The New York Jets pressured Tyson Bagent 13 times, according to Next Gen Stats, but the Chicago Bears allowed only one sack and two quarterback hits. While head coach Ben Johnson did dial up a few more longer developing plays than in the Week 3 game plan for Case Keenum, Bagent’s average air yards per attempt of 5.8 was even lower than Keenum’s against the Eagles (6.4). For those curious, Caleb Williams averaged 10.4 in Week 1.
Head coach Ben Johnson said in an ESPN 1000 interview that Bagent’s performance
featured, “Some good and some that I think he wants back, and so it was a little bit of a mixed bag.”
He added, “The best part was how he controlled the operation. I thought we had good tempo in and out of the huddle. I thought our guys played with a lot of confidence because of how he conducted himself, and you know, he found completions. I thought he played an efficient football game. But you know, we put the ball in jeopardy too much, and fortunately we did have a couple negated due to penalties, and yet, the one (interception) that we had was still a significant turnover because we were giving them momentum, and you know, between the fact that we weren’t scoring in the red zone, the game was a lot closer than what it needed to be. So, we got to do a better job protecting that football.”
The pass protection was there for Bagent most of the afternoon, and even with some pressure leaking through, I felt he could have avoided it with a subtle movement in the pocket instead of being so quick to check it down. He’s a good athlete, so I also wonder if Johnson will ask him to take off if the opportunity arises.
“Then there’s a couple times where we had some other opportunities down the field that we’re going to challenge him to go ahead and pull the trigger on, when we have our pass catchers playing the way that they played yesterday. You got to keep them guessing this week.”
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and one of the most uncharacteristic sacks allowed I’ve had to break down.
- Sack 7: 2nd Quarter – 1-10-CHI 33 (:59) (No Huddle, Shotgun) T.Bagent sacked at CHI 25 for -8 yards (D.Davis)
The Bears were in hurry-up mode as the end of the half was nearing, and watching live, my immediate thought was that Bagent missed where the free blitzer was coming from after setting the protection. But then I saw the replay and realized he never had a chance.
I assume right tackle Darnell Wright missed a check or misheard the play, because he wasn’t pass-blocking here.
Wright realized his error before he was ineligibly downfield, but he was in no position to help, and no one was there to pick up linebacker Demario Davis.
Running back D’Andre Swift looked to be heading to the edge for a check release into the flat, so he overshot Davis, who never should have been free anyway. Bagent also wasn’t aware of Davis because he assumed Wright had that gap locked down and Swift was moving right in case the Jets sent a third player.
Could Bagent have felt the pressure? Perhaps, but he trusted the protection in front of him and knew that any free blitzer would have come from his left since Swift and tight end Cole Kmet were both on the right.
This sack is on Wright.
But he is playing at an All-Pro level.
Here’s the individual Sackwatch tally after four weeks:
Sacks happen – 2
Darnell Wright – 1
Garrett Bradbury – 1
Jonah Jackson – 1
Colston Loveland – 1
Theo Benedet – .5
Caleb Williams – .5
As I’ve often said, the breakdowns are based on my best guesses about each play. Only the Bears know the specifics and where the blame truly lies for each sack allowed.
Here are the total Bears’ sacks allowed through Week 4 in the Sackwatch era:
2010 – 18 Martz
2011 – 15 Martz
2012 – 13 Tice
2013 – 6 Trestman
2014 – 8 Trestman
2015 – 9 Gase
2016 – 11 Loggains
2017 – 8 Loggains
2018 – 10 Nagy
2019 – 9 Nagy
2020 – 8 Nagy
2021 – 16 Nagy
2022 – 16 Getsy
2023 – 17 Getsy
2024 – 16 Waldron
2025 – 7 Johnson
2026 – 7 Johnson
