Case Keenum turned back the clock at 38 years old to save the Bears in a stunning win over the Eagles.
Case Keenum took the field as the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football against the Philadelphia Eagles for his first regular-season action since the 2023 NFL season.
And the veteran turned back the clock, guiding the Bears to a surprising 27-7 victory.
To put Keenum’s football journey in perspective, the 38-year-old quarterback was a member of the 2006 high school recruiting class, along with players such as Percy Harvin, Sergio Kindle, Myron Rolle, Tim Tebow, DeMarco Murray, Gerald McCoy, LeSean McCoy, and Brandon Graham.
Yet, there Keenum was on Monday Night Football, leading the Bears to a most unexpected victory as the team’s starting quarterback, in the wake of injuries to starter Caleb Williams and backup Tyson Bagent.
“Playing well anytime in your career feels good,” Keenum said after a performance that earned him a game ball from head coach Ben Johnson. “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. And I don’t know if I’ll be able to put it into words tonight, but I’m going to enjoy it tonight, that’s for sure.”
Keenum completed 24-of-34 passes for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns on a night where everyone, including Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, expected the Bears to run the football as much as possible to help their third-string quarterback. While the Bears struggled to get the running game going until late, and Johnson even spoke about the need to run the football during a halftime interview with ESPN, Keenum kept slinging it.
And slinging it well.
His first touchdown pass, an underneath shovel pass to Luther Burden, came as a result of an incredible individual effort from the wide receiver and his teammates, as he bullied his way into the end zone after being initially stopped well short of the goal line.
Keenum’s second touchdown pass, however, had a higher level of difficulty:
Motion at the snap from Burden creates some confusion in the secondary, as both Cooper DeJean and Tariq Woolen end up over Burden on the outside. That frees up Kalif Raymond on a post route, and Keenum punishes the mistake, snapping off a quick throw to Raymond, who does the rest.
But it is clear from the gameplan that Johnson had every bit of trust in Keenum. Early in the first quarter the Bears faced a 4th-and-1 at the Philadelphia 32-yard line, and not only did Johnson keep his offense on the field, but he put the ball in Keenum’s hands for this throw to the flat:
This is quick thinking from the quarterback.
Keenum also punished the blitz, when Fangio decided to bring pressure. According to charting data the Eagles blitzed Keenum on 12 dropbacks last night.
On those snaps, the third-string quarterback completed 11-of-11 passes for 145 yards, and both touchdowns. His best throw of the night, from my perspective, came against the blitz, this deep out route to Rome Odunze in the face of heavy pressure late in the second quarter:
Keenum’s performance, particularly against the blitz, might just have been born out of his preparation leading up to Monday night. With both Williams and Bagent sidelined — Williams due to a hamstring issue and Bagent in the concussion protocol — Keenum was running the show for Chicago this week. He was the only quarterback to practice all three days last week as he prepared for the Eagles.
That spilled over to the quarterback meeting on Sunday night, as Johnson told ESPN:
“It was the night before the game. We always do our quarterback meeting,” Johnson said after the game. “He ran the show, and the coaching staff kind of took a back seat. There were no reminders from us. He was just going through the list of every single play that was on the plan, and what he was going to do, and gave us his favorites. And that was really -- I thought that right there is a good indicator of what it’s going to look like on game day.”
Johnson also spoke about Keenum’s awareness after the win:
“He knows where everyone is supposed to be on every single play and so he is really quick to recognize coverage,” said the head coach. “He knows why we’re calling the play and what we’re looking for and if we’re not getting that he’s accelerating through it really quickly. That’s what you get when you’re 15-plus years playing that position in this league.”
As for the quarterback, he called the chance at another “shot” to play in the NFL something “you dream of” as a player:
“To get a shot again like this? Yeah, you dream of it,” Keenum said. “That’s why I’m still here doing this when I get knocked down. I got knocked down my whole career. I just keep getting up, coming to work, just keep bouncing back.”
And with Williams expected to be sidelined longer, and after his performance on Monday night, he could get another shot or two this season.
But even if he does not get another shot, it was one incredible night for the quarterback. And adding to the experience, it was the first time Keenum’s two young children were able to see him play in person:
“Hopefully they stayed up. Hopefully they didn’t fall asleep over there. We kept it exciting for them,” said Keenum. “I’m going to have fun watching the game with them tomorrow on the couch, or probably just Bluey. They probably won’t want to watch it again. They’ll be like, ‘We saw it one time already, dad.’
There is also one other note about that 2006 recruiting class, beyond Keenum.
Another member of that group?
Matthew Stafford.
Give it up for the old guys.