CHICAGO (AP) — Case Keenum was on target and on time all night long.
It turns out the third-string quarterback for the Chicago Bears is pretty good, too.
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.
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.
“He knows where everyone is supposed to be on every single play and so he is really quick to recognize coverage,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said. “He knows why we’re calling the play and what we’re looking for and if we’re not getting that he’s accelerating through it really quickly. That’s what you get when you’re 15-plus years playing that position in this league.”
It was Keenum’s first action since he started for Houston in a 36-22 loss 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’s concussion protocol on Sunday.
“To get a shot again like this? Yeah, you dream of it,” Keenum said. “That’s 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.”
Kalif Raymond had six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown as Chicago (2-1) rebounded from an ugly 9-3 loss to Minnesota.
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.
“I think we all have to own that loss right there,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “I don’t think anybody coached well. I don’t think anyone played well. It was a true team loss. And when it’s a true team loss, you know I have to look at myself first.”
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.
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’s first drive of the second half.
“I liked the decision to go for it on fourth-and-5,” Sirianni said. “Hindsight, I feel like I should have went for it on that fourth-and-1 1/2.”
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.
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.
“Poised, calm and honestly a guy who was having a lot of fun,” Raymond said of Keenum. “The whole week he was like, you guys having fun, because I am. That’s the way he was. He loves the game.”
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.
Hurts said he was waiting for clearance to go back in when Dalton turned it over.
“I was just waiting for the thumbs-up,” Hurts said. “I felt fine, we already checked it. I don’t know the extent of the process. Obviously wish we could have expedited things. I know I felt fine.”
Hurts scored on a quarterback sneak as time expired in the first half, but Chicago controlled the final two periods. Philadelphia gained just 62 of its 248 yards in the second half.
Chicago finished with 24 first downs and 128 yards rushing. The Bears had 28 first downs and 281 yards on the ground in a 24-15 win at Philadelphia last season.
He is back
Zach Ertz had one reception for 9 yards for Philadelphia in his first game of the season. The veteran tight end rejoined the Eagles when he was signed to the team’s practice squad last week.
The 35-year-old Ertz spent his first eight-plus seasons with the Eagles, earning three Pro Bowl appearances.
Injuries
Bears: LT Braxton Jones departed with 10:22 left in the third because of a knee injury. … Raymond was shaken up on a punt return with 3:12 remaining in the third, but he returned to the game. … DB Cam Lewis had a hip injury.
Up next
Eagles: Host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Bears: Host the New York Jets on Sunday.
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