The Eagles’ Week 3 trip to Chicago was supposed to be one of those prime-time games that tells you something about a team. Instead, it’s suddenly trending toward a much softer landing.
Chicago entered the season with the Eagles circled on the calendar after last year’s 24-15 Bears win on Black Friday, but the quarterback situation has turned the matchup on its head. Caleb Williams, who left Week 2 with a hamstring injury, is not expected to play Monday night. Then the Bears took another hit when backup Tyson Bagent entered concussion protocol.
That leaves Chicago preparing to start Case Keenum, according to NFL Network.
For the Eagles, that changes the whole feel of the night. After their defense stumbled a bit in the first two wins, this could be the kind of game that lets that unit reset in a hurry.
Keenum is 38 and hasn’t started an NFL game since the 2023 season. He was once viewed as one of the league’s better backups, but now he’s more of a clipboard-holder than a driver of an offense.
Philadelphia has already seen this movie with Keenum before, and it did not go well for him. In the 2017 NFC Championship game, the Eagles rolled past his Minnesota Vikings 38-7 at Lincoln Financial Field. Keenum threw two interceptions, and Patrick Robinson turned one of them into a 50-yard touchdown return in the first quarter to help blow the game open.
Two weeks later, the Eagles were lifting their first Super Bowl trophy after beating the New England Patriots.
Chicago still has a run game that can cause problems, and head coach Ben Johnson is one of the league’s sharper offensive minds. The Bears used that ground attack to wear down the Eagles last season. But if Keenum is under center Monday night, the Bears would seem to have a much tougher time keeping pace with Philadelphia’s defense.
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