LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- DJ Moore and Tyson Bagent couldn't have been farther apart on the NFL spectrum. One on end, you have an undrafted rookie quarterback from Division II Shepherd. On the other, an elite wide receiver who arrived in the offseason as a conquering hero.
There was no way for Moore to know that Bagent would wind up being the Bears' starting quarterback in Week 7 due to an injury to Justin Fields. That wasn't even on Moore's radar when he first started "poking" Bagent, trying to make the rookie laugh.
"I used to just mess with Tyson in the locker room," Moore said Wednesday at Halas Hall. "Even before like the whole backup and stuff like that came around. I used to talk to Tyson and he used to chuckle. I don’t know if I was too funny to him or not funny enough with him."
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Initially, Bagent didn't know how to act around the star receiver, but Moore made it easy.
"I feel like, I mean, he's one of the best in the world," Bagent said Wednesday. "I think incoming undrafted guy from D-II. You could be a little, not star-struck, but just kind of you realize when he's around and just even how cool he was to have just a casual conversation with me almost immediately, like in OTAs in the sauna and stuff like that.
"Once Justin went down he was just one of those dudes who just really had my back, loved me up to the media and did all the things to make me feel good and confident and I appreciate that."
Five months after their first conversation, Bagent and Moore's relationship is set to take center stage for however long Fields is out.
During Sunday's 30-12 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, Bagent targeted Moore nine times, with the receiver hauling in eight passes for 54 yards.
The Bears relied on the run game and short-passing attack to steady Bagent in his first career NFL start. They didn't go vertical, but one throw to Moore on third-and-7 showed an evolving chemistry between the No. 1 receiver and backup quarterback.
On third-and-7 against the Raiders, Bagent had Moore and Cole Kmet working a concept to the right side. Moore's route was an in-breaker, but Bagent was pressured and bolted out of the pocket to the right. Moore immediately stopped his route and started working toward the sideline. Bagent saw Moore beating his guy and put the throw on the money for a 15-yard gain.
"It felt good. It felt smooth," Bagent said. "I thought DJ did a good job with separating and working the scramble drill, getting off of his route and then getting in tune with me and then, once again, just as a pro quarterback, gotta be able to make that throw."
With the Raiders playing a lot of off-coverage, the Bears were able to dink and dunk them to death. Bagent finished the game with 2.1 air yards per attempt.
With NFL film now available on Bagent, the Bears know their next opponent, the Los Angeles Chargers, will likely try to take the short passes away and force the rookie to beat them vertically.
That's something they are confident Bagent can do if the game plan calls for it.
"We’re always going to look to stretch vertically and horizontally in the passing game," Eberflus said. "That’s always something that we look at. Really you look at the defense that you’re playing. If they give you those opportunities vertically, you’re going to take those. If it’s in the side pockets, in the seam, and the deep part of the field or it might be intermediate routes, so you really are looking at those pockets all the time and the space which the defense gives you and you attack those spaces."
The Bears' conservative game plan against the Raiders was understandable. There's not a staff in the world that would allow an undrafted rookie to cut it loose in his first start unless they fell behind by two scores. The Bears believed they could beat the Raiders by running the ball, staying ahead of the sticks, and winning the turnover battle.
They were right.
But the dink and dunk plan illustrates who Bagent is as an NFL quarterback. If the Bears ask him to take shots Sunday, he's ready to deliver.
"I don’t really drop myself in any category of being a pocket passer, dual threat," Bagent said. "I just like to make plays for the team, and once again, whatever I’m asked to do from the coaches is what we’ll get done and what will happen. So I don’t want to put any limits anywhere.
"We're not trying to be careful in doing anything."
BEARS ANALYSIS
If the Chargers try to take the short passing game away, that could work to the Bears' advantage. The Chargers' defense has given up the most explosive pass plays this season, so that could allow the blossoming Bagent-Moore connection to showcase its growth.
If that's what the game plan calls for, Moore has unwavering trust in Bagent.
"He’s just got this cool kind of swagger about him,' Moore said. "When he comes in the huddle, he’s confident, loud, and makes everybody feel like, OK, we’ve got a chance to go execute on this play, and he does that every time he steps in the huddle. I mean, every play was pretty good last week with him, and looking forward to seeing him do again this week."
The Raiders allowed Bagent to manage the game and didn't take away the easy throws. Bagent deserves credit for getting the ball out fast and on time. The Chargers likely will ask him to pass a more demanding test in start No. 2 -- putting a growing relationship that started in the saunas at Halas Hall under the microscope in prime time.