CHICAGO (104.3 The Score) – Surrounded by family and friends in the postgame press conference late Monday at Soldier Field, Bears quarterback Case Keenum found himself flummoxed for the first time all night.
"I don't know if I could put this into words,” Keenum said after the Bears overwhelmed the Eagles, 27-7.
It was as impressive as it was inexplicable, unlikely and unforgettable, one of those moments worth savoring in the present without necessarily worrying about what it means for the future.
But then Keenum did for about 15 minutes what he doubted he could do, using his quick sense of humor to describe what happened and command the room the way he did the line of scrimmage. He raved about his teammates, the "brothers" for whom he wanted to play well, and kidded with reporters. He answered a question about the adoring Soldier Field crowd by comparing his emotions to the day he took a bottle of dirt from his home state into the delivery room in Virginia so his son could be born on Texas soil.
"Soldier Field at night is awesome,” Keenum said.
So was No. 11, during and after his performance. He made faces at his relatives in the back of the room. He laughed at his good fortune. He kidded about how hands-on head coach Ben Johnson was all week preparing him for his first start since Dec. 24, 2023.
"The only two people in my phone were my wife Kimberly and Ben,'' Keenum said. "And I'll let you guess who called more.”
There’s no way Keenum could've been better prepared for this opportunity.
It had been 1,009 days since Keenum last played in an NFL regular-season game. It would be hard to find one in his football career any more rewarding. He'll always have the "Minneapolis Miracle,” of course, the Jan. 14, 2018 day that he rallied the Vikings over the Saints in the playoffs. But much less miraculous, this occasion always will carry special meaning because it occurred after Keenum wondered whether he'd ever get another chance.
"It's all about Case Keenum,” said Johnson, in the best mood he's been in for a long time. "I couldn't be more proud of him. I thought he did an extraordinary job.”
In simplest terms, Case closed.
Much was made throughout the week nationally about how Johnson hadn't called plays for a quarterback who hadn't been the No. 1 overall draft pick ... or even a backup, let alone a backup to the backup. From Jared Goff in Detroit to Caleb Williams in Chicago, the implication was Johnson had benefited from living the charmed life of a play-caller. He heard the noise.
“That apparently was a big deal,” Johnson said postgame, bringing it up himself sarcastically.
Apparently not.
When Johnson talked Keenum out of retiring in the spring of 2025, after a planned 15-minute talk turned into a 2 1/2-hour pitch, he envisioned Keenum's role developing as a mentor to Williams. Not even the boldest of thinkers could’ve imagined a game like this. Not from the second-oldest quarterback to ever start a Bears game.
Keenum is one month younger than Johnson was when he took the Bears job in January 2025. Way back in 2006, Keenum was a two-star recruit out of Wylie High School in Abilene, Texas who threw for 6,783 yards and 48 touchdowns in his prep career. The five-star quarterback recruits in that class? Matthew Stafford, Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick.
After a record-setting career at the University of Houston, Keenum made his first NFL start Oct. 20, 2013, at Arrowhead Stadium for the Texans in a 20-17 loss to the Chiefs in Kansas City, getting the nod over teammate T.J. Yates – Johnson's buddy and fellow quarterback at North Carolina.
The point is Keenum has been starting NFL games since Marc Trestman coached the Bears, which was five head coaches ago at Halas Hall. Being the oldest Bears quarterback since Todd Collins to start a game for the franchise was a distinction that didn't exactly infuse a football city with confidence.
Yet there was Keenum on his sport's biggest stage Monday night, in front of America and his two children, Kyler and Cadence, for the first time, making his life's work look easy.
"I told them before the game that Keenums can do hard things,” Keenum said.
Then he went out and conquered a difficult challenge, improving to 4-0 lifetime against vaunted Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Heck, Keenum played well enough for the Giants to regret trading for Vikings backup quarterback J.J. McCarthy earlier Monday.
From the first snap through the last, Keenum showed command of the Bears offense maybe only Johnson believed he could. Before the Eagles rush could collapse the pocket, Keenum released the ball quickly, in time and on time, throwing to the spot his receivers found. He anticipated blitzes with the pocket presence one would expect from a quarterback making his 67th career start for his eighth NFL team. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns and a 110.8 passer rating, his highest since Week 1 of the 2019 season. Perhaps most remarkably, the Eagles never sacked Keenum.
The guy more familiar on TV for those Progressive "backup backup" commercials simply stole the show in primetime. Now, everyone left Soldier Field wondering this: Does Chicago have a backup quarterback controversy?
The Bears signed Tyson Bagent to a two-year, $10-million contract extension in August 2025 because Johnson views Bagent as an extension of himself: smart, scrappy and well-suited to execute the offense. This would've been Bagent's opportunity to earn that money had he not been concussed late in the fourth quarter against the Vikings the week prior. When Bagent missed all meaningful practice time in concussion protocol – he wasn't cleared until Sunday – Johnson wisely stuck with Keenum as the starter.
After Keenum's clutch showing, Johnson still sounded like someone leaning toward returning to Bagent if he's healthy enough to practice all week before the Bears face the Jets next Sunday.
"We'll have a discussion as a coaching staff,” Johnson said, quickly reminding everyone that “there was a reason Tyson ended training camp as our No. 2 quarterback.”
I'd start Keenum against the Jets to keep momentum going, but Johnson earns $13 million a year to make decisions he believes are best for his team, no matter how unpopular they may be. The good news for the Bears is there are no bad choices – the veteran with the hot hand or the extension of the head coach groomed for this opportunity. Either way, the Bears believe they're in good shape until Williams returns.
"We've got one of the best quarterback rooms in the NFL, and tonight was a reflection of that,” Johnson said.
Like any game, there were head-shaking moments. With 13:59 left in the second quarter, for instance, on fourth-and-goal from the Eagles’ 3-yard line, Johnson opted to go for it with a 7-0 lead rather than take the easy field goal – a gamble that failed. And earlier, rookie Sam Roush dived on a punt that had landed at the 1-yard line and let his body slide into the end zone – which made it a touchback. But those are the kinds of mistakes and miscalculations that often get overlooked in a victory this fulfilling.
Don't look now, but the Bears defense has only given up one touchdown in the last eight quarters. Against the Eagles, they only gave up 248 yards and created three takeaways while sacking Jalen Hurts twice. Credit coordinator Dennis Allen for finding ways to keep the pressure on quarterbacks and get his unit off the field when necessary. The Bears are a bend-don't-break defense that lacks a game-wrecker but works because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards starred against his former team, intercepting a pass and breaking one up like a guy who knew what was coming. Rookie safety Dillon Thieneman flashed again, showing star potential with his first career interception and several sure tackles in the alley. Edge rusher Austin Booker forced a turnover. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson, beaten once badly, recovered to play respectably when the Bears needed.
"The way our defense played the second half was extraordinary,” Johnson said.
They had to in order to match the offense led by Keenum, who Johnson sensed would play well after the team meeting Sunday night when the 15-year veteran reached deep into his well of experience.
"He ran the show,” Johnson said. "There were no reminders from us. That right there was a good indicator of what it would look like on game day.”
It looked like something nobody in Chicago will soon forget.
David Haugh hosts the Haugh & Payton Show from 5:30-10 a.m. weekdays on 104.3 The Score.
