The Chicago Bears turned to their third-string quarterback on Monday and walked away with a 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, a perennial NFC heavyweight. Case Keenum, 38, made his first NFL start in 1,009 days and delivered what head coach Ben Johnson described as an "extraordinary" performance.
The victory, reported by Courtney Cronin of www.espn.com - TOP, gave Chicago a decisive margin against one of the conference's most consistent contenders. Keenum's long layoff between starts — more than two and a half years — made the result all the more notable for a Bears team that leaned on its veteran backup.
Johnson's assessment of Keenum's effort came after the game, with the coach calling the outing "extraordinary," according to www.espn.com - TOP. The win marked a rare opportunity for Keenum, who had not started an NFL game in 1,009 days before Monday's kickoff.
For local readers, the story underscores the value of depth at the quarterback position and the unpredictability of a long NFL season. A third-string signal-caller stepping in against a team like Philadelphia and producing a 20-point win is the kind of result that can shift expectations for a franchise.
