As Tyson Bagent prepares for his second straight start Sunday in Green Bay, the Bears are confident the fourth-year quarterback will run the offense as well as, if not better than, he did in last weekend's 23-12 win over the Jets.
Making his first start since 2023, Bagent completed 25 of 34 passes for 268 yards and directed an offense that generated a franchise-record 34 first downs, amassed 492 total yards and possessed the ball for 42:45.
"We felt really crisp in terms of in and out of the huddle at the line of scrimmage," offensive coordinator Press Taylor said Thursday. "That gives us the ability to shift, motion, get to our audible system, be able to get to the right play if we're in a right-play mindset. We were very proud of the way he did that and the way he handled things. Talking to the line, the tight ends, the communication at the line of scrimmage was pretty sound.
"In terms of staying on track in the pass game, keeping us in all the third-and-manageables that we were in, we lived in third-and-6 or less and we were able to be successful. That's what's going to allow you to be efficient, stay on the field, dominate time of possession a little bit there."
The Bears' time of possession versus the Jets was their most in a non-overtime game since they had the ball for 44:06 in a 1994 win over the Lions. They closed the contest with an 18-play, 76-yard drive that burned the final 9:07 off the clock.
Taylor conceded that the Bears weren't focused on running out the clock when they took over at their own 9 with more than nine minutes remaining.
"That wasn't the mindset going in," he said. "As it started going and we're picking up first downs, it kind of got into, 'let's work some clock, let's be a little later in the play clock.' And then eventually you get to a point where it's, 'hey, if we get a first down, go down.' We hit that mode, so it is just something that happened. We came out throwing the ball to start the drive.
"But we take a lot of pride in being able to do that. That's the mission in four-minute, and we didn't even start in four-minute, we ended in four-minute. But we take a lot of pride in being able to finish the game with the ball and keep our defense off the field."
One main focus in practice this week is improving red-zone efficiency. After scoring touchdowns on all four possessions inside the 20 in a 59-37 season-opening win over the Panthers, the Bears have managed only four TDs on 15 red-zone drives (26.7%) in their last three games. Last Sunday, they mustered just two touchdowns on seven trips inside the Jets' 20.
"Each [game] is a case-by-case basis, but the fact it's gone on for three weeks at least is disappointing, concerning," Taylor said. "We're definitely putting a lot of emphasis on it in the way that we study it throughout the week, the work we're getting on a Friday, what practice looks like, the attention to detail: 'Is it too much at times? Are we carrying too much inventory down there? What's the reason for it? Are we getting different looks?'
"That comes up at times where certain teams have played us maybe a little bit differently than we planned for based on whatever they saw on us. So, we're trying to make sure we do a great job self-scouting. But ultimately, it's something we've got to get cleaned up, and I think we're on the right track of doing that. But it's got to show up for us."
