Who saw Bears 27, Eagles 7 coming?
Who saw Case Keenum, rock star coming?
Who saw the Bears‘ defense shutting down Jalen Hurts and the Eagles’ offense?
And how good does the Bears’ 2-1 record look considering last week’s ugly loss to the Vikings and the injury to Caleb Williams? Everything is going to be OK, it seems.
On to the grades:
QUARTERBACK — A
Case Keenum got the ball out fast, spread it around — eight different receivers caught passes in the first half alone — threw for two touchdowns, snuck in from the 1-yard line for another, injected his team with obvious confidence and, let’s face it, accomplished far more than any of us had reason to believe he would or could. Yes, the Eagles did him a solid by failing to deliver on possible chances for interceptions, but it was Keenum’s night. How ’bout that?
RECEIVERS — B-PLUS
Rome Odunze’s end-zone drop was a bummer. Tight end Colston Loveland had a touchdown, then didn’t — stretch out those long arms at the goal line, dude! — but at least he finally reappeared with some catches. Kalif Raymond continues to make every play and might be the most underrated player on the team. Luther Burden was a big factor early and made the play of the game, taking a shovel pass in for a score from the 8, his legs churning inside a scrum of defenders while lineman Braxton Jones plowed the pile forward — it was glorious.
RUNNING GAME — C-PLUS
The Bears couldn’t prevent D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai from getting hit in the backfield until holes started to open up a bit — just a bit — in the second half. Still, grinding out the fourth-quarter clock with the ground game was a great way to end things and had to feel good. Sometimes you just have to keep at it. Swift ended with 84 hard-earned yards on the ground.
DEFENSE — A
On another night, the Eagles’ ability to run Saquon Barkley would’ve been a bigger problem. Not on this night. The Bears more than made up for any softness up front by getting pressure on QB Jalen Hurts — Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo got him for sacks — and, more important, by taking the ball away three times. Congrats on interception No. 1, rookie safety Dillon Thieneman, and in the end zone, no less. Linebacker Devin Bush wrapping up Tank Bigsby so Austin Booker could pile in and punch the ball out was picture-perfect.
COACHING — A-MINUS
What a bounce-back for Ben Johnson, who had a good-to-go offensive game plan dialed up after the debacle against Minnesota. Johnson believed in Keenum — believed the two of them could make it work together — and he was right. Just like that, Johnson looks like a guy with a heck of a gift again. Passing up a field goal in the first half wasn’t his finest hour — a 10-0 lead would’ve beaten the heck out of 7-0 at the time — but that’s just him. Even with his No. 3 QB in there, he’s never going to be afraid to go for it.