Sitting in the north end zone of Soldier Field on Sunday during the third quarter of the Chicago Bears game with the Minnesota Vikings, I noticed quarterback Justin Fields heading toward the exit holding his right hand.

I nudged one of my friends and pointed to Fields.

“We (bleeped) now,” he said.

Neither of us had any idea Fields had been injured on a previous play, and we weren’t really sure who the backup was that day. Would it be the guy called “the Peterman” or the rookie whose first name escaped us?

It turned out to be the rookie, Tyson Bagent, who would be making his NFL debut.

We were all excited to witness the start of the Bagent era, knowing it couldn’t be much worse than the current era, or any recent era for that matter.

Bagent fumbled the ball away on the first series, but eventually righted himself and led a spirited fourth-quarter comeback that had Soldier Field rocking. I flashed back to my favorite unknown quarterback, Kent Nix, coming off the bench to spark a late win in my first game at Soldier Field.

Nix did it in the season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1971. Could Bagent be Nix 2.0?

You know the rest of the story. Bagent’s underthrown pass to DJ Moore resulted in a drive-killing interception, and the Bears went on to lose 19-13. No one was really surprised. Not because we didn’t trust Bagent, but because we’ve watched the Bears long enough to know how this works.

Now Bagent reportedly will get an opportunity to show what he can do with a week of practice under his belt as the starting quarterback, thanks to Fields’ dislocated right thumb.

He’ll join a long list of backup Bears quarterbacks thrust into a starter’s role with a chance to erase the status quo. From Zeke Bratkowski to Mike Phipps, and from Mike Tomczak to Nick Foles, QB2 has been a central figure in the Bears’ history.

The franchise’s historic inability to find dependable starters always means there’s someone waiting in the wings to take over. And that person is typically the people’s choice, since the unknown is almost always preferable to the known when it comes to Bears quarterbacks.

Only when the backup becomes the main man do Bears fans realize they might have been a little too giddy about the new guy.

Fans clamored for Phipps over Bob Avellini, and then for Vince Evans over Phipps. Tomczak was the local boy who could do no wrong as Jim McMahon’s backup, until he could do no right as the full-time starter after McMahon’s exit.

We seemingly waited forever for Kyle Orton to replace Rex Grossman, and then saw him dealt for Jay Cutler, the only Bears quarterback disliked by a large segment of fans no matter how he performed on the field. We couldn’t wait for rookie Mitch Trubisky to replace the statuesque Mike Glennon, and then couldn’t wait for the Bears to draft someone new to replace Trubisky.

It’s been a vicious cycle of Bearsness our whole lives, and something we’ve learned to live with.

I recall as a young fan thinking Nix would be the one to lead the Bears back to glory. I was already tired of watching “old” Jack Concannon, who was only in his late 20s. After that comeback win over the Steelers, Nix came off the bench again to upset the Vikings and was then named a starter for the New Orleans Saints game. The Bears scored five first-half touchdowns in a 35-14 win to go 3-1, and a new star was born. Tribune Bears writer Cooper Rollow called him “the cool, implacable Kent Nix.” I was sold.

But Nix was injured the following week in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers, so I quickly found a new backup hero, the immortal Bobby Douglass, a left-handed QB who ran a lot and threw passes so hard it could break his receivers’ hands.

Douglass preceded Gary Huff, who eventually led to Avellini, and so on.

There was a Cade McNown and a Josh McCown; a Rusty Lisch and a Peter Tom Willis; a Henry Burris and a Chad Hutchinson. The litany of backup quarterbacks includes names that are remembered long after anything they did on the field is recalled, only because of the Bears’ storied inability to find someone who could actually get a football into a receiver’s hands.

I don’t know enough about Bagent to know whether he will succeed where the others didn’t. I do find it mind-boggling that Bears management made a totally inexperienced rookie the backup to a relatively inexperienced Fields based on a couple of preseason performances and expected him to be ready in mid-October.

But Bagent seems competent, poised and fearless enough to deserve his shot, and he’ll get the benefit of the doubt from fans Sunday if he starts against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Until he doesn’t. That’s the beauty and the curse of being the Bears’ backup quarterback. Everyone loves you when you’re on the sideline not throwing interceptions. But that new-car smell quickly wears off once they’ve seen you a few quarters and you still haven’t delivered.

Hopefully he succeeds in a short stint, and Fields returns soon to finish out the season that will decide whether he deserves a new deal, or whether the Bears need a new QB1.

Bears fans are always waiting on something. It’s what they do best.

Why should this year be any different?

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The Chicago Bears lost quarterback Justin Fields to a right hand injury in the third quarter of a 19-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

The loss dropped the Bears to 1-5 but more importantly brought into question the status of their starting quarterback.

Fields was trying to get rid of the ball as Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter took him down for a sack. Fields’ hand reached out to toss the ball and then hit the ground before his body did.

Fields held his hand as he walked to the sideline and sat on the bench briefly before heading into the medical tent and then the locker room. The Bears ruled him out of the game before the third quarter was over.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus said after the game that X-rays on Fields’ hand were negative and that he will have an MRI on Monday. Eberflus said Fields wanted to return to the game but couldn’t grip the ball.

Undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent, who played at Division II Shepherd and earned a roster spot and the backup job with a strong preseason performance, took over at quarterback.

Bagent completed 10 of 14 passes for 83 yards with an interception and also had a lost fumble and a touchdown run.

The Bears had a chance to take the lead with 6 minutes, 44 seconds to play and down 19-13.

Bagent led the Bears to the Vikings 35-yard line but threw an interception to cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., who was well in front of target DJ Moore.

It was Bagent’s second turnover. On his third NFL snap, Bagent fumbled on a strip-sack by Vikings safety Josh Metellus. Jordan Hicks recovered and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown and a 19-6 Vikings lead.

Bagent did, however, lead the only Bears touchdown drive.

On his third drive, Bagent sparked the Bears with passes of 18 and 24 yards to Moore. He connected with D’Onta Foreman for a 2-yard gain on third-and-1 and followed it with an 11-yard pass to Robert Tonyan to get the Bears to the 9-yard line. Two plays later, Bagent scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the Vikings lead to 19-13 with 7:46 to play.

The Bears offense had a rough day before Bagent entered. Fields completed 6 of 10 passes for 58 yards with no touchdowns, an interception and a 36.7 passer rating. He was sacked four times.

Facing a Vikings offense without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, the Bears held the Vikings to one touchdown and two field goals.

Read more from Week 6.

Pressure gets to Bears — and QB Justin Fields is sacked 4 times: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Week 6 loss
Column: How bad is Justin Fields’ hand injury? After another loss, what does it mean for the Bears’ direction?
X-rays on Justin Fields’ hand are negative, but the Bears wait to see if he or Tyson Bagent will start next

Here’s how the game unfolded.

Inactives announced

The Bears will have their entire starting secondary active for the first time since the season opener when they play the Vikings on Sunday at Soldier Field.

Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon and safety Eddie Jackson are active after absences, though Gordon didn’t warm up with the starting defense pregame. Greg Stroman Jr. was at the nickel spot in warmups.

Gordon hasn’t played since the opener after he went on injured reserve with a broken hand. Johnson missed two games with a hamstring injury. Jackson missed three games with a foot injury he said was different than the one that ended his season in 2022.

Center Lucas Patrick also is active after going through concussion protocol last week.

The Bears previously ruled out running backs Khalil Herbert, whom they put on IR with an ankle injury, Roschon Johnson (concussion) and Travis Homer (hamstring).

Cornerback Terell Smith is out with an ankle injury and an illness. The Bears put wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown on IR on Friday.

Nathan Peterman is inactive but will be the emergency third quarterback behind Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent. Offensive lineman Aviante Collins is also inactive.

For the Vikings, safety Lewis Cine, tight end Nick Muse, outside linebacker Andre Carter II, offensive tackle Hakeem Adeniji and defensive lineman Jaquelin Roy are inactive.

Halftime: Vikings lead 12-6 after teams trade late takeaways

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins hit rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison with a 10-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the second quarter to give the Vikings a 12-6 halftime lead against the Bears.

Before that, only the Bears and Vikings kickers had scored.

The Bears’ Cairo Santos made field goals from 53 and 22 yards and the Vikings’ Greg Joseph was good from 53 and 51 as the teams were knotted at 6 before the late Vikings drive. Rasheem Green blocked Joseph’s extra point after the touchdown.

The Bears and Vikings traded takeaways late in the second quarter for an eventful finish to the half.

Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards hit Cousins’ arm as he was trying to pass. The ball floated into the air, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds dived to grab it, giving the Bears the ball at the Vikings 35. Ruled an interception on the field, game statisticians listed it as a fumble recovery.

But Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks intercepted Bears quarterback Justin Fields on the ensuing drive, and the Vikings scored on Cousins’ pass to complete an eight-play, 77-yard drive.

The Bears passing offense that looked so good against the Washington Commanders in Week 5 didn’t show up much in the half.

The Bears had minus-3 passing yards through their first three drives before Fields hit Darnell Mooney with a 39-yard pass to get to the Vikings 41-yard line. But they gained only 5 more yards, and Santos made a 53-yarder.

Fields finished the half 6-for-10 for 58 yards with no touchdowns, the one interception and a 36.7 passer rating. He was sacked three times.

Fields was sacked twice on the Bears’ first drive, and they punted. The Bears took to the ground on their second drive, handing off to D’Onta Foreman, Darrynton Evans and Velus Jones Jr. and totaling 65 rushing yards.

But they couldn’t get in the end zone after having first-and-goal at the 7, and Santos made a 22-yard field goal to tie it at 3-3.

Joseph made field goals from 53 yards on the Vikings’ first drive and 51 on their second to give them a 6-3 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Bears defense looked to have a takeaway when Cousins fumbled a backward pass and Edwards tried to recover it. But replay review determined Edwards was out of bounds before recovering.

Bears right guard Nate Davis left in the first quarter after he suffered an ankle injury on a Fields pass to Khari Blasingame. He had to be helped off the field by trainers. Ja’Tyre Carter took over for Davis. The Bears said Davis was questionable to return.

The Bears announced safety Eddie Jackson, who rotated drives with Elijah Hicks, was questionable to return with a foot injury.

3rd quarter: Justin Fields leaves with right hand injury

Bears quarterback Justin Fields went into the medical tent on the sideline after a third-quarter sack and then headed to the locker room.

Fields walked off the field and appeared to be holding his right hand. He sat briefly on the bench before going with a trainer into the tent. It didn’t take long before he emerged to go to the locker room.

With 4:21 to play in the third quarter, the Bears ruled out Fields from returning to the game.

On third-and-7 on the Bears’ first drive of the second half, Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter took down Fields for a loss of 5 yards. It was the fourth Vikings sack of the day.

As Fields was in the locker room, rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent began warming up on the sideline. He entered the game on the next Bears drive for his regular-season NFL debut.

On Bagent’s third snap, he was sacked by safety Josh Metellus and fumbled, and linebacker Jordan Hicks picked up the loose ball and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown and a 19-6 Vikings lead.

Catch up on the rest of our coverage.

‘I feel like I am just playing ball’

A long weekend coming off the most complete performance in Justin Fields’ three seasons gave the Bears quarterback an opportunity to reflect.

The passing game in the last two games has looked, well, like a full-fledged attack and that’s not something we’ve seen with any regularity in these parts. Whether Fields reflected or not, he didn’t have anything revelatory to share about what those at Halas Hall have to hope is a breakthrough.

“I think I’m just focused on continuing to get better each and every day,” Fields said. “The offense, as a whole, we’ve gotten better each and every week. Our main goal is to just do that.” Read more here.

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Bears Q&A: What if QB Caleb Williams refused to come to Chicago on the No. 1 pick?

All eyes on the RB

The Bears ruled out their top three running backs — Khalil Herbert (ankle), Roschon Johnson (concussion) and Travis Homer (hamstring). That leaves D’Onta Foreman as the best rushing option.

Foreman, who has been in the NFL since 2017, said Thursday he was calm and confident as he prepares for the opportunity. He was pushed into action midseason with the 2021 Tennessee Titans and the 2022 Carolina Panthers and performed well. He rushed for 914 yards last season with the Panthers.

The Bears placed Herbert on injured reserve Friday, meaning he will miss at least four games.

D’Onta Foreman — pushed out of the running back mix early — is ready for his opportunity with the Bears

Tributes for Butkus

Bears players will wear No. 51 patches on their jerseys for the remainder of the season to pay tribute to late Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus.

The patch is one of several ways the Bears plan to honor Butkus, who died in his sleep at age 80 last week at his home in Malibu, Calif..

At Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field, the Bears will have an on-field display of his retired No. 51 jersey. A Butkus memorial will sit at the stadium’s South Courtyard by Gate 1, a space where fans can see his Pro Football Hall of Fame bust and receive a commemorative button. A locker-room display with a Butkus jersey will be at Gate 7.

The Bears plan to have several in-game tributes. Read more here.

Column: Dick Butkus personified Chicago’s toughness with the Bears. ‘There was no way that guy wasn’t going to be great.’

Stats package

The Bears have lost 9 consecutive division losses, going winless in the NFC North since downing the Lions 16-14 in Detroit on Thanksgiving in 2021.

Since Lovie Smith was fired after the 2012 season, the Bears have a .311 winning percentage (19-42) in division games. Justin Fields is 1-9 as a starter in NFC North games, including an 0-2 mark against the Vikings. Read more here.

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Bears trade Chase Claypool to the Dolphins with an exchange of late-round 2025 draft picks

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The Orioles’ streak of 91 regular-season series without being swept defined their 2023 campaign before the club’s unprecedented year ended in “ironic” fashion, as center fielder Cedric Mullins put it, with a sweep in the American League Division Series.

That streak is technically still intact, but the next time Baltimore is in the playoffs, a new one will be the focus.

With their three-and-out in the ALDS against the Rangers, the Orioles have lost eight consecutive postseason games — the worst stretch in franchise history and the longest active streak in the sport. Only nine teams in MLB history have suffered a longer such streak.

“You never want to be on a streak,” Orioles fan Nathan Skidmore said before Game 3 of the ALDS. “You never want people to be able to pull that up on a graphic and be like, ‘Eight in a row.’

“Anytime you’re on a streak like that, I think you start to worry like, ‘Are we ever going to win again?’”

Entering the playoffs, the Minnesota Twins owned one of MLB’s most ignominious records. From 2004 to 2020, they lost 18 straight postseason games, but with their win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild-card round (which Minnesota swept), the Twins finally exorcised their playoff demons.

The active leaders then became the Tampa Bay Rays, who were swept by the Rangers in the wild-card round, and Blue Jays at seven consecutive playoff losses. That is, until the Orioles, the AL’s top seed by tallying 101 wins in the regular season, failed to record any in the 2023 playoffs.

“I’m glad they got the experience,” manager Brandon Hyde said after Tuesday’s loss at Globe Life Field. “I hate the outcome because these guys deserve all the credit in the world for the season they just had. I hope people can recognize that.”

Baltimore fans need no reminder, but the streak dates to the gut-wrenching 2014 AL Championship Series. Those Orioles won 96 games and an AL East title, sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS to enter the ALCS versus the Kansas City Royals as World Series favorites. Then, the Royals swept the Orioles by a difference of only six runs — a pair of two-run losses at Camden Yards and two one-run defeats in Kansas City.

Two years later, lest fans forget, Baltimore lost to the Blue Jays in the wild-card game, as the most recent playoff season before 2023 ended with Ubaldo Jiménez giving up a walk-off home run to Edwin Encarnación after Buck Showalter chose not to bring in All-Star closer Zack Britton in extra innings.

Those who were a part of the successful 2014 and 2016 seasons and the subsequent postseason collapses had virtually nothing to do with the 2023 playoff failure. The front office has been overhauled. A new manager is on the dugout’s top step. And virtually no players on either of those teams played for Baltimore in 2023 after the franchise’s painful rebuild bore fruit this year.

The constant throughout the eight playoff losses has been Baltimore fans — those who experienced the Royals small-ball the Orioles to elimination and then two years later screamed at their televisions as Britton sat in the bullpen. They watched each one with high hopes, only to be let down time after time — a now-playoff tradition that continued into 2023. This year, they cheered from Camden Yards’ stands during the one-run loss Saturday and the walk-fest Sunday, only to see one of the best teams in the Orioles’ 70-season history get swept out of the postseason on the road in Game 3.

“I’m hopeful that the team will learn something,” said Dan Bollinger, a lifelong Orioles fan who attended Game 2 in Baltimore and Game 3 in Arlington, Texas. “Going from over 100 losses to this year’s record is great. It’s been tough being an Orioles fan for the last few years, but I’m still hopeful.”

What makes the ALDS sweep harder to swallow is the missed opportunity it represents. A 101-win team should, in theory, be a World Series contender, but the Rangers, who won 11 fewer games than Baltimore, were more apt for the rigors of October baseball. A bevy of smart decisions by the Orioles’ front office over the past five years is what allowed them to be the AL’s top team, but its reluctance to make significant investments similar to those made by their opponents proved costly.

Whether executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, who has yet to hand out a multiyear contract to a free agent since he was hired to shepherd the rebuild in November 2018, or, more importantly, Chairman and CEO John Angelos are willing to spend to bolster this roster and keep the Orioles’ young core intact remains a question. Large-market teams, in theory, can have a wider championship window given their financial advantages, but the club’s reluctance thus far to spend anywhere near those teams — the Orioles ranked 29th out of 30 teams in payroll entering the season, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts — could make the squandering of 2023′s opportunity sting even more.

“What I worry about more than bringing in big free agents is, ‘Are they going to extend our guys?’ I like the guys on this team. I like Adley Rutschman. I like Gunnar Henderson,” said Skidmore, a 25-year-old Northern Virginia native who now lives in Fort Worth, Texas. “When it comes to the owner spending money, I almost don’t want them to spend on free agents so we can extend our guys.

“But John Angelos doesn’t fill me with confidence as someone that’s going to do what it takes to make sure the team is on top.”

With playoff expansion over the years, streaks such as the Orioles’ are becoming more common. Six of the nine teams in MLB history with longer streaks had them end after the wild-card era began in 1994. Currently, all five clubs in the AL East — considered the sport’s most daunting division — have playoff losing streaks of at least three games. The Orioles, Rays, Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have combined to lose 29 consecutive postseason games, seven of which occurred this postseason as all three AL East clubs to qualify were swept.

Yet, amid the sadness in the Orioles’ clubhouse Tuesday night was optimism for the future. Baltimore believes this is just the beginning, and it’s not hard to envision why. Henderson, Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad are all 25 or younger. Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez blossomed into legitimate top-of-the-rotation starters in the second half. And the organization boasts the sport’s top-ranked farm system, according to Baseball America, with prospects Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Chayce McDermott on the cusp of the big leagues.

“I think a lot of us are disappointed, are sad,” pitcher Tyler Wells said. “But I think, too, this is something that we’re gonna hold onto and carry that chip on our shoulder.”

Still, though, the next time the Orioles are in the postseason, the streak will follow the club — and the fan base — like a dark cloud. Austin Hays, one of the players who survived the 100-loss seasons of the rebuild, stated after Tuesday’s loss what his goal is in 2024 and beyond: to deliver a playoff win — and much more — to Baltimore fans.

“The most rewarding thing was just seeing our fans come back into that stadium and get to see that playoff atmosphere at home,” Hays said. “That’s what I want. That’s what I want to play for. I want to be in that environment.

“I want to play all 162 knowing we’re gonna get back to that next year and get back to that moving forward cause that was a hell of an experience.”

Baltimore Sun reporter Nathan Ruiz contributed to this article.

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