Case Keenum, 38 and third on the depth chart, dismantles the Eagles 27-7

Case Keenum took the snap at Soldier Field on Monday night for the first time in 1,009 days, and by the time he handed the ball off for the final kneel-down he had authored the most improbable line of the NFL season: two passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown, and a Chicago Bears victory that left the Philadelphia Eagles answering uncomfortable questions by sunrise. The 38-year-old third-string quarterback, pressed into duty after Chicago ruled out starter Caleb Williams ahead of the week, threw for two scores and ran for a third as the Bears beat the Eagles 27-7, a result that resets the early-season pecking order in the NFC and leaves the defending conference champions staring at a film session they will not enjoy.

Keenum's outing did not look like a statistical quirk propped up by garbage time. The Bears built a double-digit lead against a Philadelphia team that played in the most recent NFC title game and never let the visitors settle into the kind of clean rhythm that has defined the Eagles' best football under Jalen Hurts. Chicago's defence intercepted Hurts, pressured him on drop-backs, and turned Philadelphia's mistakes into points the other way. Keenum, by contrast, looked like a man who had been waiting 1,009 days to remind a league that had stopped noticing him that he still belonged on a roster.

The third man in

The Bears did not plan for this in any obvious way. The starting job belonged to Caleb Williams until Chicago ruled him out during the week, and Keenum was wearing the headset rather than the helmet when the week began. ESPN described Keenum's performance as "extraordinary" in its postgame dispatch from Soldier Field, and the BBC's match report framed the night around Keenum starring for Chicago in his first start since 2023. The Bears turned to a 38-year-old backup on a short week, and Keenum delivered three total touchdowns before the second half was out.

The available reporting does not specify the exact nature of the injury that kept Williams off the field; the Bears' own public communication established that he had been ruled out, which is the circumstance that elevated Keenum from third on the depth chart to under centre on Monday. What is in the record is that Keenum had not started an NFL game since 2023, and that Chicago trusted him with the offence anyway, against one of the most respected defences in the conference.

Hurts and the hit

The single moment that will live longest on tape came on a sideline collision that briefly knocked Hurts out of the game and triggered the most discussed non-football sequence of the evening. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni expressed "remorse" after the match for his reaction to a hit by Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson on Hurts that drew a flag, per ESPN's separate postgame story on Sirianni. The available reporting does not detail the medical status of Hurts beyond the temporary removal; Sirianni's regret, on the record, was directed at his own sideline conduct, not the hit itself.

Hurts returned, and Philadelphia's offence sputtered back to life briefly before the night was out. The pattern that mattered came at the line of scrimmage, where Chicago's front consistently won leverage; Hurts did not get the clean pocket that has defined his best work, and the running lanes Philadelphia usually generates early were harder to find. Monexus assessment: read as a schematic loss for the Eagles' offence as much as an individual one.

What Monday actually said

Read narrowly, the result is one game. Read across the league, it is a recalibration. Philadelphia entered Monday as one of the favourites to represent the NFC in the next Super Bowl; a 27-7 loss, of any composition, reorders the conference conversation and forces the Eagles' staff to confront questions about tempo, protection, and how much Hurts can carry behind a reshuffled offensive line. The Bears, conversely, get a win they did not earn on paper, and a quarterback story that will dominate the midweek news cycle whether the franchise wants it to or not.

The other side of the case is also real: one game in late September is a small sample, and the league has a long memory for teams that over-correct after a Monday night embarrassment. Philadelphia has the roster, the quarterback, and the coaching staff to absorb a loss like this without it becoming a season-defining one. The available reporting does not specify whether Hurts suffered an injury that might compound the issue going into next week; that detail, if it surfaces in the next 48-72 hours, will reshape the read.

What to watch next

Two threads are worth tracking after the final whistle. First, Philadelphia's injury report on Hurts: the Eagles play again on a short week, and Sirianni's postgame tone suggests the team is treating the hit as a serious matter. Second, Chicago's quarterback room: if Keenum's start was a one-off rather than a structural promotion, the Bears' depth chart will rotate back to its pre-Monday shape once Williams is healthy, and Keenum's three-touchdown night will become an anecdote rather than a launchpad. The available reporting does not specify either timeline, and this article has not independently established which way the Bears will lean.

The kicker for now is the line on the stat sheet. A 38-year-old who had not started in 1,009 days walked into a Monday night game against one of the best teams in football, threw two touchdowns, ran for a third, and walked out with the headline. Whether that story becomes a season or a single night depends on which team shows up next Sunday.

Desk note: Monexus framed this around Keenum's performance and the Eagles' recalibration rather than the hit on Hurts, which ESPN and Sky Sports treated as the night's other headline. The wire coverage was uniform on the final score; the available reporting does not specify the medical status of Hurts beyond a temporary removal, and does not specify the precise nature of the injury that ruled Caleb Williams out ahead of the week.

Wire provenance

This editorial synthesis draws on the following public wire/social posts:

• https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/50056918/bears-call-qb3-case-keenum-rousing-victory-eagles
• https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/50056700/sirianni-regrets-reaction-hit-qb-hurts-eagles-loss
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/american-football/articles/cm0qxj0wnjq2o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
• https://www.skysports.com/nfl/news/12040/13593083/chicago-bears-27-7-philadelphia-eagles-case-keenum-drives-bears-to-three-touchdowns-in-first-nfl-game-since-2023
• https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/sep/28/case-keenum-bears-eagles-monday-night-football-nfl