Bears 27, Eagles 7: A 38-Year-Old Backup Outplayed Jalen Hurts

Chicago was a home underdog on Monday night, starting a 38 year old who has not been a full time starter since 2019. The Bears won 27 to 7, and the score understates it.

Case Keenum went 24 of 34 for 247 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was not sacked once. Jalen Hurts, on the other side, went 16 of 25 for 153 yards with no touchdowns and an interception, and Philadelphia's only points came on a one yard Hurts sneak as the first half clock hit zero.

That is the whole game in two stat lines, but the way it happened is the part worth keeping.

Chicago never trailed

The Bears scored first and never gave the lead back. Luther Burden III caught an eight yard touchdown from Keenum with 8:47 left in the opening quarter. Cairo Santos added a 29 yard field goal late in the second. Philadelphia's sneak made it 10 to 7 at the break and that was as close as it got.

The third quarter is where it turned into something else. Santos hit from 48, then Keenum found Kalif Raymond for 41 yards and a score with 5:47 to play in the period. Keenum finished the scoring himself with a one yard rush in the fourth.

Six scoring drives, zero turnovers, zero sacks allowed. For a team starting its third quarterback option, that is the version of the game plan that actually works.

The possession numbers are absurd

Chicago ran 69 plays. Philadelphia ran 47. The Bears held the ball for 36 minutes and 53 seconds, which left the Eagles offense sitting on the bench for roughly three quarters worth of clock.

Chicago moved the chains 24 times and converted 5 of 13 on third down. Philadelphia managed 14 first downs and went 2 for 9. The Eagles finished with 248 total yards and three turnovers.

None of that is a fluke of one long drive. It is what happens when one offense stays on schedule and the other cannot get off the field.

Philadelphia's injuries finally caught up

The Eagles played without Dallas Goedert (MCL) and Hollywood Brown (ankle), and their offensive line was already down Landon Dickerson to injured reserve plus Fred Johnson. Take away a starting tight end, a receiver and two linemen and the passing game gets very small very fast.

DeVonta Smith drew eight targets and caught six for 65 yards, which was the most any Eagle did. Dontayvion Wicks had two catches. Andy Dalton threw one pass and it was intercepted.

Saquon Barkley, for what it is worth, looked fine: 15 carries for 82 yards at 5.5 a pop. Anyone who wrote him off after his four carry Week 2 got that one wrong, this desk included. The carries came back the moment the game script allowed for them, which is the reminder that a single low volume week is usually about score, not role.

What it means going forward

For Chicago, the read is that the offense did not need Caleb Williams to function. D'Andre Swift carried 20 times for 84 yards and Kyle Monangai added 10 for 31. Burden's 11 targets were a season high and his third straight week of growth, and Raymond has now gone 9, 5 and 7 targets with two 84 plus yard games. Those two are real, and Burden in particular is worth a look on the waiver wire if he is still sitting there.

For Philadelphia, the concern is not one bad Monday. It is that the line injuries and the missing pass catchers arrived at the same time, and the offense has now been held to 24, 24 and 7 points. Hurts has thrown five touchdowns and three interceptions through three games.

If you are trying to decide whether to hold or move on from the Eagles pieces, the schedule matters more than this single result. Check where they sit in our matchup ratings before you make a call, and if you are thinking about a deal, run the names through the trade calculator first.

Full box score and the rest of the Week 3 slate are at ESPN.

One last note on the quarterback. There is a reflex in fantasy and in betting markets to treat any backup as an automatic downgrade for the entire offense. Keenum has 14 years of NFL snaps. He got the ball out fast enough to avoid a single sack against a pass rush that had been getting home, and a team that leaned on the run around him scored 27. The lesson is to check the specific backup rather than the label.