Eddie Jackson's view of Tyson Bagent, defense's struggles in Bears' loss vs. Chargers

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Eddie Jackson suited up Sunday in Los Angeles, but the Bears veteran safety never took the field in Chicago's 30-13 loss to the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

Jackson injured his foot in the Bears' Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He returned in Week 6 but left after one series after re-aggravating the injury. On Friday, Jackson said he felt good and was moving better, which seemed to signal that a return against the Chargers was possible.

Instead, Jackson suited up as an "insurance" safety, with Jaquan Brisker inactive due to concussion symptoms.

"You know, Brisk didn't make it so coach asked me just in case if I needed to go would I be an insurance player? I said of course," Jackson told NBC Sports Chicago after the loss in Los Angeles. "When you so close, it's just so hard to sit on the sidelines."

Jackson said he feels close to returning but wants to err on the side of caution before getting back on the field.

"Just a few days, honestly," Jackson said. "It's the long game. The key is to get on the field and stay there. I've already missed this many games. Just get back on there and stay there. No in and out. None of that shit. I know there's going to be little doubt. Something I got to stay on top of throughout the whole season. Get that out of your mind. Prepare. You can fight through a little pain. I've been doing that my whole life. But it's just frustrating, you feel me? Being so close and just watching that shit, man. It's just, that shit is tough."

Jackson watched from the sideline as Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert started 15-of-15 as the Bolts roared out to a quick two-score lead.

A defense that felt like it could be "dominant" this season once again failed to tackle in space and couldn't get off the field on third down.

All Jackson could do was watch from the sideline as Herbert and running back Austin Ekeler ripped the Bears' defense apart.

"We just got to get back to the fundamentals, man," Jackson said. "We got to stay on our keys. We got to tackle. When your number is called, you go make a play. That's it. They didn't do nothing crazy. It was just check-downs and screens. Just tackle, man."

Jackson felt that being out there would have made a difference if his foot had allowed him to go.

"Just presence alone," Jackson said. "Things is different when you out there with everyone that's been doing this at a high level for a long time. When we all out there clicking, you know -- it's just all of us haven't played since Week 1. It's like we just got to get everyone back out there and get back to it."

Jackson feels confident he'll return for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, but the progress he makes early in the week likely will dictate that.

With Justin Fields still week-to-week with a dislocated thumb, undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent will make his third career start when the Bears travel to New Orleans. Bagent was solid in a Week 7 win over the Las Vegas Raiders but looked overmatched by the star-studded Chargers defense on Sunday night.

Still, Jackson was impressed with how the Division II product handled things in a loss.

"He did a pretty good job," Jackson said. "It's a learning lesson. It's definitely a learning lesson. They gave him some different looks and moved around on him a lot. I love his poise, though. He stayed poised in the pocket. He makes the throws. This is just one he's going to have to learn from, man. It ain't going to all just be butterflies and picket fences.

"There's going to be ups and downs. It's all about how he responds. He's a competitor. He's always humble. He's always learning. He don't give up. It was a learning lesson."

Here's the snap count from the Bears' loss vs. the Chargers:

Quarterback: Tyson Bagent, 66

Running back: Roschon Johnson 24, D'Onta Foreman 21, Darrynton Evans 18, Khari Blasingame 14, Travis Homer 1

Wide receiver: DJ Moore 58, Darnell Mooney 56, Tyler Scott 38, Trent Taylor 10, Velus Jones 3

Tight end: Cole Kmet 55, Marcedes Lewis 17, Robert Tonyan 15

Offensive line: Cody Whitehair 66, Teven Jenkins 66, Larry Borom 66, Darnell Wright 66, Lucas Patrick 65, Dan Feeney 1

Defensive line: Yannick Ngakoue 54, DeMarcus Walker 47, Justin Jones 42, Gervon Dexter 30, Andrew Billings 29, Rasheem Green 27, Khali Kareem 26, Zacch Pickens 19

Linebacker: TJ Edwards 64, Tremaine Edmunds 44, Jack Sanborn 32, Noah Sewell 2

Defensive backs: Jaylon Johnson 69, Duron Harmon 69, Elijah Hicks 69, Tyrique Stevenson 68., Kyler Gordon 57, Jaylon Jones 11

Special teams: Ja. Jones 21, Sewell 21, Dylan Cole 21, Sanborn 16, Ve. Jones 15, Homer 15, Blasingame 15, Ro. Johnson 11, Tonyan 11, Stevenson 8, Evans 8, Greg Stroman 7, Hicks 7, Green 6, Walker 6, Dexter 6, Patrick Scales 4, Cairo Santos 4, Trenton Gill 4, Scott 3, Edwards 3, Taylor 2, Kmet 1, Feeney 1, Whitehair 1, Patrick 1, Borom 1, Jenkins 1, Billings 1, Ja'Tyre Carter 1

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