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CHICAGO, Ill., — The Chicago Bears are going to celebrate their big 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, as they should. But it will be a shorter week due the primetime game, and that means a decision for Ben Johnson and the coaching staff.
With Caleb Williams likely out at least another week and probably more, the Bears are going to have to start a backup in Week 4 against the New York Jets, barring any surprise of Williams playing. The Bears may have a bit of a quarterback controversy, but it's not with Williams.
Instead, it's with the backups. Who it is remains a question, but after Monday's game, I have a hard time finding a reason it shouldn't be Case Keenum.
The veteran quarterback was fantastic for the Bears in Monday's win, completing 24 of his 34 attempts for 247 yards, two touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. He had control of the offense and looked sharp throughout the game. But following the game, Johnson wasn't ready to commit to Keenum for the starting job next week if Williams can't play.
"We'll have a discussion as a coaching staff, and we'll see where we need to go from here, but I said it last week and I'll say it again: There was a reason why Tyson ended training camp as our No. 2 quarterback," Johnson said.
Now, that's in the moment for Johnson right after a tough win over a good team in the NFC. So it's sort of expected that he has that answer. He's also right in the fact that Tyson Bagent was the team's No. 2 quarterback for a reason. If he didn't suffer a concussion, Bagent would have been the starter here in Week 3.
Bagent also hasn't done anything wrong, either. The injury wasn't his fault, and he had just two series in the Week 2 loss to Minnesota, facing a good defense backed by Brian Flores.
Johnson also didn't want to commit to anything right away before going over the tape. Looking at this game, it's hard to see a scenario in which Bagent would be the starter come next week instead of Keenum. The veteran put in the work this week to get the start and showed that on the field Monday night. He showed that he can still play in this league despite being 38 years old.
It's something that Johnson and the coaching staff will talk about throughout the week before coming to a decision. But whoever is at quarterback on Sunday will have the task of beating a Jets team that is better than many projected they would be going into this season.
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(Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect, 247Sports)
(Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect, 247Sports)
(Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect, 247Sports)
(Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect, 247Sports)
(Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
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