Bears vs. Eagles score, takeaways: Case Keenum, Ben Johnson shine as Philadelphia's problems deepen

For the first time in more than 1,000 days, Case Keenum is in the win column as a starting quarterback. And for the third time in three weeks -- though the first time in a loss -- the Eagles' issues were on clear and obvious display. Keenum threw for 247 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score, and Chicago's maligned defense forced three turnovers en route to a 27-7 win.

Here's the second of Keenum's three touchdowns, a 41-yard catch and run by Kalif Raymond to give the hosts a two-score lead.

After a huge fourth-quarter, fourth-down stop by the defense, Keenum put the game away with his first rushing touchdown since 2019, a 1-yard keeper

Chicago moves to 2-1 on the young season and must be ecstatic with how it all unfolded. Keenum, starting because starter Caleb Williams is out with a hamstring injury and backup Tyson Bagent missed multiple practices while in the concussion protocol, showed the moxie and poise of the veteran he is. Ben Johnson, meanwhile, badly out-coached Nick Sirianni, starting with an excellent plan for Keenum that features lots of quick releases and play action. But even when those quick plays weren't there, Keenum made some terrific throws, sometimes under duress. He did it all without getting much help from the Bears' normally excellent run game much of the night

The Bears got the ball first and drove down the field smoothly -- 11 plays, 66 yards -- and took a 7-0 lead on a pop pass from Keenum to Luther Burden III, who powered in after initially being stood up well short of the goal line. Chicago came close to taking a 14-0 lead -- Colston Loveland was taken down inches short of the end zone -- but Rome Odunze dropped an open touchdown pass, and Keenum failed to connect on fourth down.

Jalen Hurts led the Eagles (2-1) on their first prolonged drive of the game, but he had to exit before its conclusion. The Eagles quarterback had to go to the blue medical tent to be evaluated for a concussion after taking a late hit on the sideline -- a decision he and Nick Sirianni did not like at all. Andy Dalton had to come in and throw an awful interception to Dillon Thieneman in the end zone.

The Eagles managed to cut the halftime deficit to 10-7 with a last-second Hurts sneak, but that was as good as it got.

In the second half, the Eagles hardly threatened, capping an awful game following two uneven ones to open the year. Their second-half drive chart? Punt, punt, punt (all on three and outs), interception, turnover on downs. After 73 rushing yards in the first half, Saquon Barkley had just 9 in the second half.

The Eagles host the Rams next week. The Bears will host the Jets.

Case Keenum, Ben Johnson shine in less-than-ideal circumstances

A third-string quarterback who hadn't taken a snap since Christmas Eve 2024, facing a defense stacked with Pro Bowlers at every level? No problem for Keenum and Johnson, the former who showed he's still got it, the latter who showed he can do it with anyone.

Johnson's brilliant and bold -- he said he wanted to break the league scoring record entering this year -- and he showed he wouldn't try to hide his unlikely starting quarterback. The Bears threw on their first two plays and on six of their 11 plays overall on the opening drive. That included a fourth-and-1 conversion to Sam Roush.

But Johnson also showed that he would help his unlikely starting quarterback. He used a ton of motion. Multiple players got carries on the opening drive. He leaned on -- but didn't rely on -- play action and quick throws.

On play action, Keenum went 11 for 12 (92% completion percentage) for 128 yards. That's 10.7 yards per attempt, but Keenum's average pass on those plays went just 5.8 yards downfield. 

"There's so much emotion, so much that went into this week," Keenum told the ESPN broadcast postgame, "… Ben Johnson was cooking tonight, he was in his bag."

Anyone can dial up short passes and play action. Those are basics, to be expected, especially for backup quarterbacks. But Johnson knew the Eagles were smarting from allowing 281 rushing yards in this matchup last year. So instead, he let his quarterback play quarterback from an advantageous position. Keenum had completions to seven different players. He didn't throw an interception, nor did he take a sack. Johnson's plan was excellent. Keenum operated it with aplomb. The difference between the overall products of the two teams could not be more different. Speaking of the other team …

Eagles are a mess on both sides, Nick Sirianni makes questionable decisions

Oh man, where do we start here? The Eagles have major issues everywhere.

Let's begin with the offense, because seven points is a truly baffling number but also a sign of where things stand. Jalen Hurts completed 16 of 25 passes for 153 yards and an interception. The numbers are bad, but how it looks is worse. His interception -- which all but ended the Eagles' hopes -- was the epitome of Philadelphia's issues.

Look at the bottom of the screen, and you see Makai Lemon open. But Hurts was locked on DeVonta Smith from the snap. Look next to Hurts, and you see left guard Cam Jurgens (who normally plays center) getting blown up by Austin Booker.

This offensive line is simply not the powerhouse it once was. With normal left guard Landon Dickerson on IR, the Eagles have seemingly created two issues by moving Jurgens at guard and inserting Drew Kendall at center. Lane Johnson is now 36 and has battled injuries. The Bears applied pressure on 30% of Hurts' dropbacks.

But Hurts brought a lot of pressure on himself. The new offense under Sean Mannion isn't computing. Hurts missed some open teammates at times. At other times, he looked like he couldn't settle into any option.

Barkley doesn't look like he has quite the pop he did previously, like when he ran for over 2,000 yards in 2024. The Eagles are currently 24th in rushing success rate, and they completely abandoned the ground game in the second half, even with the game still in reach.

The defense was better, but not by much. There were four penalties that gave the Bears first downs. There was the blown coverage on the Raymond touchdown. No sacks and no interceptions against a third-string quarterback are numbers that will have defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and everyone else involved furious. It was a flat performance from that start.

That includes Sirianni, who punted on a fourth-and-1 near midfield late in the third quarter but went for a fourth-and-5 near midfield on the very next drive.

The Eagles had 10 penalties. They looked lost offensively and ordinary defensively. Bad all-around.

3. Dennis Allen's defense stands out

The Bears' defense survived on turnovers last year. They led the league in forced turnovers but were near the bottom in nearly every other defensive category.

This year started off poorly against the Panthers, but it's gotten better. Yes, the rain helped in Week 2 against the Vikings, but there's more pressure, fewer busts in coverage, and still a penchant for forcing turnovers.

We'll see how long it lasts and how much it's improved. There will be tougher tests in the future. For the last two weeks, though, the returns have been encouraging.