Head coach Ben Johnson trusted quarterback Tyson Bagent once again in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers after the backup quarterback had a strong outing against the New York Jets the previous week. However, Bagent’s two interceptions against Green Bay prompted Johnson to bench him in favor of Case Keenum. After the Packers defeated the Chicago Bears 31-7, the head coach revealed when he decided to bench Bagent.

“It was after the Second Interception,” said Johnson when asked when it was time to bench Bagent.

Bagent completed 12-of-21 passes for 87 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions, while the Packers sacked him a couple of times as well. By the time he threw his second interception, Ben Johnson brought in Case Keenum, who completed 11-of-19 for 108 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception, as the Bears lost.

The quarterback threw his first interception in the first quarter with over five minutes remaining. Chicago had just conceded a touchdown to Green Bay’s Christian Watson, who caught a 42-yard scoring pass from Jordan Love.

After the kickoff, the Bears began their next drive at their own 26-yard line. Bagent’s first pass, a short throw intended for Cole Kmet, fell incomplete. On second-and-10, Bagent attempted a deep throw toward Luther Burden III. The pass was intercepted by Xavier McKinney at Chicago’s 45-yard line.

His second interception came in the second half. By the third quarter, the Bears had managed only seven points. Chicago had reached its own 46-yard line with 41 seconds left in the quarter, needing to make something happen while trailing by 16. However, Tyson Bagent threw a pass over the middle intended for second-year tight end Colston Loveland.

This time again, McKinney intercepted it at Green Bay’s 42-yard line and returned it three yards to the Packers’ 45. Ultimately, Johnson benched his quarterback.

While the HC made his decision, calls to bench him for Case amongst the fan base had already begun,

“Once again, I think Ben Johnson is a dummy for starting Tyson Bagent over Case Keenum…I caught a lot of flack from Bears fans for this take last week, but I still believe I’m right. Should’ve stuck with the hot hand.” Outkick’s Jon Root posted.

Prior to the Bears’ training camp this season, the front office had a lot of trade offers for Tyson Bagent. General manager Ryan Poles had confirmed the growing interest in the backup QB, saying,

“We anticipated someone like Tyson’s going to get some interest. We’ve gotten a few calls there. Obviously, the tough thing is what Ben thinks about Tyson, what I think about Tyson, what our locker room thinks about Tyson, that’s a really tough decision for us.”

At that time, HC Johnson wasn’t ready to part ways with the QB, putting his belief in Tyson.

“No, I love Tyson,” he said when asked if another team wanted to acquire Tyson Bagent at the NFL Combine in February.

“And that’s one that kind of pulls at your heartstrings a little bit because he’s someone that you care about so deeply, and he’s a hell of a football player that at some point you want to see him have a chance to do it himself. And so we’ll always do what’s best for our team and our organization.”

However, the HC’s confidence in his backup QB is beginning to fade. That said, the Bears currently sit at 3-2 amid starting quarterback Caleb Williams’ absence. Bagent took over in Week 2 against the Minnesota Vikings, but failed to start against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3 due to a concussion.

Evidently, the Bears started with Keenum against Philly, who completed 24-of-34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, leading Chicago to a 27-7 win.

Despite a strong performance from Keenum, however, Johnson opted to start with Bagent against the Jets in Week 4. He completed 25-of-34 passes for 268 yards against the Jets and led his team to a 23-12 win. But his poor performance against the Packers raised major concerns about his ball security. Now, it remains to be seen whether Ben Johnson will start with Bagent or Keenum amid Williams’ absence.