Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Chargers: 5 storylines to watch in Week 8

LAKE FOREST – The Tyson Bagent experience is back for another week. The Bears’ undrafted rookie quarterback will start his second consecutive game in place of injured Justin Fields.

Bagent will make his second career start Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Head coach Matt Eberflus and his defense will look for ways to slow the Chargers and quarterback Justin Herbert.

For the Bears, this will mark the first time they have faced pass rusher Khalil Mack since trading him to the Chargers in March 2022. That was the first big move of general manager Ryan Poles’ tenure.

Sunday’s game will kick off at 7:20 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC. Here are five storylines to watch heading into the matchup.

1. Do the Bears put more on Bagent’s plate?

Bagent didn’t throw the football downfield last week against the Raiders, but he didn’t need to. The Bears leaned on their running game and the short passing attack to pick apart a mediocre Las Vegas team.

This week, the Chargers’ defense could present different challenges. The pass rush is among the best in the NFL with Mack and Joey Bosa. The secondary is among the worst in football. Teams are throwing the ball all over the field against this Chargers team.

That doesn’t mean the Bears will look to do that. Bagent threw the ball only 2.5 yards downfield on average in his starting debut. The Bears seem hesitant to let him air it out. But that’s also the most effective way to attack this Chargers defense. Can Bagent push the ball downfield? He might have to, especially if the Bears are forced to try to keep up with a high-scoring Chargers offense.

2. Can the Bears hold off Mack, Bosa?

The Chargers have one of the best one-two punches on the edge with Mack and Bosa, who have 11 Pro Bowl appearances between them. The Bears have faced some good pass rushers this season – Washington’s Chase Young and Montez Sweat come to mind – but Mack and Bosa are on a different level than anything they’ve seen.

This will test the Bears’ young tackles. Left tackle Braxton Jones will not play this week because of a neck injury. He returned to practice but was a limited participant all week. Backup Larry Borom likely will start at left tackle. Right tackle Darnell Wright has dealt with a shoulder injury but does not hold any injury designation ahead of the game.

“He’s got his strength back in that shoulder,” Eberflus said of Wright. “Obviously, that’s an injury where you’ve got some pain in there, so we’ll see where it is, but he was really working well this week.”

The good thing is the Bears should have the same five starters along the offensive line as last week.

Safety Eddie Jackson said he doesn’t think Mack’s the type of player who circles opponents on the schedule, except for maybe the two teams that traded him – the Raiders and Bears.

“I don’t want to speak for him, but I think it’s going to be a little personal,” Jackson said.

3. Slowing Herbert is a challenge

Eberflus’ defense has played well lately. With the head coach calling the plays, the defense has executed some well-timed blitzes and created more pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Herbert, though, is one of the league’s elite quarterbacks. Herbert is agile in the pocket, despite not being considered a running quarterback. If he can keep a play alive with his feet, he’s a threat to throw it downfield.

“He presents a lot of problems in that he can make every throw, and then he can scramble, and he can scramble and he can throw,” Bears linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi said. “He scrambles really effectively, and he’s accurate.”

Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said the 6-foot-6 Herbert reminds him a lot of his former teammate in Buffalo, starting QB Josh Allen.

4. Another big game from D’Onta Foreman could be coming

Bears running back D’Onta Foreman had one of the best games of his career last week, scoring three touchdowns. With starting back Khalil Herbert sidelined by an ankle injury, Foreman has stepped in and arguably been one of the best backs in football over the last two weeks.

Darrynton Evans, who the Bears signed off Miami’s practice squad Oct. 9, filled in as the secondary option at running back. This week, the Bears are expecting running back Roschon Johnson to make his return after missing two games with a concussion.

Still, Foreman has played well enough over the past two weeks to warrant a significant share of the touches at running back. Foreman rushed for 89 yards and two scores last week and added three receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown.

“Really no surprise, right?” running backs coach David Walker said of Foreman. “The guy’s been doing it for a while in this league. He had his opportunity, stepped up, did a great job.”

The Chargers’ defense is one of the worst against the pass. Teams don’t run against it a lot because they don’t really need to. That said, the Chargers’ defense is middle of the pack in yards per rushing attempt. It still could be something the Bears look to exploit.

5. Turnovers must keep coming for Bears’ defense

The Bears’ defense had one of its best games last week against the Raiders. The defense totaled three takeaways, with cornerback Jaylon Johnson picking off two passes – and returning one for a touchdown. The defense has created six turnovers over the past three games. This comes after creating only two turnovers (both in garbage time against Kansas City’s backups) over the first four games of the season.

Johnson said this week that he saw a defense that played with “aggression” and “hunger.”

“[We were] wanting to win and wanting to get that nasty taste out of our mouth,” Johnson said. “We know that we were underperforming, so really just getting back to who we are, running out there, attacking, being aggressive, flying around, having energy.”

[We were] wanting to win and wanting to get that nasty taste out of our mouth. We know that we were underperforming, so really just getting back to who we are, running out there, attacking, being aggressive, flying around, having energy.”

—  Jaylon Johnson, Bears cornerback

The Bears will need more of that Sunday against the Chargers, particularly with Bagent handling quarterbacking duties for only the second week.

The turnaround also has coincided with the defense getting healthy. Edmunds and defensive end DeMarcus Walker missed much of training camp with injuries. At cornerback, Johnson and Kyler Gordon missed several weeks in September and October. A relatively healthy defense has made a difference.