Sunday must’ve brought back some nightmarish visions for Chicago Bears fans. They’re all too familiar watching overwhelmed quarterbacks going against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. It’s been their experience for most of the past 30 years. It was hoped that Tyson Bagent was mature enough to handle that pressure. He was not. The fourth-year quarterback delivered the worst performance of his career, going 12-for-21 for 87 yards and 2 interceptions.
Was it really that bad, though? There are cases in the past where a quarterback never really had a chance because the situation around him was so bad. Maybe his teammates let him down. So I dug into the game tape for some answers. Let’s put it this way.
Had Bagent played even a C+ kind of game on Sunday, he likely would’ve had over 300 yards passing. That is how many open opportunities he missed. Here is a rundown of some of the worst.
Tyson Bagent play #1 – The first INT
One thing you’ll see a lot throughout the film is Bagent predetermining where he goes with the ball. It’s pretty evident from this play that he was going to Luther Burden once he’d looked off the safety. He didn’t bother to examine just how crowded the coverage was. Had he done the responsible thing and pulled the ball in, he would have had Colston Loveland wide open with over 10 yards of green grass in front of him. It is a bad read and a bad decision.
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Play #2
Another persistent feature of this game was how Tyson Bagent kept wasting good protection with bad throws. Here, he gets the snap, and the offensive line gives him a clean pocket. Ultimately, he throws too far ahead of Cole Kmet in the flat, who’s wide open. That alone is bad. Yet if he’d trusted the protection as he should have, he would have seen Loveland past the linebacker at the 40-yard line and pretty much all by himself. If Bagent puts the ball on him, the tight end has Rome Odunze already in front of the safety to block for him.
Play #3
This is another case of Bagent trying to force the ball to a predetermined target. It’s clear from his eyes that he is looking for Odunze all the way. He wisely climbs the pocket to buy time. There is nobody in his face. He should be able to see that Green Bay has that area of the field bracketed between four defenders. Bagent doesn’t have the arm for a throw like that. Meanwhile, Burden is all alone at the 15-yard line. It should be an easy decision. Instead, the quarterback goes for the home run. It isn’t a very good throw, and the Packers get the pick.
Play #4
If it’s starting to sound overly repetitive, that’s because it is. Tyson Bagent is locked onto Loveland, who is the primary read on the play. The quarterback can’t recognize how tight the coverage is. Only a perfect throw would’ve worked. What hurts even more is that Bagent didn’t have to look far for a better option. Rookie receiver Zavion Thomas was in the same area. He was wide open running a post route. If he gets the ball, there is no way that Packers safety is catching him before the end zone.
Play #5 – Bagent’s rock bottom
Probably the most egregious play Bagent made in this game. The situation was crucial. Chicago had just scored to make it 14-7 and forced a Green Bay punt. A quick 6-yard pass made it 2nd and 4 at the Bears’ own 16-yard line. With a minute to go, they still have time to put some points on the board before the half. Instead, Bagent takes a brutal 6-yard sack. Rewatching the tape shows by far his worst read of the day.
Green Bay brings a blitz from the right side. Wide receiver Luther Burden runs his route directly into the open space they leave behind. He has nobody within 10 yards of him. Bagent is literally staring right at him. The pocket isn’t perfect, but he has enough time. He doesn’t pull the trigger. A late blitz from Brandon Cisse leads to a sack, killing the drive and pretty much leading to the second-half collapse.
Normally, in games like this, there are reasons why a quarterback struggles. The protection is bad. Receivers aren’t getting open. Maybe the elements play a part. That isn’t the case here. The weather was perfect. Protection, while not pristine, was more than adequate. Worst of all, receivers were open quite often. Bagent just didn’t take advantage. That loss is mostly on him, at least from the offense’s perspective.
