Coming off a 30-12 romp over the Las Vegas Raiders, the Chicago Bears will finish off the AFC West portion of their schedule Sunday night when they travel to Los Angeles to face the Chargers.

Matt Eberflus is still looking to win consecutive games for the first time as Bears coach. But the Bears have played much better in all three phases this month and will wrap up October on the “Sunday Night Football” stage. As the game approaches, here’s a look at 12 attention-grabbing facts and figures.

1

Combined total of turnovers and sacks taken by Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent in his first NFL start Sunday. Bagent completed 21 of 29 passing attempts for 162 yards and a touchdown and posted a 97.2 passer rating. He also had three runs for 24 yards. Bagent averaged 7.7 yards per completion and didn’t attempt a pass that traveled more than 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage but still guided the Bears to a runaway victory. Of the last 10 quarterbacks to make their first NFL start with the Bears — Bagent, Justin Fields, Mitch Trubisky, Matt Barkley, Caleb Hanie, Kyle Orton, Craig Krenzel, Rex Grossman, Henry Burris and Shane Matthews — Bagent’s first-start rating ranks second and his passing yardage total fifth.

3

Touchdowns running back D’Onta Foreman scored in Sunday’s win, making him the second Bears player this season to reach the end zone three times in the same game. Receiver DJ Moore had three touchdowns in the Bears’ Week 5 victory against the Washington Commanders. Other Bears to accomplish that feat over the past 20 seasons include Taylor Gabriel, Jordan Howard, Brandon Marshall (twice), Matt Forte (twice) and Greg Olsen. Foreman scored on runs of 2 and 3 yards and added a 5-yard touchdown reception from Tyson Bagent. The last time the Bears had multiple players score at least three touchdowns in a game during the same season was 1995, when receiver Curtis Conway and running back Rashaan Salaam did so.

39

Return yardage by cornerback Jaylon Johnson on his interception return touchdown in Sunday’s win. Johnson swiped a Brian Hoyer pass intended for Davante Adams in the fourth quarter and raced untouched into Soldier Field’s north end zone. It was Johnson’s first NFL touchdown and first end-zone visit since Nov. 2, 2019, when he returned a Jacob Eason interception for a TD in a 33-28 Utah win against Washington. That return? Also 39 yards.

31

Games, before Johnson’s pick-six Sunday, that had passed since the Bears’ last defensive touchdown. The Bears hadn’t recorded a defensive TD since Week 9 of 2021, when DeAndre Houston-Carson had a 25-yard fumble-return score against the Pittsburgh Steelers on “Monday Night Football.”

6

Sacks by San Diego Chargers edge rusher Khalil Mack in the team’s 24-17 Week 4 win against the Raiders, the most by any NFL player in a game since Falcons defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn had six against the Cowboys in 2017. Mack, who was one sack shy of Derrick Thomas’ single-game record, has had only one sack in the Chargers’ other five games. He had eight sacks in 2022 after the Bears traded him to the Chargers for a 2022 second-round pick and a 2023 sixth-rounder. The Bears traded the latter selection back to the Chargers in exchange for two 2022 Round 7 selections. Overall, they used the return from the Mack deal to draft safeties Jaquan Brisker and Elijah Hicks and punter Trenton Gill.

17-16

Score of the last meeting between these teams, a Chargers victory in Week 8 of 2019 at Soldier Field. That game ended when Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro pulled a potential game-winning 41-yard field-goal attempt wide left as time expired. Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky had two costly fourth-quarter turnovers in that loss and also missed a near-certain 58-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Gabriel late. On the final possession, Matt Nagy chose to kneel down with 43 seconds remaining on first-and-10 from the Chargers 21 rather than attempt a run or pass before sending Pineiro out for his kick. Pineiro noted two days later that he would have preferred to attempt that final kick from the right hash mark rather than the left. That was the second of four consecutive losses for the Bears in a dispirting 8-8 season.

25

First-half points allowed by the Bears over their four October games. The defense has been on the field for 18 possessions before halftime this month and has allowed only two touchdowns and four field goals. The average halftime score of those contests: Bears 17, Opponents 6.

.174

Third-down conversion rate of Bears opponents the last two games. The Vikings were 2-for-13 on third downs in Week 6 at Soldier Field, and the Raiders were 2-for-9 on Sundasy. Through five games, the Bears defense allowed opponents to convert 58.2% of their third downs, an NFL worst. They have climbed one rung on the ladder above the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

285.1

Average passing yards per game by Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, the second highest average in NFL history among players with at least 1,000 passing attempts. The only quarterback to average more is Patrick Mahomes (301.8). For comparison’s sake, since Herbert entered the league as the No. 6 pick in 2020, all Bears quarterbacks have averaged 203.6 passing yards per game. Herbert’s 1,458 career completions already have set the NFL record for most completions through a player’s first four seasons. He alsois credited with 14 game-winning drives through his first 55 starts.

139

Receiving yards needed by Chargers standout Keenan Allen to become the 54th player in NFL history to reach 10,000. Since joining the Chargers as a third-round pick in 2013, Allen has averaged 80 catches, 929 yards and five touchdowns per season. He is on pace this season for career highs in catches (130), yards (1,626) and TDs (11).

140:38

Game time the Bears have led — out of 240 minutes — in four games this month. The Bears recorded dominant wire-to-wire victories over the Commanders and Raiders and held a 28-7 lead before losing to the Denver Broncos. They have trailed for only 50:34 this month with 43:33 of that coming in a Week 6 loss to the Vikings.

6

Consecutive losses by the Bears on “Sunday Night Football,” all by double figures. That includes two defeats in Los Angeles — to the Rams. The average score of those six losses has been 32-15. The Bears’ last victory on “Sunday Night Football” was a 15-6 defeat of the Rams in 2018. This will be the team’s only Sunday night game this season.

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MICHIGAN STATE vs. MINNESOTA

When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Huntington Bank Stadium
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: KFAN, 100.3 FM
Weather: 33 degrees, flurries, 6 mph south wind
Betting spread: Minnesota, -7

Records: Minnesota (4-3, 2-2 Big Ten) got back into the Big Ten West race with a 12-10 win over Iowa last Saturday. Michigan State (2-5, 0-4) dropped its fifth straight game last weekend, a 49-0 beat down by No. 2 Michigan.

History: Before a 34-7 win in East Lansing in 2022, the Gophers had lost five straight games to the Spartans dating to 2010. Minnesota is 18-30 all-time against Michigan State.

Key matchup: Athan Kaliakmanis vs. Spartans secondary. The Gophers QB and his pass catchers have yet to fully click this season and this Michigan State’s secondary can be beat. With health concerns in the U backfield, Minnesota might need to rely more on an efficient passing game.

Who has the edge?

Gophers offense vs. Michigan State defense: The Spartans have lost all five games since head coach Mel Tucker was suspended Sept. 10. On Wednesday, Tucker was found responsible for violating the school’s sexual harassment policy. … Going into the season, an opposing Big Ten assistant told Athlon Sports: “You never know what you’re going to get when they actually line up against you.” … U tailbacks Darius Taylor and Zach Evans might be out with injuries suffered against Iowa, and Bryce Williams was ruled out for the rest of the season going into the Hawkeyes game. That might mean Minnesota has to turn to Sean Tyler and Jordan Nubin. Tyler opened the season as the starter, but the Western Michigan transfer took a back seat after fumbling issues in Week 2. Nubin, a former walk-on and younger brother of star safety Tyler Nubin, has six carries on the season. … The Spartans’ best defender, LB Jacoby Windmon, is out for the season, but LB Cal Haladay remains in middle and leads team with 48 tackles. … WR Daniel Jackson is coming off his second career 100-yard game vs. Iowa. He had two TDs against the Spartans last year.  … The Spartans secondary was bad over the last few years, but have been better at times this season. They still gave up at least three passing touchdowns in games against Maryland, Washington and Michigan. EDGE: Gophers 

Gophers defense vs. Michigan State offense: The Hawkeyes offense is atrocious, but the only thing they got in the rivalry game was given to them by Minnesota. The U allowed 10 points and only 127 total yards, a new Hawkeye low since 2017. … The Spartans lost their top QB (Payton Thorne to Auburn) and top two WRs (Keon Coleman to Florida State and Jayden Reed to the Green Bay Packers). They left a void. This season, they have turned to QB Katin Houser for the last two starts as Noah Kim, who might be hurt, has gone to the sideline. Houser has completed 58 percent of passes with two TDs and two INTs over six games. QB Sam Leavitt also has played. DC Joe Rossi said their offense doesn’t change much even if the quarterback might. … Edge rushers Jalen Logan-Redding made Pro Football Focus’s college defense of the week, while Michigan State’s starting right tackle, Spencer Brown, will be suspended for the first half Saturday. He is being punished for a flagrant personal foul against Michigan. … LBs Devon Williams and Maverick Baranowski put together their best games of the season against Iowa. … RB Jalen Berger, a Wisconsin transfer, has only 93 yards over five games. RB Nate Carter leads way with 565 yards, but only 4.3 average. The UConn transfer is “strong and a bruiser,” one NFL scout told Lindy’s. That same source said before the Tucker fiasco that “it’s getting harder to see the future here.” EDGE: Gophers 

Special teams: K Dragan Kesich made a career-high four field goals to carry the U to victory over Iowa. Kesich has made 87 percent of his 16 field goals this season. … The Gophers coverage units continue to show holes, even if Cooper DeJean’s 54-yard punt return was called back. … Jonathan Kim has made 78 percent of nine field goals. EDGE: Gophers

Prediction: Coming off the euphoria of their first win in the Iowa rivalry in nine years, Minnesota will need to guard against a letdown. Trailing by a field goal early will help them fully snap out of it. Gophers, 28-17

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If the magnitude of the moment ever hit Tyson Bagent — a small-town kid from West Virginia making his first NFL start for the Chicago Bears — the 23-year-old quarterback seemed far more appreciative than overwhelmed on Sunday.

That was true leading up to the game. It was true during the Bears’ impressive 30-12 trouncing of the Las Vegas Raiders at Soldier Field. And it was true for 11 minutes afterward when the undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd University came to his postgame news conference and attempted to describe the entire experience.

Nervous?

“Uh, yeah,” Bagent confirmed. “Yeah.”

Until he wasn’t.

“I feel like I settled in after the first snap. But really, I feel like I feel really nervous the entire week until we get on the field pregame. And then it usually goes away.”

That’s when Bagent’s confidence typically kicks in, an infectious quality embedded in his DNA.

“I feel like I’ve played like a million games at quarterback,” he said. “I was able to win the job in high school my sophomore year. And then I started every game through my senior year in college. So that’s seven years of starting, of understanding what a week of preparation looks like and going through pretty much every (pass) concept and run concept there is.

“Repetition is the mother of all learners. And I’ve been blessed to have a lot of repetition in my life.”

Yep, there was Bagent after Sunday’s win looking every bit like a young dude fresh out of college just trying to make his way in the professional world. He wore a pair of ripped jeans, a plain white NOBULL T-shirt and a navy beanie. And his best estimate for how many friends and family members came to watch him play was “a lot.”

“My paycheck probably won’t look the same this week,” he said. “Yeah. I had a lot of people here.”

Whoever it was and wherever they sat, they were among the 62,199 fans who watched the Bears put together arguably their most complete performance all season.

Folded within:

Running back D’Onta Foreman scored all three of the Bears’ offensive touchdowns, totaling 120 yards from scrimmage after being a healthy scratch in Weeks 2-5.

Cornerback Jaylon Johnson had two interceptions in a span of 74 seconds, the first resulting in a 39-yard touchdown return.

The defense was locked in once again, contributing three takeaways, allowing only 39 rushing yards and stymieing the Raiders on third down (2-for-9).

The offensive line — utilizing its sixth different starting combination in seven games — controlled the line of scrimmage all day with the Bears piling up 173 rushing yards.

And Bagent? Well, Bagent handled the whole “game management” responsibility well as the Bears never trailed and held a lead of at least 11 points for the final two-and-a-half-quarters.

Bagent didn’t turn the ball over, was sacked just once and helped propel touchdown drives of 69, 34 and 88 yards.

The last was a third-quarter submission hold by the Bears, a 15-play march that ate up 8 minutes and 18 seconds and provided a 21-3 lead. That series ended with Bagent’s first career touchdown pass — 5 yards to Foreman on third-and-goal on a quick and decisive check-down with Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet and Foreman all in pattern to the quarterback’s right.

“Really I could have probably thrown it to either (D’Onta) or Mooney,” Bagent said. “But there was enough space. And the focal point this week was ‘Get the ball out of your hands.’ So it was easy. Especially with how he was playing today. Get it to him, let him break a tackle.”

Indeed, Foreman’s presence was an energizing force for Bagent and the offense all afternoon. He found space. He ran hard. He was productive.

“D’Onta played out of his mind today,” Bagent said.

Foreman did all that with the ideal mindset after contributing just 81 total yards through the season’s first six games but keeping himself ready for when he was needed.

“My faith has always been high in God,” Foreman said. “He has always been there for me and helped me overcome a lot of things I have been through. I’m just trying to continue to be the best that I can be and to continue to grow as a football player and as a person and continue to dominate when I get my opportunities.”

Even Johnson took note of how Foreman’s gritty production enlivened the Bears.

“To me and for us, we believe in him and we felt like he should have been getting the ball from jump,” Johnson said. “He was (almost) a 1,000-yard rusher last year. And we know he can play this game at a high level.”

As compliments were shared all around an excited and satisfied Bears locker room, Foreman made sure to laud Bagent’s command and calm, even if the rookie quarterback’s passing stat line (21-for-29, 162 yards) was far from spectacular.

“He was himself,” Foreman said. “It wasn’t anything different from what we have seen through preseason up until now. We expected him to be that guy who did what he did today.”

There will be an obvious temptation to draw grand conclusions from Bagent’s first start and to begin debating how the rookie’s strengths and weaknesses as a quarterback match up to the teammate he filled in for Sunday, Justin Fields.

Those conversations promise to amplify and will, quite frankly, become pretty outlandish across Chicago as the Bears march toward a Week 8 road trip to play the Los Angeles Chargers.

It’s still possible Fields’ dislocated right thumb will heal fast enough for him to start the next game. But even if he does — or if he doesn’t — it shouldn’t cloud what happened Sunday for Bagent, who labeled the experience as “amazing.”

“Soldier Field was off the chain today,” he said.

Finding a moment or two to soak everything in proved intoxicating.

“Where I come from,” Bagent said, “I have a bunch of friends, a bunch of family who understand and who understood how big this was really just in life. Not a lot of people get to say they started an NFL game let alone win an NFL game. So I definitely had a lot of those conversations today.

“I think the (coaching) staff understood it too and the players. That’s why everybody rallied behind me as well as they did.”

DJ Moore, who caught a team-high eight passes for 54 yards, appreciated the efficiency of his rookie quarterback.

“He stayed within himself,” Moore said. “He didn’t try to do the extraordinary. He just stayed calm, cool and collected and did what he had to do.”

Added guard Teven Jenkins: “You could tell he was very comfortable out there. The way he was moving around the pocket, moving away from pressure, he looked really good.”

With a veteran’s focus, Bagent soaked in Sunday’s triumph while also vocalizing a directive for the entire team. “Let’s get back on the horse.”

Then, in a grounded and thankful tone, Bagent added a little more introspection as he processed his storybook day.

“Football,” he said, “gives me the ability to let loose. I don’t know how loud I would be in my life if I didn’t have football. It kind of gives me that alleyway to scream and shout. It helps me out. And I hope that infiltrates the minds of the people around me and kind of gives them that same feeling.”

For one feel-good fall afternoon, everything seemed to be fun and vibrant for the Bears.

“Whenever you can just be excited and be happy that you’re able to play football and everybody plays like it, you get kind of what happened today,” Bagent said.

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