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Backups Kyle Monangai and Tyson Bagent lead Bears to a 23-12 win over Jets

Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune on

Published in Football

CHICAGO — No. 2 running back Kyle Monangai ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns to power the Chicago Bears to a relatively stress-free 23-12 win over the New York Jets on Sunday at Soldier Field.

The Bears’ 34 first downs set a franchise record, according to Stathead. The Bears offense totaled 492 yards, including 232 on the ground.

The defense, meanwhile, held quarterback Geno Smith and the Jets offense to 157 total yards, despite not recording a single takeaway.

Backup Tyson Bagent served as the starting quarterback with Caleb Williams sidelined for the second straight week with a hamstring injury, and Bagent finished 25 of 34 for 268 yards with one interception. It was the Jets’ first interception in 21 games.

Bears coach Ben Johnson began the game with both Bagent and third-string quarterback Case Keenum on the field for the opening play. Both were credited with starts.

Keenum handed off to running back D’Andre Swift, then exited for the remainder of the game. Bagent lined up wide on the play before taking over quarterback duties the rest of the way.

Powered by their running game, the Bears had massive advantages in offensive plays (89 to 32) and time of possession (42:45 to 17:15).

 

Monangai and Swift both were running well early, but after losing a third-quarter fumble, Swift didn’t have another touch as Johnson rode the hot hand of Monangai. The second-year pro finished with a career-high 31 touches (30 carries and one catch).

On the opening possession, Swift had two touchdown runs wiped off the scoreboard after being overturned by reviews. With another goal-line opportunity later in the first quarter, the Bears inserted Monangai and he punched in his first of two scores with a 1-yard run.

The Bears defense made life hard for the Jets. Smith was 8 of 15 for 119 yards with one touchdown.

The Bears (3-1) will take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 5 on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

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©2026 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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