GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Bears and Tyson Bagent have waited years for him to get an opportunity to be their starting quarterback, especially in coach Ben Johnson’s offense, but it’s been rough so far.
Bagent was bad enough in the 31-7 loss to the Packers on Sunday to get benched as Johnson ran out of patience waiting for him to get the offense rolling. He completed 12 of 21 passes for 87 yards with two interceptions for a 27.4 passer rating, and Keenum was more of the same at 11-for-19 passing, 108 yards, an interception, a lost fumble and a 52.1 passer rating.
Johnson wouldn’t say which quarterback would start Sunday at the Falcons if Caleb Williams remains out. Williams practiced — he was limited — Friday for the first time since suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain Sept. 20 against the Vikings.
He pulled Bagent immediately after the second interception, which Bagent attributed to misreading the Packers’ coverage. They showed Cover 0 before the snap, then flipped to Cover 2, and Bagent didn’t recognize it quickly enough. It was a day full of mistakes, and he took accountability.
“You would definitely not want to be benched, especially with the opportunity that I’ve been blessed with, but … I’ve got to play better,” Bagent said. “I’ve got to look in the mirror, see where I can continue to get better, because there’s a lot of things still, even this far into my career, that I can certainly get better at.”
Who better than Keenum to encourage him to be resilient?
Keenum, 38, is on his ninth team in 15 seasons and has bounced around the league as both a starter and backup. Before his epic “Monday Night Football” victory over the Eagles, he thought he’d never get a chance to play again, let alone start.
When asked after the game Sunday what he said to Bagent, Keenum preferred to keep that private, but gave a glimpse into his message.
“You don’t last very long in this league if you don’t know how to get back up when you’ve had your ass kicked,” Keenum said. “That’s just the way it is. There’s really good players, really good coaches, really good teams, and if you last long enough, it’s just a matter of time that you’re going to get your ass kicked.
“It’s not about that. It’s about how you respond. I expect him to respond like he knows how to. It’s adversity to learn from. It’s an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and move on and not make them again.”