Bears-Eagles Week 3 MNF Recap: Letting Our Case Keenum Flag Fly!

0:00Jourdan Rodrigue:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. How do you turn 16 games, injury reports, team notes, betting lines, and matchup trends into one clear weekend preview? Chat GPT work can help. Give it the goal, plus real inputs like notes, files, data, and project plans. It can help turn them into an analysis, tracker, deck outline, or workflow you can keep shaping. You stay in control, reviewing the work, and choosing the final result. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting Work Mode. Available on Plus and Pro Plans. A football team is so much more than a set of players.

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2:15Jourdan Rodrigue:Third and goal at the one. Bears have been here before and been turned away. 7.27 to go in the game. Keenum under center, Swift the lone back. Play clock to 1-0. Gets the play off. Keenum, the sneak for the touchdown. Touchdown, Bears. How about that? Time running out on the clock. And Case Keenum invigorated. The 38-year-old making his first career start at Soldier Field. Gets a rushing touchdown. And it's 26-7, Bears with 7.19 to go.

2:55Man, I can't believe this is real life. That was Case Keenum. Letting his flag fly all over Soldier Field, all over this great country. As we go live on YouTube with Jordan Rodrigue, to my left is an interview between Laura Rutledge, live on ESPN and Case Keenum just beaming postgame after he puts up three touchdowns, almost 250 yards. That includes that quarterback sneak at the end. A flawless performance in a beatdown of the Philadelphia Eagles, 27 to 7. What just happened, Jordan?

3:39Jourdan Rodrigue:Old guys rule. That was wild. You know, we should have seen this coming. the second they did the first camera cut to Ben Johnson, who I don't think changed facial expressions the entire game on the sideline. And you're like, oh, this is going to get weird in like the best way if you're the Chicago Bears, because this one had a different feeling to it. As soon as the second half started and the Bears started to really pull away and the Eagles imploded, this was Case Keenum and the Bears' game all night long. Yeah, it was an incredible coaching job by Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen, their defensive coordinator.

4:20There were some Nick Sirianni decisions we want to get into. There is the new Eagles offense and some of the troubles we saw in the first couple of weeks really coming out in this game. But to me, that's all secondary. I was rooting for Case Keenum in this game. Each and every week, we have a player of the week presented by Nationwide. And it, of course, has to be our 38-year-old King. Let's listen to the moment where I realize they are actually going to do this. In motion, right. Burden picked up by Cooper de Jeanne.

4:54Jourdan Rodrigue:Here's the snap and a throw by Keenum. Over the middle, wide open. Raymond 20, 15-10, running away from the pack to the end zone. Touchdown. Touchdown Bears. Here's Kalief Raymond from Case Keenum, 41-yard catch and run. Man, Kalief Raymond has turned into one of the best free agent pickups of any team. We can talk about him. That was one of the easier throws that Case Keenum made all night, although it was under pressure. And I got some numbers for you for Case Keenum. Because what got me in this game was it was not dink and dunk. It was not all game manager in that third quarter drive he had earlier.

5:37He's pushing the ball down the field. And the stats show it. On throws over 10 yards, 6 for 9, 126 yards and a touchdown. Against the Blitz, 10 for 11 for 136 yards. Getting rid of the ball quickly. The Eagles pass rush not really getting there. And then under pressure, 6 for 9 for over 80 yards. All those incredibly efficient. He played a little dangerously a couple times, as Case Keenum is going to do. But that aggression paid off, and he really played great quarterback. He wasn't the only story tonight, but he absolutely was the story. Jordan, I don't know if this was your first experience letting your Case Keenum flag fly, but did you enjoy it?

6:20Jourdan Rodrigue:I did enjoy it. No, this was not my first Case Keenum freak flag experience. but I to your point I thought he played the game like you know a more mature older older wiser case Keenum where yeah there were a couple of of risky plays he was nearly intercepted three times two were great plays on the ball made by Quinone Mitchell one really tight near the goal line that would have definitely been returned for a touchdown had he come come away with it in his hands Cooper Dejean made another play on the ball but that Khalif Raymond touchdown to me told much more of a story of what the the the disadvantage for the Eagles and the advantage for the Bears offense was which was the Eagles defense couldn't make a stop through so much of this game their first forced punt I think was or their first three and out forced punt was was uh in the third quarter and yeah their first three and out force of the night was in the third quarter and so to me that plus the fact that there were voids to be capitalized on a case Keenum and Kalief Raymond, totally unexpected that he would be one of the favorite targets of this young season so far, were the ones who were moving the ball down the field the way that they were.

7:35Jourdan Rodrigue:To me, that play in particular told so much of the story of what happened to the Bears' favor tonight. Yeah, the parts that surprised me were when he was pushing it down the field. There was on that first third quarter drive where he has two different sideline throws. He has a couple throws against his bot like across his body. We're like, oh, no, this is not going to go well. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. But it went well. And then there was some like traditional drop back on third and 10 where he gets to his second read and he fits it into tight windows. It was not totally fluky. He got a little a little wild when he started scrambling late.

8:13And, you know, he he looked like a guy who was like trying to get out of his aisle at the movie theater without, you know, anyone having to stand up. And I was like, okay, case, like, don't blow this. I fumbled the ball on that play, but, but quickly recovered it. But it just goes to show the quarterback factory. I don't know if you remember that old quote Howie Roseman had, we want to be a quarterback factory when they just kept adding quarterback. The real quarterback factory is in Chicago. They got a quarterback controversy right now. They got to start Case Keenum next week, I guess, over Tyson Bajan, who they gave a huge contract to, assuming Caleb Williams doesn't play in that game.

8:48Either way, great problems to have and a really great feather in the cap of Ben Johnson. What did you see out of him and what he wanted to do tonight?

8:56Jourdan Rodrigue:Well, it was like subtle, smaller things that made a huge difference. Dan Casey, who is one of my favorite follows on social media, breaks down a lot of film, also writes great books. He noticed that there were fake pulling guards on the Case Keenum sneak. So then ended up instead like almost shooting forward and creating a funnel and then picking up whoever would come right up the gap for case keenum and crash into him essentially and it was really it was like they created a wind tunnel for him or something which was so funny to me it's like a you know like a plunger they just squeezed right through and it was like well if your guy sneaking the football is 38 years old and you're gonna call a sneak you better do something funky and cool with it, a little flourish on the inside.

9:45Jourdan Rodrigue:And that to me was sort of the story of the game. It was a very straightforward game from Ben Johnson as a play caller. And it was exactly this. It was start taking out, taking what the defense gives you. The Eagles at first were trying, and pretty clear their intent was to stop the run and make Case Keenum beat them with his arm. The problem is I don't know that anybody, maybe Case Keenum did, But I don't know that anybody expected on that field that Case Keenum was actually going to go beat them with his arm. And he did. Right. The Bears end up with 128 yards on the ground on 35 carries in the success rate finishes solid.

10:22They close the game out well.

10:23Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah. But through two and a half quarters, that success rate was way lower. The yardage wasn't there. There actually wasn't that much room for DeAndre Swift. And they moved the ball with some great passes, some timely penalties or untimely. if you're a Philadelphia Eagles fan. But I've been mentioning letting our Case Keenum flag fly. And let's fly up an old tweet I found earlier today where it was our great friend Chris Wesseling. The first mention I could find, and this was something he would talk about on our old podcast around the NFL, but we would just talk about it in the newsroom too. When Case Keenum first came out as an undrafted free agent, I think there was a stat that I also found another one where he quoted for an undrafted rookie in his first two starts.

11:10Like he was the best undrafted rookie of all time in those two starts. And here he is, 38 years old, kind of making the improbable look possible. The NFL research from our website sent out something tonight comparing him to other 38-year-old plus quarterbacks. The only ones to have ever gone over 240 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and rushing touchdown in a game. Case Keenum, Hall of Famer Tom Brady.

11:40Jourdan Rodrigue:Yeah, famously mobile Tom Brady, yeah. Right. His rushing touchdown, I'm sure, was about the same length as Case Keenum. Drew Brees, who liked to sneak at the goal line. John Elway, another Hall of Famer. Doug Flutie, Hall of Fame cool guy, which I'm putting Case Keenum in as well. And then Fran Tarkenton, another Hall of Famer. So it's basically Case Keenum and some of the biggest names at quarterback in NFL history. That was the player of the week presented by Nationwide for your insurance and financial needs. Nationwide is on your side. Where do you want to go next? You want to talk about kind of how the end of the first half finished for the Eagles and the Bears?

12:22Because I think it speaks to a little bit how like this game was lost for the Eagles. Why don't we start with the sequence where the Eagles get down to the goal line, but Jalen Hurts left the game? You know, they had to check a concussion spotter, comes on and tells Jalen Hurts he has to come out of the game. At that point, I believe it's second and goal at about the half yard line. How did you think the Eagles handled everything, including the decision to make Andy Dalton their backup over Tanner McKee after that moment?

12:58Jourdan Rodrigue:The quarterback factory Philadelphia Eagles put Andy Dalton on the field where he promptly threw a goal line interception. Yeah, we had Case Keenum and Andy Dalton both playing in the same football game tonight. I just want to sort of let that sink in for a moment. The really curious thing to me, and I am sure that Nick Ceriani is in his press conference right now, taking plenty of time to speak with the Eagles reporters. and why didn't he call a timeout is my question. And what I want to explain too, it's a genuine question for me. It's not a rhetorical. That whole process of going in the blue tent and they really don't want coaches near the blue tent, first and foremost, that Brian Dable was problematic with that last year.

13:46Jourdan Rodrigue:And so the NFL really does not want coaches near that entire operation. There's no real understanding or idea of how quickly something like that is going to go. So all of that to say, I understand maybe in the moment why you're not making that decision, if that is in fact the explanation. But in black and white, you need to call a timeout to give your group time to figure out how long, if you can even figure out, is he going to come out quickly? If he's not, then yeah, okay, Andy Dalton goes in the game, I guess. And then you figure out what your sequencing is for that and you recalibrate a little bit.

14:23Jourdan Rodrigue:but that was such a crucial situation. It just felt like, I mean, it's, it's what seven, zero still bears at that time. And you still have a shot at kind of regathering yourself and resetting what this is going to be and what this plan is going to be. And instead this happens, it becomes a really pivotal swing moment. Um, and, and it just, it, it, it was, you know, the, what is it? The bears go down the other side and, and hit a field goal and all of that. To me, there could have been a pause there. There could have been an enforced pause. Nick Sirianni did not make this decision. I'm sorry I'm rambling.

14:59Jourdan Rodrigue:I got really carried away watching the highlights there because I was like the meme of him coming out of the blue 10. Oh, my God. Well, have you ever seen Jalen Hurts look more angry than he did in that moment? No, I never have. Which made sense. And look, I think what Nick Sirianni said going into halftime was composed more than he was, you know, in terms of decision-making on the field when he said they're trying to keep our players safe. And that makes sense. The timeout would have been a great move. Also, a great move would have just been being able to run the ball in from second and goal.

15:31And they weren't able to do that. They take a two yard loss. They could have snuck the ball with Andy Dalton. That sneak would work with anyone, but maybe they weren't ready for it or do it in theory, you know, with a tight end, but they don't have any healthy tight ends. Like they normally would do Dallas Goddard, but they instead you have Zach Ertz. And Saquon started the game so well, but they could not get anything done in short yardage in that scenario. And I thought Saquon was gassed. It's one of those like bad luck situations. He got knocked out at about the half yard line. And when they showed the replay of that run, he looked totally gassed.

16:04He had about 56 to 60 yards on that drive. So even before first down, I thought he was like ready to leave the game. And they gave him two tired carries in a row, brought in tank Bigsby, and then it all fell apart. And Dalton, I hate to think about it, Jordan. I guess I don't hate that much because I did it. I mean, there's a decent chance, A, that's the last throw of his career. I mean, there's at least a chance, right? I was surprised he got a job after the way he played last year. It did not look like Andy Dalton last year. And then number two, there's an even bigger chance he will finish this season 0 for 1 with one interception, which would be an all-time.

16:41I can't imagine that's ever happened before.

16:43Jourdan Rodrigue:Do you think that watching that play sequence inspired Ben Johnson to throw a little bit of an FU call in at the end of the game and call a design sneak that sets your quarterback up for minimal damage, your old man quarterback up for minimal damage, and a high success probability play of that quarterback sneak actually working again with an old man quarterback? I don't know. I'm just wondering because it just seems like something maybe he would do. And I mean that as a compliment. You are absolutely right. He is all about showing off how good he is. And he is good.

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20:25now there was a successful quarterback sneak i thought jalen hurts and i saw that you agreed on blue sky uh played a really good first half let's actually watch the very end to the first half it's a it's a two-play sequence after jalen hurts has a great drive bringing the eagles back down the field it results uh in a touchdown that we go to halftime with and at that point i'm thinking, okay, the Eagles have settled this game down.

21:19Four seconds. It's second and one. One second.

21:22Jourdan Rodrigue:There's a handoff inside, and it is touchdown! Touchdown! That was well put together by Kyrie there. I liked that a lot. To me, that was not only was that drive incredible. Devontae Smith with the body control, and similar to what we've seen for his entire career, but especially the last couple weeks when Jalen Hurts and Devontae Smith really try to go take over a game or a drive like that. Incredible. They had also gotten their outside runs working. So you mentioned that Saquon Barkley had popped like 60 yards on that drive. On outside runs specifically, he was getting seven and a half yards per carry, and he had eight of them between the first and the second quarter.

22:05Jourdan Rodrigue:But specifically in that second quarter was when the majority came along for 60 yards. And it was looking like this outside zone run game and where you're sort of mitigating the damage on a very unsteady interior offensive line for the Eagles right now was working. And then for Jalen Hurts to go in and manage that situation, that is his call in the moment. That is not the head coach's decision in that moment. The quarterback can decide whether or not to kneel to spike to stop the clock or, excuse me, to spike to stop the clock or whether to run a play. He made the right decision and he did it so coolly, calmly.

22:41Jourdan Rodrigue:you thought okay when they go in at halftime it felt like the Eagles were really figuring something out and then the third quarter happens and they completely implode and this was the Eagles thing from a year ago it's really crazy how they come out of halftime and last year was more they just had different stretches in the games it wasn't always after halftime sometimes it was that it was very often the first half they didn't do anything and then they woke up and did something in the second half so far coming out of halftime and this is it's his next Greg stats so there's always a chance it could be wrong uh i have counted uh eight three and outs on 11 third quarter possessions this year uh two field goals on the two other possessions with neither of which were in this game this was three straight three and outs uh and then an interception by jaylen Hertz.

23:33And this to me by TJ Edwards was the first nail in the coffin. And I do want to listen to the call because I do want to give the Bears defense some credit here for a fantastic night. They are undermanned in terms of overall talent. I don't think their pass rush was that great to me. And yet players like TJ Edwards were showing up in big spots.