CHICAGO \u2013 Case Keenum was on target and on time all night long.<\/p>\n
It turns out the third-string quarterback for the Chicago Bears is pretty good, too.<\/p>\n
Keenum passed for two touchdowns in his first start in almost three years, and the Bears shut down Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles for a 27-7 victory on Monday night.<\/p>\n
Stepping in for Caleb Williams, Keenum was 24 for 34 for 247 yards. He also scored his first rushing touchdown since 2019 on a 1-yard plunge with 7:19 left, capping a 13-play drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows where everyone is supposed to be on every single play and so he is really quick to recognize coverage,\u201d Bears coach Ben Johnson said. \u201cHe knows why we\u2019re calling the play and what we\u2019re looking for and if we\u2019re not getting that he\u2019s accelerating through it really quickly. That\u2019s what you get when you\u2019re 15-plus years playing that position in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Keenum\u2019s first action since he started for Houston in a 36-22 loss<\/a> to Cleveland on Dec. 24, 2023. Williams was sidelined by a right hamstring injury, and Tyson Bagent backed up Keenum after he cleared the NFL\u2019s concussion protocol on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cTo get a shot again like this? Yeah, you dream of it,\u201d Keenum said. \u201cThat\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Kalif Raymond had six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown as Chicago (2-1) rebounded from an ugly 9-3 loss to Minnesota.<\/p>\n Philadelphia (2-1) turned the ball over three times and failed to record a takeaway for the third consecutive game to begin the season. Hurts was 16 for 25 for 153 yards, and Saquon Barkley rushed for 82 yards on 15 carries.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we all have to own that loss right there,\u201d Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody coached well. I don\u2019t think anyone played well. It was a true team loss. And when it\u2019s a true team loss, you know I have to look at myself first.\u201d<\/p>\n Down 20-7, the Eagles lined up to go for it on fourth-and-1 at their own 49 with about four minutes left in the third quarter. But Hurts was unable to draw a flag for offside, and the Eagles took a delay-of-game penalty before punting it away.<\/p>\n Hurts was picked off by T.J. Edwards on a fourth-and-5 play from the Chicago 46 in the final minute of the third. Edwards dropped a potential interception on third down on Philadelphia\u2019s first drive of the second half.<\/p>\n \u201cI liked the decision to go for it on fourth-and-5,\u201d Sirianni said. \u201cHindsight, I feel like I should have went for it on that fourth-and-1 1\/2.\u201d<\/p>\n Keenum capped Chicago’s first drive with a shovel pass to Luther Burden for an 8-yard touchdown, and he connected with a wide-open Raymond on a 41-yard TD in the second half.<\/p>\n On the drive that ended with his seventh career rushing touchdown, making it 27-7 with 7:19 remaining, Keenum drew an offside penalty on Moro Ojomo on a fourth-and-2 play from the Eagles 39.<\/p>\n \u201cPoised, calm and honestly a guy who was having a lot of fun,\u201d Raymond said of Keenum. \u201cThe whole week he was like, you guys having fun, because I am. That’s the way he was. He loves the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Trailing 7-0, Hurts drove Philadelphia deep into Chicago territory in the second quarter before he absorbed a late hit by linebacker D’Marco Jackson along the sideline. Hurts was pulled off the field to be checked for a concussion, and backup Andy Dalton was intercepted by rookie Dillon Thieneman in the back of the end zone with 6:14 left.<\/p>\n Hurts said he was waiting for clearance to go back in when Dalton turned it over.<\/p>\n \u201cI was just waiting for the thumbs-up,\u201d Hurts said. \u201cI felt fine, we already checked it. I don\u2019t know the extent of the process. Obviously wish we could have expedited things. I know I felt fine.\u201d<\/p>\n