The Chicago Bears were in a bad place in the first half of Saturday’s Wild Card game against the Green Bay Packers. They fell behind 21-3 at the break. Then, midway through the 3rd quarter, Caleb Williams squandered a priceless scoring opportunity with a crushing interception at the Packers’ 2-yard line. It was the kind of moment that would’ve broken the spirits of most teams. As Williams tried to gather himself on the sideline, backup quarterback Case Keenum greeted him at the bench.
Chicago had signed the longtime veteran to be a mentor to Williams, a role he has excelled at all season. He’s seen everything there is to see in this league, including large deficits in a playoff game. There were plenty of things he could’ve said to his young charge in that moment. Gentle criticism. Pure positivity. What Keenum went with was equal parts hilarious, insane, and incredibly poignant. It was a perfect encapsulation of Williams as a quarterback and the 2025 Bears as a team.
Case Keenum has a glorious future as a motivational speaker.
Those words clearly had an effect. On the four drives following that interception, the Bears went field goal, touchdown, touchdown, touchdown. Williams threw for the final two scores to put his team ahead for good. Chicago scored 25 in the 4th quarter, which was only the third time in NFL history that had happened. It was the single greatest comeback in franchise history, surpassing the iconic Monday Night Miracle in Arizona. While it may not have started with Keenum’s words, you can’t dispute the timing.
Makes it more interesting. That is basically how the Bears have treated almost every game this season. The first three quarters are boring, so like a game of Madden, they simulate to the 4th quarter and only then start being serious. Case Keenum couldn’t have summed it all up better if he tried. It was a spur-of-the-moment comment that should go into Bears’ lore forever. It will be hard to top that if they somehow beat the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
