Bears, Case Keenum cruise past Eagles in 27-7 victory
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
33 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 29, 2026
Published
Tue, September 29, 2026
14
Player insights
12
Players mentioned
Topics
Case KeenumDeVonta SmithAndy DaltonCaleb WilliamsColston LovelandDontayvion WicksJalen HurtsJared GoffJaylen JohnsonKalif RaymondSaquon BarkleyZach Ertz
Player analysis
Player insights
Andy Dalton
NegativeProjection14:54
Andy Dalton entered the game for the Eagles and struggled, throwing an egregious interception in the red zone that flipped the momentum of the game.
Insight pageCaleb Williams
PositiveValue31:37
Caleb Williams is considered one of the top five most exciting players to watch on Red Zone, and the source believes the Bears' offense will be better when he returns from injury.
Insight pageCase Keenum
PositiveProjection1:43
Case Keenum delivered a highly efficient performance, finishing 11-of-12 for 128 yards on play-action throws. Despite being a 38-year-old third-string quarterback, he demonstrated command of the offense and made several high-level throws under pressure, proving he can still execute the game plan effectively.
Insight pagePositiveUsage29:49
Case Keenum performed well in a backup role, executing a game plan that allowed the Bears to secure a satisfying win against the Eagles.
Insight pageColston Loveland
NegativeUsage2:29
Colson Loveland was mentioned as part of the Bears' offensive rotation, contributing to the game plan alongside other receivers in a performance that relied on effective play-action and motion.
Insight pageDeVonta Smith
NegativeUsage18:20
The Eagles offense has struggled to move the chains consistently, relying on occasional deep balls to Devonta Smith rather than a sustainable offensive rhythm.
Insight pagePositiveProjection26:46
Devonta Smith provided a highlight-reel play in the first half with an incredible catch, though the Eagles' passing offense as a whole struggled to maintain consistency throughout the game.
Insight pageDontayvion Wicks
PositiveBreakout26:54
Dontayvion Wicks demonstrated high-level route running, notably breaking Jalen Johnson off on a play during the game, highlighting his ability to create separation against quality cornerbacks.
Insight pageJalen Hurts
NegativeProjection23:47
Jalen Hurts struggled with consistency, particularly in the passing game, where he avoided the middle of the field entirely. His performance was hampered by the offense's inability to generate first downs on first down, which is tied for the lowest rate in the league.
Insight pageJared Goff
NegativeUsage25:23
Jared Goff is noted for his durability and talent, having been a first-overall pick, which has historically allowed Ben Johnson to avoid coaching games with backup quarterbacks.
Insight pageJaylen Johnson
NegativeUsage26:54
Jalen Johnson had a mixed performance; while he was beaten by Dontayvion Wicks on one route, he also made a significant play by blowing up a screen pass, showing his ability to impact the game defensively.
Insight pageKalif Raymond
PositiveUsage5:12
Khalif Raymond was a focal point of the Bears' passing attack, utilized on crossers and shake routes to exploit Eagles coverage. His touchdown catch was aided by motion that caused a defensive breakdown, and he consistently picked up yards in intermediate areas.
Insight pageSaquon Barkley
NegativeUsage17:34
After a dominant first half where the Eagles' run game averaged 0.51 EPA per carry, Saquon Barkley was effectively shut down in the second half. The Eagles moved away from the run, and Barkley struggled to gain yardage against the Bears' adjusted defensive fronts.
Insight pageZach Ertz
NegativeUsage27:11
Zach Ertz struggled in his blocking assignment against Jalen Johnson on a screen play, appearing unprepared to engage the defender effectively.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Welcome to The Athletic Football Show brought to you by the U.S.
0:03Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card. I'm Robert Mays. What a night for the Chicago Bears.
0:07Me and Derrik Klassen dug into it, but just an immensely satisfying performance from somebody who has watched this team for a very long time.
0:14What we saw from Case Keenum, Ben Johnson, Dennis Allen, that entire group.
0:18A huge win for the Bears, a win with their third string quarterback that I'm sure not a lot of people saw coming.
0:24Let's get to that conversation with me and Derek right now.
0:27I was thinking about this late in the fourth quarter and going through all of the other potential options.
0:32I don't know if that's the most satisfying win I can remember from a Bears team, but it's in the conversation.
0:38Not exciting. They had more exciting wins last year, but just satisfying.
0:42When you think about the performance, the plan, how everything was put together considering the circumstances, I would be, I'd be hard
0:48pressed to think of a game that was more satisfying top to bottom.
0:51When you watch the people that are in charge of the football team that you root for and feel that level of
0:57simultaneous pride and comfort in the job they are capable of doing than what just happened tonight for the Chicago Bears.
1:03I mean, if Case Keenum, the third quarterback, by the way, who was like 40 years old, has started four games since COVID happened.
1:10He's 38. Take it easy, mister. I'm 29. I'm going to round up.
1:13It counts. At least in football years, that man is 40.
1:16For him to like, if that particular set of circumstances started a game for the Bears at any point before the last
1:22two seasons, it would have been a shit show.
1:25I've seen that game a hundred times. That's what I'm saying.
1:28We've all seen that game a hundred times, like third quarterback, second or third quarterback coming off the bench against what is
1:34supposed to be a good Eagles defense. And we can talk about whether or not that is true or not.
1:39But again, all of those circumstances for him to not only them like get by in the game, like I could have
1:45imagined a scenario where they get by and the run game looks good.
1:49And you know, you just get a couple of cool plays from Luther Byrd and Colson Loveland, whatever.
1:54Case Keenum made like five or six, like genuinely really good throws, especially under pressure.
1:58And so got away with some stuff in terms of the tight window stuff.
2:02But like, that's what his entire magical 2017 season was like.
2:05That's just kind of what he does. I, if you had told me the Bears would finish with a plus 50% success
2:11rate and win this game by multiple scores, the first place my mind would have gone is they ran the ball extremely well.
2:17It looks like it did against the Eagles last year and to the Eagles credit.
2:21And they talked about this all week. If you heard the guys on the Eagles, Jordan Davis, everybody, they talked about having
2:27to rewatch that film of the Black Friday game last year over and over again, in order to account for how they
2:33were going to try to stop this team. And they were ready for it.
2:37And to their credit, that was true. In the first half of this game, the Bears had 13 carries for 27 yards.
2:43They did 23% rushing success rate. And you could see why the Eagles did a fantastic job in the first half mixing up fronts.
2:50We got some five, one stuff. We got some six, one stuff, how you watch Makuba specifically when they're running the ball,
2:56he was flying off the roof and the Bears really had no answers for how the Eagles were trying to defend the ground game.
3:03But if you're going to play it that way, you're going to leave vulnerabilities on the backend.
3:07And that's exactly what happened. I mean, how many times in this game are there using play action?
3:12And you feel Raymond on some sort of crosser and you're watching Makuba trying to sprint backwards to get underneath those routes.
3:18And so they weren't able to run the ball, but their ability to throw the ball off of play action was a
3:24byproduct of how the Eagles are trying to account for that.
3:27In this game, Case Keenum finished 11 of 12 for 128 yards on play action throws.
3:32It was automatic. And honestly, I don't even blame Philly for trying to win the football game that way.
3:37Of course you're going to make Case Keenum try to beat you.
3:40Like, why would you not do that? And I think it's more even, it's more than just the calls that they're in, right?
3:47It's more than just the fronts. It's that this is a team that like, yeah, when you have the experience of having
3:53played the Bears last year, the way that they ran on you, and you now have a 38 year old third string
3:59quarterback in the game who has not started, I think since 2023, you're kind of think and run almost every single play,
4:05or you're at least like more ready to stop that and say, ah, he can't make that many throws under pressure.
4:10He can't make that many throws under tight windows.
4:13And then obviously, you know, Ben Johnson schemes up a number of really impressive plays in this game, but he made enough
4:19of the throws that they did not think that he was going to make to actually go and win this game.
4:25There's no doubt. And I think that his performance is a huge part of this.
4:29I think that a lot of the schematic stuff that they did was really impressive.
4:33When they decided to keep him as the starter, when I heard that today, knowing Baygent was healthy, there was part of me that was like, interesting.
4:40Like if Baygent's healthy enough to play and the thought process was, and they essentially said this through the media, Baygent hadn't
4:47practiced enough for them to feel good about his control of the game plan.
4:50And you and the credit to the Monday Night Football broadcast, you heard it crystal clear via the field mic from the first time he was out there.
4:58He's calling out, he's doing everything at the line of scrimmage.
5:0111's the mic, we're doing this check. I like his command of that offense.
5:05He's a coach, but that's his day to day job is that he is a coach of this offense.
5:10And you saw that and you felt that throughout the entire game.
5:13And you felt it from the moment that this thing started.
5:16And so you combine that sort of command him making the handful of throws like you mentioned, including a couple where he
5:23has to make somebody miss in the pocket. And I think the Bears just having a really good plan of how they wanted to attack this team.
5:30The play action part of it stuck out, but the way that they were using motion to play with some of the match coverage rules.
5:37I mean, the touchdown to Khalif Raymond is just a dropped coverage, right?
5:40All gets snapped when he's still the number two receiver.
5:43And that plays with the Eagles ability to pass that thing off.
5:46They did a really good job of on the burden dig.
5:49And then there was a Khalif Khalif Raymond comeback early in the game where on that rail motion, they're taking that wide
5:56and vertical, but they're either running intermediate in breakers off of it or sitting it down against those zones.
6:01I just thought overall, it was such a good game plan.
6:04And even in the second half, I was, I appreciated so much his ability to eventually figure out how they needed to
6:10run the ball because what they started going to is they started using some more two back stuff.
6:15They started spreading things out a little bit more.
6:17Eventually he found how he was going to have to do it.
6:21But the fact that they were able to not run the ball that way in the first half and still move the
6:27ball as consistently as they did, it's just such a credit to, to, to that staff, to the quarterback.
6:32And it's just a reminder that one game last week against Brian Flores in a rainstorm does not mean this guy forgot how to do this job.
6:39No, it doesn't mean a whole lot. And like, I was so impressed by, yeah, some of the motion stuff, like you
6:45said, they, they run that motion and get them to drop the coverage on the big touchdown.
6:50I also thought one of my favorite plays that they had in this game, and this is something obviously that they can
6:56do because they play out of 12 personnel, 13 personnel all the time.
7:00It was second and 12 when they were in like the high red zone or late in the second quarter.
7:05And yeah, they were in a second 12 and they break in 12 personnel.
7:09They break out into two by two and the two tight ends are on the outside.
7:13And so the Eagles are in kind of heavier personnel and Bond gets stuck as the slot man over, I think it
7:19was Kalief Raymond and Raymond just runs his shake route.
7:22And he like, Bond's a really good coverage player.
7:25I don't expect him to cover a guy like Kalief Khalif Raymond and they just like pick up a ton of yards in there.
7:31Now they're in a good position. It's just like the little stuff like that where I thought they were consistently able to
7:37pick up yards was really impressive in this game.
7:40And that's a perfect example where you always have to compromise something.
7:43If you're going to play base to 12 personnel and the other team has the ability to do that, you're going to
7:49get put in compromising positions every once in a while.
7:52That's the best example. Like that's the best win by design example other than the Raymond touchdown from the entire game.
7:58And I just incredibly impressive performance by everybody involved.
8:00And it wasn't without its frustrations. I mean, I early in that game, I was losing my mind like the, the Roush
8:06punt where that ball is down on the one yard line.
8:09And he, for an inexplicable reason decides to sprint up and dive on that thing and put that foot in the end zone.
8:16You, you watch Bears games with me all the time for, I very few things incite an actual reaction for me when I am watching the game.
8:23I was screaming at my television. Like I could not believe that he did that.
8:27And then you have the fourth down where you have the sequence where Dunze drops the ball in the end zone.
8:33They don't get the fourth down. And there's part of me as I'm watching the Eagles offense in this game, which we can get into that.
8:40I understand why Ben Johnson goes for it on fourth and one from the goal line.
8:44It's a toss up. You're getting absolutely bludgeoned on the other side and you're about to get bludgeoned on the other side
8:50for the entire first half of that game. They go for it.
8:54They don't get it. The Eagles drive down. It takes an Andy Dalton entry into the game for them to get a turnover in that sequence.
9:01Like it, they got a lot of breaks defensively in the first half when the Eagles were moving the ball just at will.
9:07Things changed in the second half and that's worth digging into, but there was a stretch in the second, like in the
9:13first quarter into the second quarter of that game.
9:16I mean, what was it? It was 10-7 at halftime, right?
9:19Yeah. And I actually, and I think that, I think, yes, it was 10-7 at halftime.
9:23The Eagles scored right before the half. And I think why that is important is that this Eagles team, and this has
9:29really kind of always been true of them. They are a team that is like, they are really good when they are
9:35front running and they can play the game that they want to play.
9:39And when they start to get behind in the game that they want to play, they struggle to throw themselves back into
9:45it or make the plays that they want to on defense.
9:48And so that was a point of the game where Jalen Hurts goes out.
9:52He obviously gets the, you know, think it might've been concussion on the late hit, all that sort of stuff.
9:57Andy Dalton comes in and puts them in a bad spot and throws a pretty egregious interception.
10:02Like coming back to the middle of the field that late in the red zone is like, I know you're three plays
10:08into this, but you're 15 years into this. I just thought that that was a crazy mistake to make, but that flips the game.
10:15And so I think that is where, but it was still 10-7 and they were moving the ball at will.
10:20I'm sitting there at halftime being like, I can't believe they're only up 10-7 after the way that that half went.
10:26And after all of the opportunities that they missed, they get a fumble inside the 25.
10:30They get the ball down into it. Like the fact that they were only up 10-7 and the Eagles are moving the ball that way.
10:37Afraid of how this thing was going to go.
10:40And then the Bears defense just decided to show up in the second half.
10:43They played an incredible second half. And the Eagles, I think part of this is because the Bears did start to stop
10:49the run a little bit better, but the Eagles completely got away from the run game.
10:54Like Barkley, I think his first carry in the second half was a seven-yarder.
10:58And then it was like one yard, one yard, zero yards.
11:01Like he was completely shut out for a lot of those other runs.
11:04Some of them getting behind the sticks is like penalties.
11:07They're trying to do first and 10 like play action stuff and they're getting sacks and like negative plays and stuff like that.
11:13And so like the game script kind of fell away from them, but they were running the ball exceptionally well in the
11:19second half or in the first half, especially with all their wide zone stuff.
11:23Like the Bears linebackers were getting lost in the B gap.
11:26Like they could not get there in time to get to Barkley.
11:30And that just didn't really happen in the second half.
11:32The Eagles in the first half per next gen had a 70% rushing success rate.
11:37They were averaging 0.51 EPA per carry. That's obscene.
11:39In the first half. And they had one get called back on a bullshit holding penalty.
11:43Yes, that wasn't. And that, that again, that's important too, because they get the penalty and then two plays later, or it
11:49might've been the next play is the fumble inside their own 25.
11:53And that starts to like, it's a game just, the Eagles obviously did not play super well in the second half, but
11:59they also did have a lot of weird shit that got away from them in the first half.
12:04I going into the half and they got bludgeoned on the ground.
12:07Like there's just no way around that. Like they got absolutely bludgeoned on the ground.
12:11It is hard to get pushed around more than the bears were pushed around when the Eagles are running the ball in the first half of this game.
12:19They come out at half and I, Dennis Allen just does this.
12:22Like there are so many games, the Packers game in the playoffs last year where they get bludgeoned in half number one,
12:28they come out after the half, make a couple adjustments and the defense just kind of clicks into a different gear.
12:34And that's exactly what happened in this game. They came out on the first drive and in the first half guys are sitting there.
12:41They're in like four man fronts and the linebackers are sitting three or four yards off the ball.
12:46It's totally static. And they're just getting blown off the ball.
12:49The first play of the second half, they trigger and they run a run blitz on first and 10, they get an unsuccessful run.
12:55And it's like, all right, well, that's great. I'm glad that you've adjusted to this.
12:59Why were you just sitting there in the first half and letting them kick the shit out of you?
13:04So it was nice to see because they really did start forcing the issue in the second half run blitzes, mixing up
13:11the fronts where they're just shifting the front all the way over.
13:14There were plays where like James Lynch is in the B gap in on the right side as the defensive end.
13:20And so they're overloading the front to that side.
13:22And what I was surprised by, and I'm wondering if you saw this, the Eagles in the first half, they had a
13:28lot of successful runs, either running to the weak side or they had spread things out.
13:33And they're kind of doing like old school Eagle stuff where they're in the gun, they're running zone from a really, really
13:39light personnel grouping and just really utilizing the fact that there aren't that many bodies.
13:43And then the second half, they're running a lot of to the tight end outside zone and into all that traffic and
13:49away from the space that they created in the first half.
13:52And the bears had a really good job of slowing that stuff down.
13:55It was just a different version of the run game than we saw in the first half.
14:00And I'm curious as to why. My only thought is like, because of this is supposed to be the offense now where
14:06we're under center, we're trying to set up plays like maybe they were trying to set up a particular play action call
14:12and just got like, they just had too many negative runs.
14:15Because another thing that I actually did notice the bears did in this game that I thought was really interesting.
14:21And it led to a number of negative plays.
14:23Anytime the Eagles were under center, the bears blitzed the shit out of it.
14:27They were bringing corners. They were firing linebackers. They were like, we are going to, when he snaps his head around, he is going to feel uncomfortable.
14:34Jalen Hurts was one of six from under center today and zero of three when there were five or more pass rushers.
14:40Like they just were immediately getting people on him.
14:43And one of them was early on in the game where he could have popped the ball over to Saquon Barkley and he kind of under throws it.
14:51And that could have been like a huge explosive play that would have bailed them out there.
14:55I think that was on the same drive that ended up fumbling a couple of plays later.
15:00And so I just, I do think the bears did some interesting things.
15:04The run game stuff. I really don't know why the Eagles went away from it because in the first half, like you said, it was weak zone.
15:11They were getting whoever the tackle was to that side.
15:14He would just take the C gap player, move him away.
15:17B gaps open linebackers getting lost and isn't getting in there.
15:20And that worked six or seven times in the first half.
15:23And in the second half, they just weren't able to get to it.
15:26And again, the bears deserve credit for making a mess of things in ways they didn't in the first half.
15:32And that's how this team is going to have to play.
15:35You just don't have the personnel to sit there in static four man fronts and try to play like read and react four down defense.
15:42Like you're just not good enough to do that.
15:44You're going to have to force the issue with stunts, run blitzes, blitzing on our passing downs, period.
15:49Some of the simulators that they were bringing, some of the dropping out.
15:53I mean, TJ Edwards got an interception eventually. He almost had another one because of one of the pressure looks that they were in.
15:59That's how this team is going to have to live, especially because the secondary continues to relatively struggle.
16:04I thought the front played fantastic in the second half, but and the one play that Devante Smith makes in the first
16:10half, that's just an incredible thrown and incredible catch by Devante Smith.
16:14But Dontavian Wicks absolutely broke Jalen Johnson off at one point in this game.
16:18Like the secondary still leaves me a little bit antsy, but I thought that the front and the plan with the front
16:24was excellent in the second half of this game for the Bears.
16:27I mean, yeah. And Jalen Johnson had that one, the screen that he blew up.
16:31That was really nice. I think it was Zach Ertz was trying to block him and he didn't seem like he was
16:37ready enough to get over there and go and do that.
16:40And so I thought that that was an impressive play.
16:43The last thing I want to say too, and I do think that this made the Bears night easier to some degree.
16:49And I want to go back and watch the film and see how much they were doing to influence this.
16:54Jalen Hurts was Jalen Hurts again. And what I mean by that is he did not throw the middle of the field at all in this game.
17:02He had, if I'm looking at the true media chart, like correctly, you can generously say he had one completion 10 to 20 yards between the numbers.
17:09If I'm not going to do that, I don't, I'm remind me again to never this season do the, ah, Jalen Hurts
17:15is throwing the middle of the field. He's not like, those are aberration games.
17:19And like, you get more games like this than not.
17:22And again, again, like you're kind of saying like against the Bears secondary that is, has its flaws and is gettable.
17:28Some of those throws are going to be open.
17:30And just the fact that they are not getting to them is continues to frustrate me.
17:35Yeah. And it's the Bears defense. Again, they had a great plan in the second half, but you, in theory, if you're
17:41a good offense, you should be able to move the ball relatively consistently.
17:44Against this team. And the fact that the Eagles passing game and just the Eagles offense period in the second half was essentially DLA.
17:51They finished with a 39% drop back success rate.
17:53The Eagles did in this game. And the, it's been up and down.
17:57Like I think Hertz has played pretty well in stretches.
18:00And we talked about it last week. I think that he's played pretty well in stretches, but this was another game where
18:06the offense looked really out of sorts. And there's a chance with more time on task.
18:10Again, we're three weeks into the season with a new play caller that everything falls into place, but it's been really hit
18:16or miss in moments where he's played well. The offensive line in the run game haven't played well.
18:21And now in a game where the run game was incredible in the first half, the passing game completely stalls in the
18:27second half and the run game kind of did too, but I just, it's been inconsistent.
18:31And I think that's maybe not surprising considering it's year one of a new system, but that's where the Eagles are right now.
18:38Yeah. And I, the last note I want to put on the Eagles offense in general feeling like a really annoying unit.
18:44Uh, I figured some Eagles beat reporter posted something like this during the game.
18:48And it, it got me thinking the Eagles on first down this year have generated a first down on 13% of plays
18:54that is tied for the lowest rate in the league with the Miami dolphins.
18:58They are just below the Cardinals, Titans, commanders, and giants and Vikings, by the way, you're just not, even if you have
19:04stretches where you can run the ball and every now and then you can hit, you know, Devonta Smith on that deep
19:10ball, not being able to just like move the chains and consistently keep the defense in downs and distances you want.
19:15It's going to make life hard. Like they are still a team, even honestly in that Titans game from last week, I
19:21know they converted a lot of their third downs, but those were a lot of third and longs.
19:26Like you don't want to live like that. And I just think that it feels again, like this offense is going to kind of get back there.
19:34All right, before we move on, let's take a quick break.
19:37How do you feel about the defense right now?
19:39Because now we're two weeks in a row where cam Warren and that offense moved the ball as well as you might
19:45expect them to do it at this point. And then they just got completely outmatched by a third string quarterback in primetime.
19:51Like, is there any part of you in year three of this with a lot of the same players that has any
19:58concern about how they've looked in the early part of the year?
20:01I think there's absolutely concern. Like I almost feel, I mean, probably like a worse version of what the conversation that we
20:07had about the Texans, where it's like, this was supposed to be the unit that was going to give us time for
20:13the offense to get wherever it needed to go and whether or not they do is kind of beside the point, but
20:19this was supposed to be a unit that could hold you up there.
20:23And I still think by the end of the year, if this Eagles defense will come along, like Jahad Campbell is probably going to get more comfortable.
20:30I think the safety play, hopefully just with those guys getting more reps, especially Makuba being still a young player, that that helps him out a little bit.
20:38But this still feels like, and even last year, it felt a little bit like they were not always able to generate
20:44quite as much pressure as they wanted. And it's not that they can never do it, but they just don't generate as
20:50much pressure as the typically elite defenses do. And I do feel like they are a little bit stuck in the same
20:56scenario where like they have some depth. Carter at his best is really good, but they're just not a team that is
21:02like, oh shit, they're going to get on you every single time you're in a passing down.
21:07And I think you saw that today. I think the Bears did a good job.
21:11Again, it was a lot of play action. It was a lot of extra bodies and protection, some creative protections where they're
21:17running some dash protections and creating angles and pass pro.
21:19I just think the plan overall was very good.
21:22But the fact that you're playing against a third string quarterback who can't really move, even though we had two or three
21:28decent moments of pocket maneuvering in this game, the fact that the pass rush did not show up and you didn't really
21:34feel it, I do think is an important observation.
21:36On the Bears side of this, again, I leave really satisfied with what that game looked like.
21:41My unfortunate byproduct of this game looking like this, I'm so annoyed they lost last week.
21:46They should be on top of the division. I'm so annoyed that they lost.
21:49Last week because I now I'm sitting there at three and oh with and the offense is going to look like this or not even look like this.
21:57I'm not asking to look like this every single game.
22:00If the offense can be functional and at least dangerous and capable in how for however long Caleb Williams is not going
22:06to play, it would have been really nice to hit that stretch at three and oh instead of sitting at two and one.
22:12But even at two and one, it's kind of like, all right.
22:16I mean, if they can tread water here, they play the Packers and the Jets over the next two weeks.
22:21If you can leave that at three and two before the quarterback gets hurt before the quarterback comes back and the defense
22:27has these stretches where they have the right plan, they have enough and the offense can be what I still believe the
22:33offense can be when he is healthy and when this guy is calling plays.
22:37I don't know. It's a weird year in the division that the Lions are flawed, especially on defense.
22:42The Packers are obviously a mess. The Vikings are three and oh, but their offense has really, really struggled this year.
22:48And so, I mean, there was a moment when Caleb gets hurt and it's like, all right, this is going to be
22:54really hard to dig it, dig yourself out of this hole.
22:57And even coming into tonight, you would expect that they'd be one and two after this game is over and they're staring
23:03down a pretty tough road back if he's going to miss three to four weeks.
23:07And now, right or wrong, I don't know. It's, you watch what happened tonight and it kind of shifts my expectations for
23:13what this next stretch of the season might look like.
23:16I think it really, because honestly, it's funny. The Bears are the exact team I think I kind of expected them to
23:22be coming into the year and it's everybody else who is not.
23:25Which has kind of allowed them to rise to the top.
23:28Like, Packers are not the team I want. I guess the Lions in a lot of ways are the team I thought
23:34they were, but not to such a degree that I think they are so much better than the Bears.
23:39And then the Vikings are like, they're three and oh, the defense looks great.
23:43If the offense doesn't get their shit together, I don't think that they're going to be like a serious runaway with the
23:49division sort of team, even with this lead. The Bears do, I think, are in like a really good position if Caleb gets back.
23:56And so, yeah, like you said, if they can split the next two games or if they want to be safe and
24:02he misses three and they can just stay at 500, that's probably enough.
24:06Because I think when he's out there, they're going to win more games than not.
24:10The difference between the Lions and the Bears at this point, if you're looking at it, if you're just looking at purely
24:16the numbers over the first three weeks, the Bears were seventh in offense.
24:19And it's super small sample size, obviously, but just broad strokes here.
24:23The Bears were seventh in offensive DVOA coming into this game.
24:26I assume they'll be better after this game is over.
24:28I would think. The Lions were eighth. The Lions are down at like 28th in defensive DVOA.
24:33The difference, they're very similar teams in terms of their relative strengths.
24:36The difference is the Lions play an awful schedule and the Bears play a much, much more difficult schedule.
24:42Like that's probably the key difference between those two teams right now.
24:45But in terms of overall quality, why can't the Bears have as good an offense this year as the Lions do?
24:51If anything, if Caleb comes back, I would bet that they will be better by the very end of the season.
24:56Man. What a crazy place to be in. Real pendulum swing between how it felt last Sunday and how it feels right now.
25:03And again, it's a credit to that entire group, to the staff, to the players.
25:07Just a fantastic performance in difficult circumstances. And like I said at the top, among the more satisfying wins I can remember
25:13as a Bears fan, because like you mentioned, it just felt so different than what it would ever feel like in years past.
25:19And even it's funny because coming into the game, Ben Johnson's never coached a game with a backup quarterback.
25:24They were making the point, too, that like I didn't really occur to me, but the broadcast was like every game he's
25:30coach has had the first overall pick at quarterback.
25:33And I was like, huh, that never really occurred to me.
25:36Because like, obviously, Jared got Jared never gets hurt.
25:38Jared never gets hurt. And like, obviously, he's really talented.
25:41But I don't necessarily always think of him in the same way as like the just absolute like in like the Cam
25:47Newtons and the Andrew Lux and the Trevor Lawrence's that go first overall.
25:51And then you remember like, oh, yeah, he is really talented.
25:54And he did go first overall. And then obviously, Caleb didn't.
25:57So it was funny. I just never thought of it.
26:00But it was like, yeah, it's the first that's that is the other impressive thing.
26:04The fact is the first time he's ever had to do it without the guy he wanted.
26:08And it looked like that. Just another feather in his calf.
26:11Well, I said this. I joked about this as soon as the game started.
26:15And they did that in the first drive. One of my favorite things is watching a great offensive coach who is shorthanded.
26:21And that can mean a bunch of different things.
26:24Sometimes, you know, it means your backup quarterback is playing for last year.
26:27Matt LaFleur had Malik Willis for those couple of games.
26:30Those are some of my favorite games that Matt LaFleur has ever called in terms of him having to do what was
26:36necessary with the pieces in order to win the game.
26:39Last year, when the Rams didn't have Puka in that game in London, when they played against the Jags, they have not
26:45only the right plan for that moment to blow out the Jaguars, they have a plan that eventually reshaped their entire offense over the course of the year.
26:53Think about what Kyle Shanahan has done in stretches when Nick Mullins has been his quarterback and the numbers that Nick Mullins came away from that stretch with.
27:00These really great offensive coaches, some of their best work can come when they have to get deep into the bag because circumstances have pushed them there.
27:08And we never have had to see Ben Johnson in that sort of situation.
27:12Today is the first time we had to see it.
27:14And it was pretty good. It was. And it's funny.
27:17Yeah, you mentioned that because with all the other play callers, I have like so many games.
27:22You mentioned the Matt LaFleur last year. I still vividly remember a game he called against the Cardinals like four years ago
27:28where they were just like completely decimated with all their receivers and Aaron Jones caught what felt like 50 passes.
27:33That's right. That's right. I remember that game. For some reason, that is always like that's one of my like, I don't
27:39know how he got away with that sort of game plans.
27:42And I don't think anybody had any doubts that Ben Johnson could do it.
27:46But the fact that he now has one of those games where it's like, OK, he's he's got that like did it shorthanded in his in his bag.
27:54It's nice to see like it's he now has not that he didn't have everything that all the other guys had, but
28:00he now truly has like all the stamps that all the other guys have.
28:04And on the other side, the last thing I'll say.
28:07If the defense is going to be a unit that doesn't have difference making stars, which it doesn't, you need to have
28:13a defensive coach who can throw these sort of kind of mid game off speed pitches and find the right plan over the course of the game.
28:20And to to Dennis Allen's credit, he has consistently shown an ability to do that in really big moments over the last
28:26year, especially in the back half of last season.
28:29And he deserves a lot of credit for that, because tonight was another really good example of it.
28:34It's the same formula as the early Mahomes Chiefs were like Spagnuolo is getting there and they're like the 25th most talented unit.
28:40But you just do some weird shit at the right time.
28:43And like, like, especially last year with with Allen, the Rams game where he just like they were like, oh, we're going
28:49to live in cover zero, like to just throw that out in the playoff game to have some of the adjustments that he has in the second half.
28:57Like I almost think that them going into some games not being 100 percent sure what they want to do, I think
29:03is like a calculated like we're going to see what we have to do in the second half and like not like
29:09we're going to remain flexible and try to make enough second half plays to win the game.
29:13Maybe let's try to do it a little bit earlier moving forward.
29:17Let's let's try to not have time would be good.
29:20But, you know, yeah, let's try to walk away from some of these games without a 70 percent rushing success rate from
29:26the other team in the first half. That's I'm not asking for the world here.
29:30I just think it doesn't have to be quite as drastic from half one to half two.
29:34But I'm being silly about it. But it's a really, really impressive second half coaching performance, a really impressive second half performance
29:40from the defense and an incredibly impressive performance from the offense and the offensive staff for four quarters.
29:45Credit to Ben Johnson. Credit to Case Keenum. It's you hear my voice.
29:49I mean, it is potentially a kind of season season outlook shifting is what I'll call it.
29:54It's not a season shifting win, but I think it does reframe the outlook for this team over the next couple of
30:00weeks and how much they might be able to hang on when Caleb Williams is hurt.
30:04It rekindles the hope. And that's all you need with a backup quarterback win.
30:08It's I was talking to my brother today. My brother called me when I was in the car on the way home from the office.
30:15And we were he was just talking about my brother's just like very much just a sports fan, right?
30:20Like he I enjoy talking to him about this stuff because he just has perspective that I'm way too close to it to have.
30:27And we were just going over the feeling of coming into the season the way that they did having that week one
30:33go the way the way that it did and having so much collective excitement to watch your team play each week.
30:38And that just hasn't always been the case when you've rooted for this team, like especially on offense.
30:43It's very rarely been the case. And so for Caleb to get hurt and have that kind of ripped away two weeks
30:49into the season, even if only for a couple of weeks and change what it feels like to prepare to watch your team play.
30:56It was a bummer, right? I mean, it was just a sad place to have landed.
31:00And so for them to come out and do this for anyone who might have been feeling that way.
31:06Not a bad way for your day to change.
31:08No, and because like the thing with that is like we know Caleb's coming back.
31:12We knew it wasn't going to be a season ender.
31:15But the way the NFL works being so ritualistic when you are going to be there on Sunday, and it is such
31:21a week to week league that you like you have six days of excitement to build up to watching your team.
31:27It's not like basketball or baseball where shit they play every day.
31:30It feels like you just don't build up the same over the course of the week excitement to have that having been ripped away.
31:37And like Caleb is truly one of the rare players to where like Bears fan or not, you would be lying if
31:43you were not saying that that is one of the most five most players you are ready to watch on Red Zone every single Sunday.
31:50And so the fact that he went down was like brutal, but hopefully we get him back, you know, fairly soon.
31:55And he looks as good as the as we want him to.
31:59Or we could just add Case Keenum to that list.
32:02Just keep him rolling. Case Keenum is the sixth player that you want to watch on Red Zone every Sunday.
32:07Maybe. Hell of a night for old Case and the Bears.
32:10We've got plenty of stuff coming your way all week.
32:13If you are watching this on YouTube on Tuesday morning, our Monday hangover show should be available for you guys.
32:18If you're listening on the podcast feed, it's already available.
32:21We hit three games on the hangover. Chatted Browns, Panthers, Bucks, Vikings, and regrettably Giants Titans.
32:25Did those three today. Please check that out. If you're watching this live, please like and subscribe to the YouTube channel.
32:31I'll have plenty of other video specific stuff coming your way this year.
32:35I have a weekly YouTube series that we're doing.
32:37Derek has one called How It Happened. Dave has a new one this year called That Rocked.
32:42Please be on the lookout for all that stuff and everything else coming on the athletic football show this week for now.
32:48That's all we got. Appreciate you guys listening. We'll talk to you very soon.
32:52Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode.
32:57If you enjoyed what you heard, please like, comment, and leave a rating.
33:01We'll see you next time.
