Bears hope for strong encore from Tyson Bagent vs. Chargers
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[October 26, 2023]
Undrafted Tyson Bagent will look to guide the Chicago Bears
to their second straight victory when they visit the Los Angeles
Chargers on Sunday night.
Bagent, a product of Division II Shepherd University in
Shepherdstown, W.Va., started last week in place of Justin Fields
(right thumb) and completed 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a
touchdown in Chicago's 30-12 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The 23-year-old didn't mince words on Wednesday when addressing just
what that start meant to him.
"Everything," he said. "Everybody knows coming from where I come
from, both the division I came from, kind of how I grew up with not
a whole lot of football resources around me. It felt good to be able
to just have hard work be rewarded."
The Bears (2-5) have won two of their past three contests following
a 14-game skid that dated to last season.
Given the team's recent success, perhaps it's no surprise that
Bagent said he'd like to keep his same practice habits going into
the prime-time game against the Chargers (2-4).
"I just like to keep it as similar as possible," he said. "This week
is going to be similar to last week in the sense of the reps that
I'm getting in practice. But other than that, just keep everything
the same."
Chicago left tackle Braxton Jones returned to practice Wednesday in
what could be positive news for Bagent as he prepares to face a pass
rush led by Joey Bosa and former Bears linebacker Khalil Mack.
Jones (neck) joined fellow offensive lineman Dan Feeney (knee) and
defensive back Eddie Jackson (foot) in being limited in practice on
Wednesday. Fields, offensive linemen Nate Davis (ankle) and Darnell
Wright (shoulder, toe) and defensive backs Jaquan Brisker (illness)
and Terell Smith (illness) did not participate at all.
Bears running back D'Onta Foreman responded to four weeks of being a
healthy scratch earlier in the season by putting his best foot
forward after being promoted to a starting role due to injuries to
Khalil Herbert, rookie Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer. Foreman
recorded three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) last week
against the Raiders.
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Johnson, who is dealing with a concussion, was a
full participant in practice on Wednesday.
The Chargers have been extremely generous on defense, allowing an
NFL-worst 310 passing yards per game and a league second-worst 406.8
total yards per contest.
Los Angeles traditionally relies on Justin Herbert, but the
strong-armed quarterback has struggled since he sustained a
fractured finger on his left hand in Week 4.
Herbert has passed for just 653 yards and tossed four interceptions
in his past three games, including a 17-for-30 performance for 259
yards with a touchdown and two picks in a 31-17 setback to the
Kansas City Chiefs last week. The loss was the second in a row for
the Chargers.
"It's tough. It's the NFL, and that's the tough part about it,"
Herbert said. "But you have to keep answering, you have to keep
fighting. No one in the locker room is down. No one is worried or
panicking. We have to get this thing going, and we know we have the
guys to get it done."
One of those guys is Keenan Allen, who leads the team in catches
(46), receiving yards (574) and receiving touchdowns (four). Fellow
wideout Joshua Palmer produced a career-high 133 receiving yards
last week vs. the Chiefs, but a knee ailment caused him to join
tight end Gerald Everett (hip) in failing to participate in practice
on Wednesday.
Los Angeles will look to take advantage of a struggling Chicago
defense. The Bears are yielding 257.1 yards per game through the
air, fourth worst in the NFL, and 26.9 points per contest, fifth
worst.
--Field Level Media
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