Third-string quarterback Case Keenum described his lights-out game in the Bears’ 27-7 victory Monday against the Eagles as a dream but also as a grueling challenge.
He thought of the 16-hour days, the head-to-toe aches his 38-year-old body would feel the next morning and recalled telling his kids before kickoff that merely taking the field was an example of having the fortitude to ‘‘do hard things.’’
And after everything he did to claim that victory, delivering a precise and impressive performance from the pocket, the question less than an hour after it ended was whether he could do it again.
‘‘That’s the best part of the NFL,’’ he said, half-jokingly. ‘‘What’s your reward for doing whatever it is on a night like this? You get to do it all again.’’
That’s no certainty as coach Ben Johnson weighs the choice between Keenum and Tyson Bagent starting against the Jets on Sunday. Caleb Williams likely will be out again as he deals with a significant hamstring injury.
But there’s no denying what Keenum did Monday and no way Johnson can put him back on the bench.
He hedged Monday by repeating his line that Bagent earned the No. 2 spot over Keenum, as he did last season, ‘‘for a reason.’’ But he also talked about how convincing Keenum’s week of practice was while Bagent was in the concussion protocol.
Bagent’s status factored into the decision, but Johnson felt fully confident in what he saw from Keenum on the practice field and behind the scenes, ‘‘regardless of what was going on’’ with anyone else.
‘‘There wasn’t a whole lot of dialogue about it,’’ Johnson said of the decision to start Keenum.
The Bears skipped the NFL’s standard day-after-game media availability for Johnson on Tuesday, and he did an interview with team broadcaster Jeff Joniak.
Joniak didn’t ask directly who would start against the Jets. He laughed as he told Johnson he would get that question a lot in the next few days, and Johnson said only, ‘‘We’ll see how it plays out all week.’’
It’s a time-sensitive choice in a short week. There’s little doubt Johnson will make up his mind before the Bears begin practice Wednesday because splitting reps would hinder the preparation of whichever player ends up starting.
This is a violent and often cruel sport, and it was brutal for Bagent to suffer a concussion when he came in for Williams against the Vikings. In addition to the physical pain, it cost him the golden opportunity that Keenum received instead.
Bagent made the Bears’ roster in 2023 as an undrafted rookie out of Division II Shepherd, but he hasn’t started a game since filling in briefly for Justin Fields that season. Williams had been remarkably durable and hadn’t missed a start until Monday.
Bagent worked tirelessly and quietly, winning over Johnson when he took over in 2025, and saw value in waiting patiently. He signed a two-year, $10 million contract extension last year rather than bypass it for the possibility of a much larger deal to vie for a starting job elsewhere.
Who knows what he would have earned himself if he had played like Keenum against the Eagles?
But who knows if he can?
Keenum delivered an overwhelming argument to keep the job for another week, and whether that’s fair to Bagent isn’t part of the equation. All that matters is winning, and the Bears can’t overlook a Jets team that, while still early in a rebuild, has a decent defense.
Most teams hope their backup quarterback can do just enough to get by and avoid any devastating turnovers, but Keenum completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards with two touchdown passes for a 110.8 passer rating and rushed for a touchdown.
Bagent very well might be capable of meeting or exceeding that, but that’s hypothetical for now. Johnson has concrete proof Keenum can do it.