After tying the Miami Dolphins to open the NFL preseason, the Chicago Bears are officially back in the win column. The Bears successfully defended home turf in spades on Sunday night, notching a lopsided 38-0 win over the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field in one of the franchise's most explosive exhibition contests in a long time.
The Bears' second preseason game helped shed some light on first-year head coach Ben Johnson's roster, especially the situation under center. Although No. 1 quarterback Caleb Williams' job is as safe as can be, questions lingered regarding Chicago's backup situation after last year's QB2, Tyson Bagent, was outperformed by free-agent signing Case Keenum in last week's exhibition opener.
But just as things were shifting away from Bagent's favor, Keenum's missing Sunday's game due to injury opened the door for the former to steal back some thunder. Fortunately, that's exactly what he did this weekend.
Tyson Bagent's Performance vs. Bills Gives Bears New QB Dilemma
Once the dust settled, Bagent finished Sunday's preseason outing by going 13-of-22 (59.1%) in the pocket for 196 passing yards, one touchdown, and a 103.6 passer rating. It was a much-needed performance after the 25-year-old signal-caller finished the Dolphins game with 103 yards, one TD with an interception, and a 77.3 passer rating.
Last week, Case Keenum outperformed Tyson Bagent by a considerable margin.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) August 18, 2025
This has been a fantastic bounce-back game from Bagent. He looks accurate and is doing a great job extending the play with his legs tonight. #Bears
"This has been a fantastic bounce-back game from Bagent," NFL draft analyst Jacob Infante wrote. "He looks accurate and is doing a great job extending the play with his legs tonight."
Competition usually fosters the best results, so the Bears are likely delighted that Bagent has turned things around to compete with Keenum. The 37-year-old QB turned back the clock by going 8-of-10 for 80 passing yards and a pair of TDs against Miami last week, proving that he may have made the right decision not to hang up his cleats just yet.
At the end of the day, the Bears' backup QB situation will likely revolve around Keenum's injury. If he's unable to get back on the field for Friday's preseason finale, Bagent will leave August right behind Williams on the depth chart, while second-year QB Austin Reed would be in line to handle third-string duties again, at least until Keenum is healthy.
Friday's exhibition finale will be against the Kansas City Chiefs, who opened the preseason with back-to-back losses. A well-coached team like the Chiefs shouldn't be underestimated, though, meaning whoever is under center for the Bears can't afford to take Andy Reid's team lightly despite the latter's lack of success.
In the meantime, Bears fans will be counting on Bagent to replicate Sunday's success, both for his own roster odds and to help the team end the preseason on a high note.