Before Monday night, 1,009 days had passed since Case Keenum started a regular-season game.
Keenum completed 24-of-34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing in a 1-yard touchdown — his first since the 2019 season. The Bears defense forced three turnovers, restricted quarterback Jalen Hurts to a 64.2 passer rating, and kept the Eagles to a 22.2% conversion rate on third downs.
Keenum and the Passing Game Thrive
The offense thrived with Keenum taking the reins. He finished 11-of-11 with 145 yards and two touchdowns against the blitz. Keenum routinely made big throws to Luther Burden III, Kalif Raymond, Rome Odunze, and Colston Loveland. Raymond finished with six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown.
He was like, ‘I may not be a cowboy, but this is definitely not my first rodeo.’ A lot of confidence in him, a lot of confidence in himself,
Raymond said regarding Keenum’s pregame message.
Starting the contest, Chicago went 66 yards over 11 plays, finishing the opening possession with an 8-yard scoring toss from Keenum to Burden. Afterward, an Eagles neutral zone infraction on a fourth-and-short situation sustained a Chicago possession and culminated in the game-clinching touchdown.
Dominant Second-Half Defense
The Chicago defense completely shut down Philadelphia in the second half, permitting only 62 total yards and forcing three straight three-and-outs to begin the third period.
Edwards each intercepted a pass from Jalen Hurts, and Austin Booker forced a fumble in the red zone. The unit’s stellar play drew high praise.
The way our defense played in the second half was extraordinary,
Johnson said. They really came to life. Even though we only gave up seven [points] in the first half, it felt like Philly was able to move the ball on us … To see how they bowed up in the second half was huge for us.
