Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent admittedly got off to a slower start than he would have liked in Sunday’s preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, but his response to adversity only made Case Keenum a bigger fan.
Bagent and the Bears offense stalled out on their first two drives of Sunday’s exhibition against the Dolphins, but they responded in the second quarter with a 16-play drive that ended with Bagent throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to wideout Maurice Alexander.
Bagent finished the afternoon 13-of-19 passing for 103 yards, one touchdown, one pick and two sacks. He played for the entire first half before passing the reins to Keenum.
“I really, really liked how he responded to not the start that we wanted,” Keenum said in Sunday’s postgame. “There are a lot of things that go into a football game. And you plan, you have a first 15 [plays] and openers that you have that you want the game to start and go that way. But when it doesn’t, it’s, how do you react? How do you respond?
“He just stayed the course, and I really, really thought that was really good of him.”
Tyson Bagent Thought Communication Was ‘Clean’
Bagent didn’t dwell much on the offense’s “slow start” during Sunday’s postgame. He was instead more appreciative that the Bears let him play the entire first half against the Dolphins, marking the first time he has played a full half of an exhibition in three years.
“I haven’t gotten to play a full half in the preseason since I’ve been here, so that was a lot of fun,” Bagent said Sunday. “I think the only unfun part was just the start that we had. We got off to a little bit of a slow start, able to hit the ground running in the second quarter, but it was definitely as exciting as ever to be out there.”
Bagent also said he took pride in the “clean” communication between him and his offensive line during the 24-24 tie, crediting veteran center Ryan Bates for his part.
“We’ve got good communication out there, so I thought it was about as clean as it could have been, which is good,” Bagent added Sunday. “I take a lot of pride in that, so I thought that aspect was good throughout.”
Case Keenum & Tyson Bagent Are Close in QB2 Battle
Bagent is right to take positives away from Sunday’s first preseason game, but he must also focus on making sure his next performance is better if he wants to avoid losing any ground to Keenum in their battle for the No. 2 quarterback job behind Caleb Williams.
Keenum was the most decisive of the three Bears quarterbacks who played against the Dolphins, completing 8-of-10 passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns. In fairness, the 37-year-old should look like the most experienced quarterback with 66 career starts to his name, but his efficient performance nonetheless improved his case for the QB2 job.
Bagent will have two more preseason games to try and pull further away from Keenum, but more inconsistent performances like last Sunday could jeopardize his No. 2 job.
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