Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent walked off the field Sunday with a familiar song blaring from the Soldier Field speakers.
Country roads, take me home/To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama/Take me home, country roads
The Martinsburg, W.Va., native almost cried.
“It’s extremely humbling,” he said.
The win against the Jets was emotional for the Bears quarterback, who was making his first start in three years, and for his family in the stands.
Sunday’s game against the Packers on Sunday will be emotional for the entire fan base, though. Like Walter Payton 27 years earlier, Mike Ditka — the Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end and legendary coach — died during Packers week. The Bears’ best tribute to Ditka would be with by beating the rival he — and everyone still inside Halas Hall — hate so much.
In 1999, six days after Payton’s death, the Bears saluted Payton at Lambeau Field when Bryan Robinson blocked Ryan Longwell’s 28-yard field goal as time expired. That win improved the Bears to 4-5 and snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Packers.
“I think Walter Payton picked me up,” Robinson said then, “because I can’t jump that high.”
A win Sunday would improve the Bears to 4-1 and wrest control of the rivalry into coach Ben Johnson’s arms, perhaps for years to come. Even against a struggling Packers team, the Bears will need Bagent to play better than he did last week to walk out of Lambeau Field with a rare victory.
“Every game ever given to me, nothing changes on my end,” Bagent said. “It is very cool to be able to play in the greatest rivalry in sports.”
Bagent went 25-for-34 for 268 yards and an interception in the 23-12 win against the Jets, but had three more interceptions come back because of penalties. He leaned on the NFL’s best rushing attack — one that will look different Sunday. With running back Kyle Monangai out with an injured toe, the Bears will lean on D’Andre Swift, who was benched against the Jets after fumbling for the second time in three games.
A team that struggled in short yardage and in the red zone last week could also turn to Roschon Johnson, a power runner who will take Monangai’s place. More than anything, though, they’ll need Bagent to be accurate and on time when it matters most.
That’s a lot of pressure for Bagent, the son of an arm wrestler and the team’s second-string quarterback since they made him an undrafted free agent out of Div. II Shepherd University. It might be his last chance to start for a while, too — Caleb Williams, who has spent three weeks rehabbing his injured hamstring, returned to practice Friday for the first time.
Bagent proved last week — and third-stringer Case Keenum the week before — that the star of the Bears’ offense might just be the offense itself.
“It’s great to see their opportunity come and those guys just execute what you thought they would be able to do,” offensive coordinator Press Taylor said. “It’s a great way to send the message across the team. ‘This is what it looks like, this is the expectation.’ Because there was never a doubt in anybody’s mind that whoever played in whatever week was ready to go.
“To see that come to light has been pretty cool.”