As the 2026 NFL season enters October, perhaps there’s been no better story over the first few weeks than third-string quarterback Case Keenum leading the Chicago Bears to a resounding 27-7 defeat of the Philadelphia Eagles in front of a “Monday Night Football” audience on Sept. 28. It was the first regular-season game the 38-year-old journeyman had played in more than 1,000 days.
But if the Bears are smart, they won’t try to double down on the Keenum magic by asking him to perform an encore six days later.
As head coach Ben Johnson prepares the Bears to face the atypically frisky New York Jets at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon, he isn’t saying whether Keenum or backup Tyson Bagent, who spent most of the week prior to the Eagles game in concussion
protocol, will start. Johnson even seemed to leave the door open for blossoming starter Caleb Williams to play, though the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 2 is expected to keep him out for roughly a month.
“We've got three guys, and we'll work through the week and see where they're at,” Johnson said Wednesday.
“Whoever we feel like gives us the best chance to win.”
And while Keenum ripped through the Eagles defense for 247 yards and two TDs with his arm before scoring himself on a “sucker sneak” for a fourth-quarter exclamation point, there are simply too many good reasons for Johnson to pivot to Bagent against the Jets. So let’s count them:
Bears have already signaled preference for Tyson Bagent
You’re not supposed to lose your job because of injury in the NFL, though it definitely happens – just ask Drew Bledsoe, Trent Green, Trey Lance or countless others. But vaulting a nomadic QB3 who may be an ex-NFL player at just about any time over a highly regarded, young backup seems foolish.
“There was a reason why Tyson ended training camp as our number two quarterback,” Johnson said after beating the Eagles.
The coach also gushed about Bagent, an undrafted free agent in 2023 despite setting numerous NCAA and FCS passing records at Division II Shepherd University (West Virginia), when the Bears pre-emptively gave him a two-year, $10 million contract extension last summer.
"I've really been blown away by his approach,” Johnson, who knows a little something about quarterbacks and offense, said at the time.
“He does a tremendous job knowing what to do, how to do it and getting it done. … I think we actually have one of the best rooms in the NFL, certainly that I've been around in my career from top to bottom.”
Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor was nearly as complimentary this week.
“He's a guy that we've never felt like you have to worry about his mindset,” he said of Bagent. “He's one of the most locked in people I've ever been around.”
Tyson Bagent needs reps, for his own good and Bears
Bagent hasn’t started an NFL game since his rookie year, when he went 2-2 while subbing in for Justin Fields, and never for Johnson, who was hired last year. And while it’s tempting to go back to Keenum, getting Bagent sharpened and further experienced is probably the best play over the longer run – especially if Williams goes down again later this season.
Also? At some point, Bagent’s contract is going to expire (after the 2027 season actually). Yet he’s already shown enough to suggest he’s the kind of player another team might want to take a chance on as its long-term starter – in a similar vein as Jimmy Garoppolo or, just this year, Malik Willis. If Bagent gets more game action and excels – which seems fairly likely given what Keenum just put on tape while playing in Johnson’s system – then it becomes far more likely that the 26-year-old becomes a valuable asset that GM Ryan Poles could eventually spin off into draft capital at a time when it seems likely the Bears will no longer be perennially choosing players in the top 10.
“I have absolutely zero ego in this, and nobody's a bigger cheerleader and a fan of Case Keenum than I am,” Bagent said Thursday.
“Yes, of course, it goes without being said that I would love to be in the game, love to make an impact for the team and love to make a difference when my number is called.”
The Ben Johnson factor
Chicago’s coach, perhaps the most highly regarded offensive mind in the league right now, just put another impressive bullet point on his résumé with Monday night’s win. And it’s important to note he had a full week to prepare a game plan tailored to Keenum – and his limitations. And the Eagles basically invited Keenum to beat them, instead clamping down on the Bears’ normally prolific ground game to the tune of 3.7 yards per carry – that success partly fueled because Keenum lacks the mobility of Bagent or Williams. And while Rome Odunze dropped a perfectly thrown Keenum pass for a TD, what turned into a spectacular 41-yard TD pass to Kalif Raymond later in the game was a complete bailout by Raymond – the wide receiver almost pirouetting to snatch a poorly thrown pass before taking it to the house.
KALIF RAYMOND TO THE HOUSE
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 29, 2026
📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/JYrzzQ1Ol0
Moving forward?
Though they’re only 1-2, the Jets are playing far better football – offensively and defensively – than the Eagles and just took Johnson’s former team, the still-explosive Detroit Lions, to the wire in Motown last weekend. The Bears will almost certainly benefit from putting Bagent into the lineup given his ability to contribute to the running game with his fresh legs, operate more effectively on rollouts and also stretch the field given his arm is much stronger than Keenum’s. And opening downfield windows for Johnson is typically deadly for the opposition.
Changing QBs creates another problem for Jets
Part of the reason for Keenum’s success was also that the Eagles really had no topical film to study of him operating Johnson’s offense – and preseason most definitely does not count. The same will apply to Bagent, who should now benefit from more than a full week of prep since he came back from the concussion, and maybe more so since his physical skill set should broaden Johnson’s play-calling options.
And if you don’t think teams struggle to beat unfamiliar backups? Consider that the six quarterbacks who have started games this season – despite not being their respective team’s Week 1 starter – are a collective 6-0. It’s another good reason to start Bagent, especially since the Jets have a much better idea how to defend Keenum than Philadelphia did.
And Keenum wants you to know the Bears will be fine, for now, with Williams out and that you should expect them to excel regardless of who’s in the lineup – maybe especially so with Bagent.
“It's not like we've been sitting on the couch and eating potato chips, or tortilla chips and queso and guac and salsa,” he said, referring to himself and Bagent.
“We've been working our tails off. That's part of this job, preparing. And when preparation meets the opportunity that's what it looks like. If his name's called, I expect the same, if not better. He's a baller.”
Sounds like Case closed.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Case Keenum is a nice story, but Bears should pivot to Tyson Bagent | Opinion
