Tyson Bagent’s ‘full-circle moment’ after an emotional win with the Chicago Bears is music to QB’s ears

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” was the perfect serenade for Chicago Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent on Sunday afternoon.

As the lyrics “West Virginia, mountain mama / Take me home, country roads” blared over the Soldier Field speakers after the Bears’ 23-12 win over the New York Jets, the Martinsburg, W.Va., native could reflect on his day: 25 completions on 34 attempts for 268 yards — a career-high 73.5 rating among his five career starts — and an interception

Must’ve felt special given when Bagent’s personal “country road” has taken him, right?

“You know, don’t ask me questions like this — I already told you, I will start crying,” Bagent said after the game. “So don’t do this again. But it’s extremely humbling.

“It’s an amazing experience. I really can’t thank enough people. You know, I’m only here because of those that were around me growing up and those who are around me today. So it meant the world to be able to hear a song like that.”

In fact, there were several tugs at the heart from home in this one.

“I grew up a huge West Virginia (Mountaineers) fan, really supported (Jets starter) Geno Smith throughout his years and thought he did an outstanding job during his time in West Virginia,” Bagent said. “So just really a cool full-circle moment — and a nice birthday present for my dad.” Happy 50th birthday to the Beast. So, it’s just a great weekend.”

Coach Ben Johnson faced a week of scrutiny over which backup to Caleb Williams would get the nod with Williams sidelined by a strained right hamstring for a second straight game.

In Week 3, Case Keenum got the nod after Bagent, the second-stringer out of training camp, spent most of the week of practice in concussion protocol.

Keenum looked masterful while orchestrating a 27-7 win against the Philadelphia Eagles on “Monday Night Football.”

“Tyson’s earned the right to be our No. 2 quarterback,” Johnson said after Sunday’s win. “I have a lot of confidence in him, thought he played really well today. Efficient with the football. Obviously he had the one pick, left the ball a little bit behind where he’d like to go with it, but other than that, I thought he had a great job with the operation.”

Against the Jets, Bagent directed an offense that ate 42 minutes, 45 seconds of clock and dominated in total yardage 492-157.

The Bears and Jets came into the matchup ranked first and second, respectively, in time of possession.

Bagent made several big plays when the Bears needed them most.

On third-and-5 in the second quarter, he connected with Rome Odunze on a 37-yard pass, keeping alive a drive that Cairo Santos capped off with a 30-yard field goal to make it 13-3.

Bagent also gave the Bears some breathing room after a third-quarter drive started on their 4, squeezing a 20-yard pass to Odunze as he stretched with a one-handed grab near the left sideline.

“That was a fun one,” Odunze said. “Love to go out there and make those types of plays.”

Added Bagent: “I thought he looked outstanding during his week of practice.”

Bagent also made a connection with Colston Loveland on third-and-5 in the fourth quarter that pretty much sealed the win.

However, there were some hiccups.

Bagent was bailed out by Jets defensive penalties on what would’ve been three interceptions.

And there was the pick that counted.

The Jets had an interception drought that lasted 20 games and 636 pass attempts, but safety Minkah Fitzpatrick ended it in the second quarter by picking off Bagent on his deep pass over the middle to Loveland on a crossing route.

“Really just got to put it out in front of (Loveland), or if I don’t like it, find my check-down,” Bagent said. “But we had two turnovers today (along with D’Andre Swift’s fumble), got to be a lot cleaner in that department going forward. But yeah, 100% my fault on that.”

Bagent’s NFL ride has been the proverbial roller coaster of emotions.

He won a tight camp battle in 2023 to win the backup job to Justin Fields as an undrafted rookie out of Shepherd University.

He made four starts that season, but only sporadically saw the field since then, and never as a starter.

Bagent struggled to fight back tears during the team’s announcement of his two-year, $10 million extension in 2025, knowing what that kind of generational money meant to his family of humble roots.

Bagent has yearned for any opportunity to start — let alone a starting job — so he briefly considered not reporting his concussion symptoms knowing that a stint in league protocol would likely cost him a chance to start against the Eagles.

Keenum’s performance also succeeded in fueling debates all last week about which quarterback should get the next start: Keenum, he 38-year-old veteran who was near-perfect against the blitz in Week 3, or the 26-year-old Bagent, who held onto his primary-backup role coming out of training camp.

Turned out the answer was both.

Johnson threw both quarterbacks out there on the first play from scrimmage, splitting Bagent out wide and placing Keenum under center.

In his one play, Keenum handed off to D’Andre Swift for a 2-yard gain.

Johnson was cheeky about the situation in his postgame news conference.

“Well, I got all these memos saying that Tyson was starting before I ever made an announcement, so I wanted to get Case out there first time,” he said. “It was like his ceremonial first pitch out there, handing off the torch.”

It was Keenum who broke the news during the week that Bagent would get the start.

“Case kind of hit me like, ‘Hey, man, what time are you getting in here today?’” Bagent said. “I said, ‘I’m going to get in there at around 11, would you like me to get there sooner?’ He said, ‘Yes, I would like you to get there sooner.’”

He said Keenum began explaining how much he appreciated Bagent’s support for Keenum’s start against the Vikings.

“But his delivery, he was just telling me that he really hopes and prays that I’m able to have a night like he did on Monday, and that I will, and that week is going to be this week because you’re starting,” Bagent said. “So he kind of hit me with that at the end, and I just gave him a big hug. I told him how much he meant to me and then just business is business going forward.”

Bagent is the third Bears quarterback to record a win this season after Williams and Keenum.

It also marks the fourth time since at least 1950 that the Bears have had three starters win one or more games in the first four weeks.

People in Bagent’s circle watched from the stands, and he felt them have his back.

“I lost a lot of money on those tickets this week,” Bagent said, laughing. “A lot of people here, a lot of support, and that really just circles back to the statement I just made before, with the fact that I’m only here because of those that have been around me my whole life and those that are around me today.”

plthompson@chicagotribune.com