Bears Rout Eagles 27-7: Third-String QB Case Keenum Owns Monday Night in Week 3

Case Keenum had not started an NFL game in 1,009 days. On Monday night at Soldier Field, the Chicago Bears' third-string quarterback played like he never left, throwing two touchdown passes and sneaking in a third score as Chicago smothered Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles 27-7.

Keenum, 38, went 24 of 34 for 247 yards with no turnovers and a 110.8 passer rating, starting because Caleb Williams is out with a hamstring injury and Tyson Bagent did not clear concussion protocol until Sunday. Behind him, Dennis Allen's defense blanked Philadelphia after halftime and forced three takeaways, turning a prime-time meeting with an unbeaten contender into a statement. The man who authored the Minneapolis Miracle just wrote himself a Chicago sequel.

The Third-Stringer Sets the Tone

Keenum came out sharp, completing 5 of 6 passes on an 11-play, 66-yard opening drive. On third-and-2, he flipped a shovel pass to Luther Burden III, who bulled through contact and got a shove from left tackle Braxton Jones to finish an 8-yard touchdown.

The defense quickly handed him a chance to double the lead. Austin Booker's Peanut Punch knocked the ball out of Tank Bigsby's arms, and Xavier Woods recovered at the Philadelphia 15. That trip came up empty, though: Colston Loveland's apparent touchdown was overturned to the 1 on review, and Quinyon Mitchell broke up a fourth-down throw.

Philadelphia answered with a 12-play march from its own 3 to the doorstep, but Hurts left mid-drive to be checked for a concussion after a late hit along the sideline by linebacker D'Marco Jackson. On third-and-goal from the 2, backup Andy Dalton threw it right to rookie safety Dillon Thieneman in the back of the end zone.

"I was just waiting for the thumbs-up," Hurts said. "I felt fine, we already checked it."

Cairo Santos made it 10-0 with a 29-yard field goal, and Hurts, back in the lineup, scored on a quarterback sneak as the first half expired. That was the last time Philadelphia touched the scoreboard.

Then the Door Slammed Shut

Chicago forced three straight three-and-outs to open the second half. Santos hit from 48, and Keenum found a wide-open Kalif Raymond for a 41-yard touchdown, his longest completion since 2019, for a 20-7 lead.

Trailing by 13 late in the third, Philadelphia sent its offense out on fourth-and-1 from its own 49. The hard count fooled nobody, a delay-of-game flag followed, and the punt team trotted on. On the next possession, T.J. Edwards, who had dropped a would-be interception earlier, picked off Hurts on fourth-and-5 from the Chicago 46.

Chicago iced it with a 13-play, 58-yard drive that burned 8:04. Keenum kept it alive by drawing Moro Ojomo offside on fourth-and-2 from the Philadelphia 39, then plunged in from a yard out on third-and-goal for a 27-7 lead with 7:19 left.

"That's a Mike Martz special right there," Bears coach Ben Johnson said. "That's the old sucker sneak."

Keenum, Raymond and a Defense With No Weak Spot

Keenum's command was the whole show. Johnson praised how fast his veteran diagnosed what the Eagles were doing. "He knows where everyone is supposed to be on every single play and so he is really quick to recognize coverage," Johnson said. Per the Bears, Keenum joined Tom Brady, Drew Brees, John Elway, Doug Flutie and Fran Tarkenton as the only quarterbacks 38 or older to throw for 240 yards and two touchdowns and also run for a score in the same game. He also became the oldest Bears player ever to rush for a touchdown.

Raymond led Chicago with six catches for 90 yards and the long score, Burden added seven grabs for 61 yards, and D'Andre Swift churned out 84 rushing yards on 20 carries. "Poised, calm and honestly a guy who was having a lot of fun," Raymond said of his quarterback.

The defense, though, may have been even better. Hurts finished 16 of 25 for 153 yards with an interception and a 64.2 rating. Saquon Barkley ran for 82 yards on 15 carries, but the Eagles went 2 for 9 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth. Johnson's postgame locker room message was simple: "Defense! Are you kidding me?"

Soldier Field Scoreboard Math

• 1,009: Days between Keenum starts, dating to Dec. 24, 2023, with Houston.
• 62: Eagles yards after halftime, out of 248 total.
• 3 to 0: Turnover margin. Philadelphia is still searching for its first takeaway of the season.
• 36:53: Chicago's time of possession, almost 14 minutes more than Philadelphia.
• 0: Points the Bears allowed in three of the four quarters.

Chicago Finds a Pulse, Philly Finds Problems

The Bears are 2-1 and suddenly look a lot steadier than they did after a soggy 9-3 loss to Minnesota that also cost them Williams. They host the Jets on Sunday with the starting quarterback question still open, and that is a much better problem than it was a week ago. Last season, Chicago piled up 281 rushing yards in a 24-15 win at Philadelphia. This time the Bears needed only 128, because the quarterback and the defense did the heavy lifting.

The Eagles fall to 2-1, and the cracks from two one-score wins over Washington and Tennessee finally split open. They turned it over three times, failed to force a takeaway for the third straight game to open the season and managed 141 net passing yards. Nick Sirianni took the blame. "I think we all have to own that loss right there," he said. "I don't think anybody coached well. I don't think anyone played well. It was a true team loss."

He also second-guessed the fourth-and-1 punt. "Hindsight, I feel like I should have went for it on that fourth-and-1 1/2," Sirianni said. One feel-good note for the visitors: Zach Ertz, back with the Eagles after signing to the practice squad last week, caught one pass for 9 yards in his season debut. Philadelphia hosts the Rams next.

Not His First Rodeo

Keenum said the chance felt like something out of a childhood daydream. "To get a shot again like this? Yeah, you dream of it," he said. "That's why I'm still here doing this when I get knocked down." Then the Texas native gave the locker room the line of the night: "I may not be a cowboy, but this ain't my first rodeo."

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Postgame quotes as reported by the Associated Press and ChicagoBears.com.