Chargers to face Bears backup QB Tyson Bagent on Sunday Night Football

This week’s edition of Sunday Night Football was scheduled to be a matchup between two first-round quarterback’s both coincidentally named Justin. Unfortunately, it was reported on Friday afternoon that Bears quarterback Justin Fields will not be healthy enough to play due to a dislocated thumb he suffered against the Vikings. With this news, rookie undrafted quarterback Tyson Bagent will make his second start of his career against the Chargers.

Bagent’s first start was a memorable one as he led the Bears to victory over the Raiders in Week Seven. Bagent threw for only 162 yards, but his mistake-free play was enough for the Bears to lean on their running game which led them to a 30-12 victory.

The Chargers come into this matchup with the league’s worst pass defense that allows over 310.0 yards per game. That’s not to say an undrafted Division II quarterback should be able to carve them up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Bagent gets the best of more than once on Sunday night.

To keep that from happening, the Chargers would be wise to crank up the pass-rush plan to 11 just like they did against the Raiders in Week Four when Khalil Mack had six sacks an nearly tied the league record for quarterback takedowns in a single game.