Bears running back Kyle Monangai paced the Bears with 30 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, leading a smothering offensive attack in a 23-12 win against the Jets at Soldier Field. His 30 carries were the most for a Bears rusher since David Montgomery had 32 in 2020.
The Bears finished the game with a franchise-beest 34 first downs to the Jets’ seven. They averaged a first down every 2.6 plays. They held the ball for all but 17 minutes and never punted.
Behind a surprisingly nasty defense and a run game that was the best in the NFL through three weeks, quarterback Tyson Bagent was efficient, completing 25-of-34 passes for 268 yards, one interception and a 83.9 passer rating.
That’s a good first step for Bagent, particularly given who awaits the Bears on their schedule. Part of the rationale for starting Bagent instead of Keenum was to prepare him to play in Green Bay in Caleb Williams is unable to return from his pulled hamstring. The Bears consider Bagent their second-best quarterback, regardless of Keenum’s standout performance against the Eagles on “Monday Night Football.”
After spending all week ducking the question of who would start at quarterback, Ben Johnson started both Sunday. You could practically see him winking from the press box.
Bagent, who took the starter’s snaps all week, lined up at wide receiver for the first play against the Jets at Soldier Field. Keenum, who wowed the country on “Monday Night Football” six days earlier, took a shotgun snap at pitched the ball to D’Andre Swift for a short gain. Then Keenum — who was technically the starting quarterback — ran to the sideline to watch Bagent play. Before Johnson’s starting shenanigans, the Bears were set to become the first team to start three different quarterbacks in the first four weeks of the season since the 1997 Jaguars.
Momentarily, it looked as Bagent had given the Jets their first interception in 21 games when defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat picked off a screen. As the Jets were posing for cameras in the south end zone, though, officials announced an illegal hands to the face penalty that negated the pick. It was the first of three interceptions Bagent threw that came back because of penalty.
In the second quarter, though, Bagent was intercepted by Jets safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, ending the NFL’s longest-ever interception drought at 644.
After the negated Sweat interception. the Bears kept possession and went on to score their first touchdown on a second-effort lunge by Monangai on fourth-and-goal from the half-yard line late in the first quarter. The Bears struggled in that exact same spot earlier in the game when they had two D’Andre Swift plunges — the second on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1 — first called touchdowns and then overturned after replay.
The Bears faced third-and-goal or fourth-and-goal from the Jets’ 1 five times on Sunday. They scored just once, throwing one interception and being stuffed on three runs.
Monangai and Roschon Johnson shared carries after Swift fumbled in the third quarter. It was his second fumble in three weeks, with the other coming at the goal line.