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Chicago did more than beat the Jets 23-12 at Soldier Field: the Bears confiscated the ball, the tempo and almost all the oxygen available. Kyle Monangai ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns, Tyson Bagent threw for 268 yards in his first start since 2023, and Chicago’s defense held New York to 157 yards. A victory built on control—not spectacular on every snap, but tremendously telling.
Chicago imposes its ground game
The Bears moved the ball, the Jets held firm at the line, then Monangai finally scored on fourth down with 23 seconds left in the period.
The first quarter set the tone. The Bears moved the ball, the Jets held firm at the line, then Monangai finally scored on fourth down with 23 seconds left in the period. Before that, two D’Andre Swift runs had been overturned after video review, proof that Chicago could even have extended its lead earlier.
The 7-0 score did not yet tell the whole story of the gap. The Bears were dominating yards, first downs and possession. By the end of the game, the numbers had become starker: 492 yards to 157, 34 first downs to 7, and 42 min 45 of possession compared with 17 min 15 for New York. In a league where people often talk about pace, Chicago simply decided that the pace belonged to them.
Monangai was the main instrument of this takeover. Thirty carries, a personal best, two touchdowns and a consistency that allowed the Bears to stick to their plan even when the Jets forced turnovers. His second touchdown, a 5-yard run in the third quarter, pushed New York back to 20-6 and put the game in a much more comfortable zone for the home team.
Bagent delivers without overdoing it
Tyson Bagent did not play a perfect game. He was intercepted by Minkah Fitzpatrick early in the second quarter on a pass intended for Colston Loveland. But above all, he gave the Bears what they needed: stability, conversions and enough verticality to prevent the Jets from loading the box exclusively.
His 37-yard pass to Rome Odunze before halftime set up one of Cairo Santos’ two field goals late in the second quarter. The Bears went into the locker room with a 13-3 lead after holding New York to 34 yards in the first half. Bagent thus became the third different quarterback to lead Chicago to a win over the first four weeks, after Caleb Williams and Case Keenum. This is not a typical situation; for now, it looks less like a problem than useful depth.
The defense did the rest. Austin Booker put pressure on Geno Smith, the Jets finished 0 for 7 on third down, and Chicago allowed only one touchdown for the second straight game. The Bears were not always clean, but they were consistent.
The Jets punish, then fade
New York had its openings. Fitzpatrick recorded the Jets’ first interception of the season, which was converted into a Jason Sanders field goal. Jamien Sherwood then forced a fumble by Swift, recovered by Brandon Stephens, and Sanders brought the Jets back to 13-6 in the third quarter. The defense had therefore given the offense two short fields.
The problem came afterward. Without Breece Hall, inactive, the Jets relied on Braelon Allen on the ground, and he finished with 59 yards on 14 carries. Geno Smith completed 8 of 15 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. His 58-yard connection with Isaiah Williams in the fourth quarter brought the score to 23-12, but the missed extra point closed a door that was already narrow.
Chicago then answered with a long 18-play drive to drain the clock. It is rarely the most widely shared stretch of a game, but it is often the one coaches prefer to watch again. The Bears move to 3-1 before a trip to Green Bay, with a ground identity taking shape and a defense that does not waste its Sundays. The Jets, meanwhile, leave at 1-3 with a less flattering question: how many turnovers do you have to force when the offense does not keep the ball long enough to take advantage of them?