CHICAGO (AP) — Nervous all week, Tyson Bagent didn’t need much time to get comfortable. The butterflies went away after about the first snap.
Once he got that out of the way, the rookie looked like a quarterback who had been here and done this before.
Bagent led three touchdown drives in his first start with Justin Fields sidelined, D’Onta Foreman ran for two scores and caught a TD pass, and the Chicago Bears beat the Las Vegas Raiders 30-12 on Sunday.
“Where I come from, I’ve got a bunch of friends, a bunch of family, that understood how big this was just in a life,” said Bagent, who grew up in Martinsburg, West Virginia, and went undrafted out of Division II Shepherd University in his home state. “Not a lot of people get to say they started in an NFL game, let alone win an NFL game. Definitely had a lot of those conversations today. I think the staff understood it, too, and the players. That’s why everybody rallied behind me as well as they did.”
The Bears (2-5) won for the second time in three games after dropping 14 in a row. They came out on top in a showdown of backup quarterbacks after both teams’ starters were injured the previous week. Fields dislocated his right thumb in a loss to Minnesota, while Las Vegas’ Jimmy Garoppolo exited a win over New England with a back problem.
Brian Hoyer threw for 129 yards and two interceptions, and the Raiders (3-4) got blown out after winning back to back games.
“We didn’t do anything well enough to deserve to win,” coach Josh McDaniels said.
The Bears simplified the game plan and relied on short throws and handoffs with an undrafted rookie behind center.
Bagent — who debuted last week after Fields got knocked out of that game early in the second half — had family and friends at the game. He put on a steady performance for them, completing 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a TD, helping Chicago stop a 10-game home losing streak.
“I think he was just himself, nothing different and nothing any different than we have seen through preseason up until now,” Foreman said. “I think we all expected him to be that type of guy to come out there and do what he did today. So no surprise.”
Foreman ran for 89 yards on 16 attempts and his first two touchdowns since signing with Chicago in March. He scored from the 2 in the first quarter and the 3 early in the second as the Bears grabbed a 14-0 lead, then caught a 5-yard TD in the third to make it 21-3.
DJ Moore caught eight passes for 54 yards.
Cairo Santos kicked a 54-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Tremaine Edmunds had an interception that led to a touchdown run for Foreman, and Jaylon Johnson picked off two passes late in the game. He returned one against Hoyer 39 yards for a touchdown to make it 30-6 and then intercepted Chicago-area product Aidan O’Connell.
The offensive line held up for the most part against star edge rusher Maxx Crosby, who had one sack. The defense took the ball away three times while limiting Las Vegas to 235 yards, and the Bears secured their first victory at Soldier Field since Week 3 last season against Houston.
Hoyer completed 17 of 32 passes and posted a 37.1 passer rating after McDaniels opted to go with a 15-year veteran rather than a rookie. O’Connell was 10 of 13 for 75 yards with a touchdown and interception.
Davante Adams, usually a thorn in the Bears’ side, caught seven passes for 57 yards. The three-time All-Pro came in with 81 catches for 1,024 yards and 10 touchdowns in 16 games against Chicago.
Josh Jacobs ran for just 35 yards on 11 attempts.
“Not to discredit anything they did, because I feel like they played a pretty solid game all-around, but it definitely had nothing to do with any crazy things that they did,” Adams said. “It’s more of us hurting ourselves.”
FIELDS UPDATE
Coach Matt Eberflus said Fields remains the No. 1 quarterback. But it’s not clear when he’ll be back. Eberflus said Fields is scheduled to see the doctors on Monday.
INJURIES
Raiders: LB Divine Deablo (ankle) was hurt defending a quarterback sneak early in the second quarter.
Bears: S Jaquan Brisker got shaken up on a pick play defending a 2-point conversion pass attempt near the end of the game. Eberflus said he didn’t know what the injury was. “I know he was hit right here,” he said, pointing to his right shoulder. “I don’t know where it is right now. … I’ll know more tomorrow.”
UP NEXT
Raiders: Visit the Detroit Lions on Oct. 30.
Bears: Visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Oct. 29.
