Bears pressing questions: Is Bagent over Keenum the right call against Green Bay?

Bears coach Ben Johnson won his third game this season with his third different quarterback.

Technically, Case Keenum took the first snap at quarterback Sunday, but the Week 4 game belonged to Tyson Bagent, who otherwise played the entire game behind center. The Bears handled the New York Jets relatively easily in a 23-12 win that was closer in score than it ever felt.

Johnson said Monday that Bagent will start in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers as Caleb Williams continues to work through a strained hamstring.

What should we make of Bagent earning another start? The Tribune’s Brad Biggs, Sean Hammond and Phil Thompson tackle that and more in this week’s pressing questions.

1. The Bears are going with Tyson Bagent over Case Keenum again in Week 5 against the Packers. Is that the right call?

Biggs: If you trust Ben Johnson and the coaching staff to make the right moves on offense, there’s probably little question. The evaluation process for how they stack the depth chart goes way beyond one start for Keenum against the Philadelphia Eagles and one for Bagent against the Jets. Granted, game action counts most, but that’s a decision shaped by 1½ years of offseason practices, training camp, preseason and in-season practices. Both were efficient in guiding the offense to wins the last two weeks. Frankly, it’s sort of amazing there’s a conversation even shaped in this regard surrounding the Bears and quarterbacks.

Hammond: Johnson has had Bagent No. 2 on his depth chart for more than a year now. That was informed by months of work with all three quarterbacks. One stellar performance from the third-stringer shouldn’t change how the coach feels about his backups. Bagent has earned this opportunity.

Thompson: Yes. We should be careful about putting too much stock into comparing two starts against separate defenses. Keenum looked more efficient against the Eagles, but I’m still scratching my head about Vic Fangio’s soft zone coverage and vanilla pass rush in that game. Bagent had some close calls against the Jets, including three interceptions that were wiped out by flags on the defense, but he also had the highest completion percentage (73.5%) of any Bears quarterback this season. Bagent provides more mobility, and the Bears need to see if he truly is the long-term answer at QB2, as last year’s contract extension suggests.

2. Fill in the blank: Kyle Monangai’s effort Sunday was __________?

Biggs: Exactly what he can bring to the offense. When the offensive line is playing at a high level — and we need to respect the fact the Jets played very good run defense the first three weeks — Monangai can look outstanding because there’s not a lot of wasted movement. He picks a crease and goes, and he runs with really good contact balance. A lot of power is packed in that 5-foot-8, 207-pound frame. It’s worth wondering if he starts handling more of the red-zone action, a lot of which had been going to D’Andre Swift.

Hammond: Exactly why Bears fans love him. Nothing flashy. No frills. Just good, hard, north-to-south running with some broken tackles in between. Monangai is precisely the type of runner you think of when you recall the old-fashioned Bears running game of yesteryear.

Thompson: A life raft. Monangai punched in the Bears’ first touchdown when there seemed to be a force field in front of the goal line. His effectiveness on the ground (4.9 yards per carry) also acted as a fail-safe during that second-half spell when Bagent kept throwing the ball in harm’s way. Swift had a modest impact (3.9 yards per carry), but his lost fumble in the third quarter made it a game against the Jets, who converted the turnover into three points. Monangai answered with a second rushing score on the next drive and put the Bears back in control.

3. The Bears defense has played three straight good games, but they came against a backup QB in Carson Wentz, an Eagles offense that looks lost and the Jets. Has Dennis Allen’s group turned a corner or is this a mirage?

Biggs: It’s certainly not a mirage. This is a work in progress that has gotten better sooner than anyone outside the building would have imagined. The Bears have been better on the defensive line than a lot of folks expected. Dayo Odeyingbo was probably the most doubted player on the roster after a slow start last year and then an Achilles tendon injury. He has been solid, and since the clunker of an opener at Carolina, the Bears are playing really well together as a unit. There are no stars, but as a group it has been pretty good.

Hammond: I’ll be brutally honest here, I’m still a little bit skeptical. I don’t know that Green Bay will give us a clearer answer either because the Packers offense has been rough over the first month. That’s not to take anything away from the Bears defense. This has been a great stretch and they’ve taken care of business. But I’m not convinced this defense can put forth efforts like that against the type of offenses they might see in the postseason. Some interesting tests are upcoming with the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks on the horizon.

Thompson: We’ll see against Jordan Love, who seems to have the Bears’ number no matter what’s going on with the Packers. But let’s give the defense credit. Geno Smith had been playing pretty well before Week 4, and he looked lost at times against the Bears. The secondary has performed better than I expected. The problem is the run defense, which allowed the Jets’ Braelon Allen to gash it for 5- and 6-yard runs in the second and third quarters. The Bears rank 30th with 4.94 rushing yards allowed per play, but it’s disguised by the fact that their scoring has forced most opponents into passing scripts.

4. Fill in the blank: Ben Johnson winning three games with three quarterbacks is __________?

Biggs: Why he was hired as head coach. He has an offensive system that he can adjust to his players, and he has creativity that stretches the imagination. It’s also a credit to the cast surrounding the quarterback position. The Bears aren’t 3-1 right now without a top-tier offensive line. They’re running the ball as well as or better than any team in the league, and pass protection has been top-notch.

Hammond: Un-Bears-like. And, yes, that’s probably a real word. The city where quarterbacks go to die is quickly becoming the city where quarterbacks … go to win? The Ben Johnson effect has been remarkable, and we’ll likely look back on this stretch as one that cemented that confidence in Johnson. It also, interestingly, might give the Bears confidence that Johnson can keep developing young quarterbacks in the future — if, say, the Bears were to trade Bagent in the offseason.

Thompson: Just more evidence that he’s an offensive guru. Not to diminish his quarterbacks’ performances, but their primary responsibility has been to be on time and careful with the football and his game plan and play sequencing takes care of the rest. Bagent talked about the faith the coaching staff places in each of them, which I believe makes a difference. So share some credit with assistant coaches Press Taylor, J.T. Barrett and Robbie Picazo for how they’ve helped indoctrinate the quarterbacks into the system.

5. It’s Packers week! Over/under 1.5 wins for the Bears against the Packers this season?

Biggs: Over. This series has haunted the Bears for more than three decades. What most figured would be a formidable Packers team has been full of questions in a 2-2 start. Things aren’t clicking in Green Bay, especially on offense, and injuries have caused major problems on the offensive line. It’s difficult to go through a long season with issues there.

Hammond: Under. OK, now this is the part where I duck while Bears fans throw things at me. But let’s remember that weird things happen in division games. The Bears are the favorite this week and they deserve to be, but that guarantees nothing. I can say with reasonable confidence that I think the Bears will win at least one of the Packers games. But Christmas Day is a long way off and a lot can change over two-plus months in the NFL.

Thompson: Usually I’d say this is a trap, but the Packers running game and defense look like shadows of themselves. The Achilles’ heel for the Bears offense has been in the red zone, but Green Bay’s red-zone defense is the worst in the league at 85.71%. Famous last words, but Lambeau Field looks a little less intimidating right now.