How Chicago Bears’ Case Keenum turned back the clock in win over Eagles

As Case Keenum turned to Soldier Field’s northwest tunnel on Monday night, he gave a big smile, threw both of his arms up into the air and started skipping toward the exit.

He raised his arms up and down as he got closer to cheering Chicago Bears fans waiting for him in the stands. Keenum grabbed the towel around his waist and tossed it into the stands to his right. Then he took off his hat and chucked it into the stands to his left before the night’s hero disappeared into the bowels of the stadium.

It was a night Keenum didn’t think he’d ever have again. He had it once when he helped pull off the “Minnesota Miracle” with the Vikings. But at this point of his career, Keenum had come so close to retiring twice after a decade in the NFL that it felt more like a dream.

But on Monday night in front of a national audience, Keenum lived out his dream once again. Keenum had an all-time performance as he helped the Bears upset the Philadelphia Eagles 27-7.

“To do it on Monday Night Football after you thought you weren’t ever going to play again multiple times, golly,” Keenum said at Soldier Field after the game. “This is special, it’s really special.”

It was a moment that likely wouldn’t have happened in any other moment.

Chicago played Monday without starting quarterback Caleb Williams after he suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2. Tyson Bagent was expected to be the team’s backup, but Bagent entered concussion protocol Tuesday and didn’t return to practice until Saturday.

That allowed Keenum to earn the first-team snaps during the week in preparation for Monday’s game. As the week progressed, it became clear to Bears coaches that even if Bagent did return later in the week, it wouldn’t be fair to have him play with players he didn’t have too many snaps with.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of dialogue about it at the end of the week,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said. “We felt really good about who we were going into the game with.”

Keenum showed that the Bears made the right choice on the Bears’ first drive.

He quickly got into a groove when he completed passes to wide receivers Luther Burden III and Kalif Raymond and tight end Colston Loveland. Chicago went 66 yards using 11 plays to take an early 7-0 lead when Keenum found Burden for a shovel pass touchdown in the red zone.

Keenum and the Bears replicated that pattern for most of the night. He showed off his veteran experience by placing the ball at the right place at the right time. Even when he faced pressure from the Eagles’ pass rush, Keenum got the ball out of the pocket in just enough time to end the game with no sacks taken.

That was most evident when he found Raymond down the middle of the field in the third quarter. Raymond did the rest and took it 41 yards to give the Bears a 20-7 lead that stole the game’s momentum.

“I’m throwing it pretty early, and trusting that they’re going to be in the right spot,” Keenum said. “And golly, they got to the right spot. Did a heck of a job, and it was not an easy game plan for those guys to download and digest and execute at very high levels. So I’m very proud of all those guys.”

Chicago Bears quarterback Case Keenum celebrates his rushing touchdown Monday during their game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field in Chicago. (Mark Busch)

Johnson did a good job of scheming the Bears’ playmakers open for most of the night.

Raymond led the team with six catches for 90 yards. Burden added seven receptions for 61 yards while Rome Odunze had three catches for 44 yards. Loveland finished with 31 receiving yards and rookie tight end Sam Roush added 16 as Johnson used the Bears’ full arsenal to help Keenum succeed.

“I mean we got a bunch of weapons,” Loveland said. “Obviously, we got dudes in the right spot, and he just did a great job going through his reads, knowing who was open, knowing who was going to be there. He’s a gunslinger, man.”

It led to a night Keenum likely won’t forget.

Keenum threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns, completing 24 of his 34 pass attempts (70.6%). Monday was the most yards Keenum threw for in a game since he threw for 332 yards against the Bears with Washington on Sept. 23, 2019. The 1-yard touchdown run he scored in the fourth quarter was just the seventh rushing touchdown of his career.

But most importantly, Keenum provided a calm that the Bears needed after a disappointing loss in Week 2 and with Williams’ absence.

“It’s like having a coach out on the football field, which is just great for all of us,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “And like I said, it helps in both the run and the pass game. So yeah, he just did a really good job communicating to all of us and getting us in good spots and getting us in and out of the huddle. I thought we had a good flow throughout the game.”

Johnson and his staff will now need to see what’s next for Keenum and the Bears as they face a short week. They’ll return to Soldier Field on Sunday when they host the New York Jets.

“To do it on Monday Night Football after you thought you weren’t ever going to play again multiple times, golly. This is special, it’s really special.”

If Williams can’t play, it’s likely that Bagent will be the team’s starter. Johnson hinted last week and Monday night that there was a reason why Bagent was the team’s backup after training camp.

But for a night, Keenum proved that he still has it. Before he made that run to the tunnel, he celebrated with his children on the field, who got a chance to watch their dad excel on the field once again.

The Bears believed in Keenum on Monday night and Keenum proved that he was worth that belief.

“My word of the week was trust,” Keenum said. “Trust my preparation. Trust my abilities. Trust my feet. Trust my eyes. Trust my own line. Trust the play call. Trust the play design. I just trusted it.”