Tyson Bagent did what the coaches asked, but is he the long-term answer?
Tyson Bagent did everything the coaches asked of him on Sunday. He killed the Raiders by paper cuts with his dinking and dunking all game long. It did not matter that he has a below average arm. You do not need a lot of arm strength to throw screens and swing passes.
Having a great rushing attack also helped Bagent. He did not have the need to carry the offense with the running backs gashing the Raiders defense. The Bears had 173 rushing yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Bagent could relax knowing that the running game could make big plays and move the chains regularly.
With a great defensive performance and a great rushing attack behind him, Bagent was confident and decisive in his play. He was cool and calm throughout the game. Nothing seemed to faze him. Even after some big scores, he just went to the bench and sat down to look at how to do more.
With his performance, many fans are saying Bagent is the answer. With a strong running game and defense behind him, he does not have to do much, right?
Well, the thing is we have yet to see how he reacts when things are not perfect. We saw against Minnesota that when things broke down he fumbled the ball away for a touchdown. He also severely underthrew a pass that was intercepted.
Without a strong arm, he cannot throw downfield. How does that affect him when the Bears have to play from behind? That is still an unknown. You can survive on short passes and the running game when you are ahead. You have to go downfield and get big chunks of yards when you are behind and time is running out. Let's see how he handles that before naming him king.