It was a quarterbacking masterclass by Case Keenum, as he helped the Chicago Bears to a blowout 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field.
Starting for the first time since the 2023 season in relief of Caleb Williams, Keenum threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score as Chicago righted the ship after a disastrous Week 2 performance.
Luther Burden racked up seven receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown, and Colson Loveland bounced back after two straight quiet performances with four catches for the Bears as they moved their record to 2-1 on the season.
The Bears got the ball to start the game, and they marched it down the field on an 11-play, 66-yard touchdown drive to take the early lead. Keenum found Burden for a touchdown on the drive, giving Chicago an early 7-0 advantage.
Defensive stops then began to dominate the game, as the Bears forced a fumble late in the first quarter to give themselves a short field. Unfortunately they couldn’t capitalize, as the Eagles stood tall at the goal line and turned away a scoring effort, including an incomplete pass on fourth down.
The Eagles then marched 95 yards down the field, but lost Jalen Hurts for several plays as he was evaluated for a possible concussion. On a third-and-goal play at the 2-yard line, backup quarterback Andy Dalton threw an interception that was the first of Dillon Thieneman’s NFL career, giving the Bears back the ball.
Offenses then took center stage, as the Bears notched a field goal to make it a 10-0 game, only to watch Hurts dive in at the last second of the second quarter to trim that advantage to 10-7, with Philadelphia getting the ball to start the second half.
The Bears’ defense returned to form to start the second half, with back-to-back three-and-outs. Their offense picked up the slack in a big way, with a field goal to make it 13-7 and then a 41-yard touchdown pass from Keenum to Kalif Raymond to extend that advantage to 20-7.
On another key fourth down play late in the third quarter, Hurts threw an interception right into the arms of TJ Edwards, giving the Bears an opportunity to milk some clock.
That’s exactly what Chicago did, and the Bears’ quarterback used some old fashioned ingenuity to extend the team’s drive in the fourth quarter, with a hard count getting an Eagles player to jump offside, giving the Bears a key first down to keep the clock-melting drive alive.
Keenum capped off the back-breaking eight-minute touchdown drive for the Bears, diving in from two yards out for his first rushing touchdown in seven years to put the Bears ahead 27-7 in the fourth quarter.
The Bears’ ferocious pass rush continued to cause problems for Hurts on the next drive, with Dayo Odeyingbo registering a sack and Austin Booker hauling Hurts down for a short gain before an incomplete pass on 4th-and-22 to give the ball back to Chicago.
Coming out of the two-minute warning, D’Andre Swift picked up a huge gain to ice the game, and the Bears cruised to a victory.
The Bears will next be on the field Sunday at noon when they take on the New York Jets at Soldier Field.
