The Bears are carrying real momentum into Week 4, but the Jets are the kind of 1-2 team that can make a clean matchup feel messy fast.
Chicago comes in at 2-1 after a 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, and it got that done without Caleb Williams at quarterback. New York may not have the record to scare anybody on paper, but this group is being viewed as a different and more competitive version of what Aaron Glenn had in 2025.
That doesn’t mean the Bears can just stroll in and expect a comfortable afternoon. Glenn could be down four key offensive players, including Breece Hall and Adonai Mitchell, yet New York still has enough firepower and disruption to cause problems all over the field.
One of the biggest headaches for Chicago could come from Kenyon Sadiq. The Jets’ young 2026 first-round pick has already made an impression early, catching 12 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown.
With Mitchell out, Sadiq is positioned to work the middle of the Bears’ defense, where T.J. Edwards and Devin Bush will be tested by a tight end who can run in the 4.3s.
The pass rush is another area where New York can swing the game. David Bailey, also a first-round pick, has wasted little time showing up on the stat sheet with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble. He’s been disruptive off the edge and can change the tone of the game if Chicago doesn’t keep him in check.
Then there’s Demario Davis, who is 37 but still playing like a linebacker who hasn’t lost a step. He leads the Jets with 22 tackles and has added two tackles for loss, one sack, and a pass deflection. If the Bears want their running game rolling early, they’ll have to identify Davis and get a body on him quickly, because he’s the kind of player who can shut that down in a hurry.
At quarterback, Geno Smith has looked much more like the version who thrived with the Seattle Seahawks than the one who struggled in a Raiders uniform. Through three games, he’s completed 75.5% of his passes for 783 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. The Bears need pressure in his face, because with a clean pocket he’s been making smart decisions and punishing defenses.
And even with Hall and Mitchell sidelined, Garrett Wilson remains the one offensive threat the Jets can lean on. He has 21 catches for 243 yards and two touchdowns through three games, and he should stay front and center in Smith’s game plan. That means Jaylon Johnson is in line for a tough assignment when the two teams meet.
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A long-running oddity finally disappeared at Soldier Field when the Jets snapped an interception drought that had stretched beyond 1,000 days and more than 600 pass attempts. The takeaway for the Bears was a familiar one in a season full of quarterback turnover: backup Tyson Bagent was in at the time, and the turnover came in the second quarter with New Yorks secondary taking advantage of the situation.
Minkah Fitzpatrick was the one who made it happen, and he did it soon after returning from a groin injury. For a Jets defense that had gone far too long without a pick, the play ended one of the longest active droughts in recent NFL history and offered a small but notable defensive lift in Chicago. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Johnson Sent A Clear Message About The Bears Quarterback Room
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Bagent finished 25 of 34 for 268 yards and an interception, a line that fit the way Chicago wanted to play in a game where the defense and run game carried plenty of the load. The choice to start Keenum for a play and then move quickly to Bagent was hard to miss, especially in a win where the Bears were able to dictate terms while the Jets struggled to generate much without Breece Hall. [Read more 🡒]
Tyson Bagent Faces One Bears Test That Could Decide Everything
Tyson Bagent is set to make his first start since the 2023 season in Week 4 against the Jets, with Caleb Williams still out because of a hamstring injury. Bagent has been handling most of the first-team reps in practice, and this week has become a real test of how the Bears want to function with a different kind of quarterback in place.
For Chicago, the question is less about asking Bagent to be a hero than about what a workable game plan looks like around him. His style gives the Bears a chance to lean into what he does well, but the bigger issue is whether the offense can stay on schedule and avoid forcing him into spots that dont fit his strengths. [Read more 🡒]