These 4 players earned a game ball despite Bears’ Week 9 loss to Saints

The 2023 season is officially halfway over, and somehow, the Chicago Bears are worse now than they were a year ago, with just two wins instead of three.

I didn’t think a team could add significant talent on both sides of the ball and regress, but the Bears have found a way to do it.

One thing is clear: the quarterback of the future is not currently on this team. Incumbent Justin Fields has had two good games sandwiched between bad and mediocre performances, and rookie Tyson Bagent likely fumbled away his chance at an improbable Cinderella story after a four-turnover performance on against the New Orleans Saints.

So get your mock drafts ready because the Bears are absolutely going to draft one of the top quarterbacks of the 2024 class.

Thankfully, football is a team sport, and not everything is doom and gloom. There were some bright spots for this team in Week 9 despite the loss, so let’s hand out some game balls.

Cole Kmet

With six catches for 55 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Kmet proved early and often that he is a young quarterback’s best friend. When nothing was open for Tyson Bagent, he knew he could throw with confidence to his tight end, including the game’s opening touchdown when Kmet plucked what likely would have been an interception out of the defender’s hands and got both feet inbounds.

It’s time for the Kmet haters to accept reality: Kmet is a Top 10 tight end, and his extension was a great deal for the franchise.

Darnell Mooney

Before Sunday, Mooney appeared headed for free agency. He’s been invisible too often throughout this season. But against the Saints, we finally saw how productive he can be when targeted.

Mooney made big plays throughout the game, and it was his yards after the catch that really stood out. If he can keep this up, a well-earned extension may await him at season’s end.

D’Onta Foreman

Another tough-running game from Foreman has led to another week of wondering how head coach Matt Eberflus had this guy inactive for five weeks. It’s an indictment of Eberflus’ ability to evaluate the personnel on this roster properly.

Foreman finished with 83 yards on 20 carries and was a shoestring tackle away from a big touchdown run in the third quarter. He has been an excellent free agent acquisition for embattled GM Ryan Poles, and he could be playing his way into (at least) another one-year deal with the Bears by the end of the year.

Tyson Bagent (for three quarters)

Yes, I’m going to give Bagent his well-earned props. At halftime, Bagent was 10 of 13 passing for nearly 150 yards, two touchdowns, and just one turnover. He looked good. He was playing smart and efficient football. Even into the third quarter, he was in command of the offense.

Then came the fourth quarter. Bagent imploded.

He has to take the blame for those turnovers, but we can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Bagent is a rookie. This was his third start on the road in a stadium where no Bears quarterback has won in over 30 years.

Rookies make mistakes, and that’s what Bagent did. What matters is how he bounces back from them. If he gets another start, I look forward to seeing if he can.

Honorable Mentions: the linebackers, for stepping up big time with Tremaine Edmunds missing the game with an injury, and Montez Sweat, for recording the highest pressure percentage of any Chicago defensive lineman on Sunday.