Case Keenum made another magic moment: Takeaways from the Chicago Bears' win over the Eagles

Case Keenum, take center stage.

The ol' gunslinger led the Chicago Bears to a surprising 27-7 win, where the offense started the game and the defense closed it.

Here are our takeaways from the Bears’ win over the Eagles on Monday Night Football, where it was more proof magic can happen in Chicago.

Case Keenum made a storybook moment

There are times where sports can create something so unbelievable, you ponder if Hollywood would even think of a script like it.

How about a 38-yard-old quarterback, on the verge of retirement, coming in on Monday Night Football to deliver one of the best performances of his career.

There were bigger moments, to be sure. Case Keenum authored the Minneapolis Miracle, started playoff games, earned his money and had shots in this league.

But, he stuck around when others wouldn’t think twice about him. He did that when he was an undrafted free agent in 2011. He did when he dreamt about night like Monday night.

"That's why I'm still here, still doing this, why I'm still getting up when I get knocked down," Keenum said. "I've been getting knocked down my whole career. I just keep getting up, keep coming to work, keep bouncing back."

Keenum spoke this week about how Bears coach Ben Johnson helped him find his spark again with football. There’s more of a brotherhood than a coach-player relationship with Johnson, considering Keenum is 38 and Johnson is 40. Meanwhile, Caleb Williams is just 24.

Keenum put the work in. He spoke about how his phone was on do not disturb, and he only took calls from his wife, Kimberly, and Johnson. Keenum joked that everyone could guess who called him more throughout the week.

There were many times Keenum was cut or cast aside in a league plenty consider a day-to-day league. That placed a chip on his shoulder. That paid off in a game many thought passed him by, especially as he’s now 38. Dillon Thieneman reminded him of that when the rookie noted how old he was when Keenum graduated high school.

"He was like, ‘I was one and a half,’" Keenum said. "I was like, "thanks for the half.’"

He didn’t look his age, though. Keenum was ripping passes with solid zip, had touch and displayed accuracy that might make a few QB-needy teams dial Bears’ general manager Ryan Poles’ number.

Keenum’s cadence got the Eagles to jump offsides on a fourth down to get a first down in the fourth quarter. He outdueled Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. He threw two touchdowns and walked off the field to a chorus of cheers.

Keenum’s moment was a testament to the Bears and how Johnson has made magic happen in Chicago. Kicker Jake Moody got a taste of it last year when he revived his career on Monday Night Football.

Anything is possible in Chicago these days, it seems. Once forgotten quarterbacks taking the spotlight in a moment he and his family will never forget is another reminder of it all.

Now, Keenum can say his kids saw him play an NFL game. They saw him win one, too.

"To do it on Monday Night Football, after you thought you were never going to play again multiple times, golly this is special," Keenum said.

The numbers speak for themselves

Keenum had a not-so-sly dig at Pro Football Focus during his postgame press conference when asked about the lone sack he took that didn’t count in the end.

"That was a penalty, right?" Keenum said.  "PFF may count those I guess."

PFF will also count the 24 of 34, 247-yard and two-touchdown stat line, too. It gets even better when taking into account how he did when the chips were down and right in his face.

Keenum threw a perfect 11 for 11 on the night against the blitz, while accounting for 145 yards and two touchdowns, according to ESPN. That’s one completion short of the most completions with 100% accuracy against the blitz since ESPN began tracking pass rushers in 2006.

Keenum averaged 12.4 yards per attempt against the blitz, which is an astonishing number.

Here are a few:

• According to NFL Researcher on X, Case Keenum is the sixth quarterback all-time in NFL history to throw for 240+ pass yds, throw 2+ touchdown passes and rush for a touchdown while playing at 38+ years old, joining Tom Brady, Drew Brees, John Elway, Doug Flutie and Fran Tarkenton.
• Keenum has more passing touchdowns so far  this year (two) than 2025 MVP candidate, Super Bowl runner-up and Patriots’ quarterback Drake Maye (one).
• Keenum has more rushing touchdowns this year (one) than Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (zero).

After a week of wondering how Keenum would perform, he shined.

"He’s an old head," Jaylon Johnson said. "He’s very poised and confident in himself."

Ben Johnson showed you how talented he can be

Ben Johnson kept receipts.

There was discourse this on if Johnson could adjust his offense for Keenum, or if the limitations would be too much to overcome. He made light of that after the game.

"I’ve got a little history of that, of calling plays for someone not so mobile," he said, seemingly referring to Lions quarterback Jared Goff. "Now, I don’t have a history with someone that’s not a No. 1 pick, though. That was apparently a big deal."

The Bears ran 69 plays for 375 total yards and an average of 5.4 yards per play. The running game, which dominated last year’s meeting between the Bears and Eagles, gained six first downs, averaged 3.7 yards per carry and gained 128 total rush yards.

Keenum stole the show, but Johnson’s offense saw eight total receivers get targeted. Seven receivers caught a pass, and five recorded multiple catches. Kalif Raymond led the way with 90 receiving yards. Burden had seven receptions for 61 yards on 11 targets.

The most revered play callers around the league – like Sean McVay, Kevin O’Connell, Kyle Shanahan – often get praise for finding ways to do it when the personnel seems limiting on paper.

Johnson is now in that echelon, if he’s not already there.

"He’s going to go down as probably the best play-caller, play designer, coach, all of the above, when it’s all said and done," Keenum said on Sept. 23. "Some of the stuff that man does is unbelievable."

Monday was even more proof.

This was a complete win

The Bears’ offense scored three points last week against the Vikings. They rallied to put up 27 on Monday Night Football with a back-up quarterback and stymied an Eagles’ defensive front that has terrorized teams in the past.

The Bears’ defense allowed 37 points against the Panthers in a game plenty thought was a harbinger of bad things to come for that unit. The Bears defense has allowed 29 points since the start of the second half of that Panthers’ game, and 16 points in two games.

Special teams had a penalty on another dirty-ball kick Cairo Santos didn’t execute properly and botched a pin attempt where Sam Roush’s leg touched the end zone trying to keep the ball at the, but Santos nailed two field goals and the punt team executed well.

Complimentary football wins games.

The Bears played one of the most complete games of the Johnson era.

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