throwing the ball as evidenced by the 40 dropbacks.
The offense was bland and could not make plays
One of the best aspects of Bagent’s game last week was how he managed the offense and avoided turning the ball over. That did not happen against the Chargers.
It was interesting to see how Bagent’s game would be if the team was fighting from behind. When you have the lead, you can dink and dunk and use the running game to use up the clock. When you are behind, however, could he make big plays downfield to grab chunks of yards?
The Chargers wondered the same thing. They closed off everything short. As soon as a Bears receiver got the ball the Chargers defender, unlike the Bears defenders, was right on top of him and made the stop.
The Chargers practically dared Bagent to go deep. When he did, he got into trouble. He got into trouble going downfield, finishing the game 25/37 for 232 yards, and failed to throw a touchdown while throwing 2 interceptions. He ran for -1 yard, though he did rush for a touchdown.
The interceptions were disconcerting. He underthrew D.J. Moore on a pass downfield that was easily picked off. He also threw one to Mooney that many said he should have caught. However, it was high and Mooney had to go up high for it right before the defender hit him to lodge the ball into the hands of another defender.
What was more frustrating was that Bagent could have had even more interceptions. He could have had at least five interceptions. The Chargers dropped quite a few passes. Having Bagent throw downfield was dangerous for him.
Because the Bears were behind all game, they could not run the ball effectively. After averaging 171 rushing yards in the past four games, they had only 73 on Sunday, averaging 2.9 yards per carry.
What’s next?
With the struggles again, the question is if starter Justin Fields can get healthy enough to get back on the field. Yes, he has his own troubles. However, he has the arm and the ability to make big plays. Perhaps his biggest flaw is that he looks for the big play too much. That is a reason why he holds onto the ball so long.
Some say that if Fields could combine his talents with Bagent’s ability to get rid of the ball quickly then he would be much more successful in this offense. We’ll see what happens and see if he is ready next week. They face the New Orleans next week.
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