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LAKE FOREST, Ill.,— The Chicago Bears are in primetime for the first time this season as they host the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 3. The Eagles enter this game at 2-0 with wins over Washington and most recently, Tennessee. The Week 2 win for the Eagles was a closer one than they had imagined against the Titans but this week presents another big opportunity.
As does it for the Bears as well.
After beating the Panthers in a convincing fashion in Week 1, they scored just 3 points in the loss to the Minnesota Vikings. The game was sloppy throughout and the Bears made plenty of mistakes along the way. They also lost quarterback Caleb Williams, who left the game late with a hamstring injury. Williams has yet to practice and is likely out for a few weeks with his injury. With Chicago set to turn to backup Tyson Bagent, he is in the concussion protocol and will also likely miss the game.
That means the Bears are down to their third-string option in 38-year-old veteran Case Keenum. The quarterback has played a lot of football but this will be his first start since the 2023 season. It will be interesting to see how Keenum fares in this Ben Johnson offense and if the Bears can get the run game going to help him. Last season, the Bears were able to go into Philadelphia and get a big upset win over the Eagles on Black Friday. But can they do it again this season?
As we do with every game, the Bear Report staff is making predictions for the game. Make sure to check back with the Bear Report for complete coverage of this game and the rest of the regular season.
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Prediction: Eagles 24, Bears 14
Record: 1-1
We know the circumstances for this game as the Chicago Bears will be without starting quarterback Caleb Williams and backup Tyson Bagent. With veteran Case Keenum set to start, I'm interested to see Ben Johnson's offense looks with a different quarterback. I imagine the Bears will try to lean on the run game to get them going and control the clock. But this will be a tough game either way for Chicago. I have the Eagles winning it just for the fact that Williams is out and the offense could look different in this game.
X-Factor: Turnovers. For the Bears to have any shot at winning this game, they need to win the takeaway battle. They can't afford to commit turnovers against a good Eagles team.
Prediction: Eagles 30 Bears 24
Record: 1-1
The uncertainty at the quarterback position means the Bears have a lot more questions than answers. As good as the offense was in Week 1, Week 2 was very telling about where this offense really is. What's clear is that the Bears need more out of players like Luther Burden, Rome Odunze, and Colston Loveland. This week presents another tough matchup, and I don't think the Bears get the job done, despite a home crowd that's going to be excited to see the Bears play.
X-Factor: Garrett Bradbury and his penalties. Can he get them cleaned up? He ruined a handful of drives for the Bears last week where it was clear that the offense was building momentum.
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Prediction: Eagles 24, Bears 20
Record: 1-1
With Case Keenum expected to get the start on Monday night, I don't see the Bears coming away with a victory in week three. While the Bears should have success on the ground, they will miss the playmaking that Caleb Williams brings off-script against a Vic Fangio defense. On the other side of the ball, the I'm skeptical that the defense's success in week two is sustainable enough to hold down a talented Eagles offense.
X-Factor: Kyle Monangai & D'Andre Swift. With the passing game in question, the Bears will need to lean on their running back duo more than ever in order to pull off the upset. The last time these two teams played, both Monangai and Swift rushed for over 100 yards. I don't see them having the same success this time around, but they could both have a big day on the ground in this matchup.
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Prediction: Eagles 24, Bears 17
Record: 1-1
As much as I want to believe that Case Keenum can be what Chase Daniel was during the Mitch Trubisky-Matt Nagy days, the Bears aren't playing the 2018 Detroit Lions or New York Giants. After what the Vikings' defensive front did to the Bears in the run game last week, I have major concerns about the offensive line against another really good front in Philly. I think the Bears are good enough to keep it close early on, but I think the Eagles will pull ahead 24-10 before the Bears get some garbage-time touchdown to make the score look a little bit better. But who knows, maybe Keenum can come up with a Chicago miracle this time, instead of a Minneapolis Miracle.
X-Factor: D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. The good ol' two-for-one special, but if the Bears want a chance to win this game, they're going to need a repeat performance of what they did the last time these two matched up a year ago, when they ran for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Now, with likely Keenum as the starter and Miller Moss as the backup (gulp), they're going to need to rely on the run game a whole lot.
Prediction: Eagles 23, Bears 13
Record: 1-1
With Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent both expected to miss Monday night's matchup due to injuries, a Bears offense led by Case Keenum will likely struggle to yield a lot of success against an Eagles defense ranked 11th in total yards allowed through two weeks, and will need to heavily rely on Swift and Monangai on the ground. On the opposite side of the ball, Jalen Hurts and Devonta Smith will pose a challenge to a vulnerable Bears secondary that I see as too much to handle.
X-factor: D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. With Keenum likely starting on Monday, Ben Johnson will likely rely heavily on the ground game to get the offense going. If it's like last week against Minnesota, when that couldn't get established, it will be a long night for the Monsters of the Midway.