EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCHICAGO -- Chicago Bears quarterback Case Keenum had about 30 minutes Monday night before the euphoria of leading a huge win over the Philadelphia Eagles met the reality of possibly heading back to the bench next week. It's a reality with which he is not unfamiliar."We'll have a discussion as a coaching staff, and we'll see where we need to go from here," Bears coach Ben Johnson said after the 27-7 win. "But I said it last week, and I'll say it again, there was a reason why Tyson [Bagent] ended training camp as our No. 2 quarterback."Bagent had spent much of last week in concussion protocol and was active and on the sideline Monday. Caleb Williams was ruled out Saturday because of a hamstring injury.So Keenum, who hadn't started a regular-season in 1,009 days, stole the spotlight, completing 24-of-34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns.Now he might be in a backup role once again when the Bears host the New York Jets on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Fox).In 2017, Keenum subbed in for Sam Bradford with the Minnesota Vikings after a recurring knee injury derailed Bradford after Week 1. Keenum went 11-3 in the regular season, and his game-winning TD pass to Stefon Diggs against the New Orleans Saints in the divisional playoff game is known as the Minneapolis Miracle. The Vikings lost to the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game.But even as the wins piled up that season, including an eight-game win streak, Keenum knew he was a game away from being back on the bench. Former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was reluctant to name Keenum the team's full-time starter. He took it game by game and often delayed naming a starter until days before kickoff.Keenum learned to live with the uncertainty. As he's bounced from backup to starter to backup over his 15-year NFL career, he's learned to appreciate every opportunity."This means a bunch to me, man," Keenum told his teammates postgame. "This was taken from me a lot of times. "And to have [Johnson] call me and bring me back, [helped me] find the love of the game again. To have my family, my kids get to watch me ... I'm telling you, we've got something special here." The Bears' win over the Eagles didn't require a miracle from Keenum. The 38-year-old quarterback was "extraordinary" in the eyes of Johnson, completing 71% of his passes for 247 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was not sacked and converted a quarterback sneak for a touchdown.The impact of Keenum's night is more than just a feel-good story. It's the type of performance that may give the Bears the best chance to continue to find wins while Williams works his way back. He is expected to be sidelined three to four weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain.Bagent had only one day of practice ahead of the Eagles' game while working his way through concussion protocol, which he did not clear until Sunday afternoon. Johnson did not believe it was fair to make Bagent start a game having not gotten the same quality of reps that Keenum had gotten throughout the week.So Bagent, who was active, stayed on the sideline.Keenum had his most passing yards in a game since the 2019 season. A heavy dose of play-action resulted with Keenum going 11-of-12 for 128 yards and eight first downs.He was perfect when blitzed (11-of-11, 145 yards, 2 TDs) and averaged 12.4 yards per attempt. As Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio cranked up the heat, Keenum did his best. He was pressured on 10 of 35 dropbacks (28.6%) and averaged 9.9 yards per attempt under pressure.He beat that pressure by getting the ball out quickly, averaging 2.41 seconds of release time, according to Next Gen Stats, and found the end zone twice. That was the fastest a Bears quarterback has gotten a pass off since Week 6 of the 2023 season.Coincidentally, that last time was when Bagent stepped in against the Vikings for an injured Justin Fields. Bagent would then start Chicago's next four games as the team went 2-2 during that stretch.Had it not been for a concussion, Bagent would have started against the Eagles. The team's belief in him is reflected in a two-year, $10 million contract that made him one of the higher-paid backups in the league.But Keenum went from QB3 to starter in a matter of days and delivered a win that raises questions of how the Bears should proceed."[Keenum] knows where everyone's supposed to be on every single play, and so he's really quick to recognize coverage," Johnson said. "He knows why we're calling the play, what we're looking for, and if we're not getting that, he's accelerating through it extremely quickly. And so that's what you get when you're 15 plus years in this league, playing this position, you've seen it all."
