Philadelphia didn’t play its best football Monday night. But this wasn’t just about what the Eagles failed to do. Chicago made the plays, controlled the game and earned the win.
The Philadelphia Eagles walked into Chicago undefeated.
They walked out 2–1.
And sometimes the explanation really is that simple: the other team played better.
The Chicago Bears handed Philadelphia its first loss of the season Monday night, beating the Eagles 27–7 at Soldier Field. Chicago finished with 375 total yards to Philadelphia’s 248, possessed the ball for nearly 37 minutes and won the turnover battle 3–0.
The Eagles certainly gave themselves problems. Ten penalties for 61 yards didn’t help. Neither did going 2-for-9 on third down or turning the football over three times.
But reducing this game to Philadelphia simply playing badly wouldn’t give Chicago enough credit.
The Bears came ready to play.
QB3 Gave Philly the Business
Yeah. We have to talk about Case Keenum. 😑
Chicago entered Monday without injured starter Caleb Williams. Tyson Bagent had only cleared concussion protocol Sunday after missing most of the practice week, leaving the Bears to prepare veteran third-string quarterback Case Keenum to start.
Then Keenum went out there and played like he had somewhere to be.
He completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, finishing with a 110.8 passer rating. He also punched in a one-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was Keenum’s first regular-season NFL action since 2023.
Philadelphia never sacked him.
Keenum didn’t need to play superhero football. He was efficient, protected the ball and kept Chicago moving.
And apparently that was more than enough.
Chicago Controlled the Night
The Bears scored first and never trailed.
Luther Burden III caught an eight-yard touchdown on Chicago’s opening possession. Cairo Santos added a field goal in the second quarter before Jalen Hurts’ one-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 10–7 just before halftime.
That was as close as Philadelphia would get.
Chicago added 17 unanswered points after halftime, including a 41-yard touchdown from Keenum to Kalif Raymond and Keenum’s fourth-quarter sneak. Meanwhile, the Bears defense allowed Philadelphia only 62 total yards in the second half.
The Eagles weren’t completely incapable of moving the football. Saquon Barkley ran for 82 yards on 15 carries, including 73 yards before halftime, and DeVonta Smith caught six passes for 65 yards. But promising moments never became sustained offense.
Chicago kept making enough plays to stop them.
Three Turnovers. Zero Takeaways.
That’ll do it.
Hurts finished 16-of-25 for 153 yards with an interception. Philadelphia also lost a fumble, and backup Andy Dalton threw another interception during his brief appearance after Hurts was sent for a concussion evaluation.
Hurts was ultimately cleared to return.
Dalton’s appearance lasted exactly long enough to make Eagles fans angry.
His lone pass was intercepted in the end zone by rookie safety Dillon Thieneman. Dalton acknowledged afterward that he didn’t see the safety and said he couldn’t put the team in that situation.
Chicago, meanwhile?
Zero turnovers.
Philadelphia’s defense didn’t force one and didn’t record a sack.
That’s a difficult formula to overcome against anybody.
Oh Yeah… Ertz Came Back
After a week of anticipation, Zach Ertz officially returned to an Eagles uniform Monday night.
If you blinked, you might’ve missed him.
Ertz, elevated from the practice squad before the game, finished with one catch for nine yards.
Welcome home, sir. 😂 We’ll try this again next week.
Give Chicago Its Credit
There will be plenty for Philadelphia to clean up.
The penalties have to come down. The turnovers have to stop. The offense has to sustain drives. And eventually, the defense has to start taking the football away.
But every Eagles loss doesn’t have to become a crisis.
Sometimes another football team shows up and beats you.
Chicago possessed the ball longer, protected it better, converted its opportunities and got a hell of a night from a quarterback who wasn’t even supposed to be the Bears’ starter when the season began.
The Eagles didn’t just lose this game.
The Bears won it.
Philadelphia is 2–1.
So is Chicago.
And now we move the hell on.
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