In almost any situation, if you’re on your third-string quarterback as a team during the season, you’re screwed. However, the Chicago Bears‘ situation is unique. Caleb Williams is down with a hamstring injury. He is unlikely to play on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. Most expected backup Tyson Bagent to get his first start since 2023, finally seeing an opportunity to show people how much he’s improved. Sadly, he appears to have suffered a concussion in the loss to Minnesota, likely leaving him out as well. That puts the offense squarely in the hands of third-stringer Case Keenum.

This is not your normal third QB. Keenum has been in the league for well over a decade, starting 66 games and serving as a dependable backup for several teams. His intelligence, experience, and strong arm serve as reasons he can still win you a football game in a pinch. One trait of great backups is knowing their job.

They aren’t required to go into the game and be Superman. The objective is simple: get the ball to the playmakers. Bernie Kosar was a great example of this in his later years. When knowledge of the offense is limited, or you haven’t taken many practice snaps, the smart thing to do is look for the guys you know will catch it.

Case Keenum has demonstrated this mentality for years.

Just go back to his most recent start in 2023 with the Houston Texans. The team was pursuing a playoff berth, but quarterback C.J. Stroud was injured. They needed a win over their division rival, the Tennessee Titans. Keenum kept it simple. Of the 36 passes he threw that day, 26 of them went to one of Noah Brown, Dalton Schultz, Devin Singletary, or Robert Woods. Noah Collins was out with an injury. Those four represented the most proven options available for Houston. They ultimately did enough to deliver a 19-16 victory in overtime.

If that doesn’t convince you, just go back and look at what he did when forced into the lineup with the Minnesota Vikings in 2017. He threw 481 passes after stepping in as the starter. No fewer than 276 of them went to Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, or Kyle Rudolph. That is 57.38% of all his passes. Case Keenum identifies the primary targets and gets them the ball. That means there likely won’t be any more spreading the ball around. Expect Colston Loveland, Rome Odunze, and Luther Burden to get most of the looks against Philadelphia on Monday night.

The best way to maximize him is on the ground.

He is very much a traditional backup quarterback in the sense that his effectiveness is often maximized by running the ball well. The numbers are pretty crazy. In his career, Keenum was 22-14 in games where his team ran for at least 100 yards. That dropped to an ugly 8-22 when they didn’t. In other words, he was rarely equipped to throw his team to victories.

The good news is the Bears are well-equipped to accommodate this. Head coach Ben Johnson has one of the best running games in the league. You can bet he’ll have big plans to pound the rock on Monday, hoping to ease the burden on Keenum. If the Bears can get it going, the quarterback should see plenty of opportunities on play action. From there, it will be on the other Bears’ weapons to win their matchups.

Caleb Williams went down on Sunday with what turned out to be a hamstring injury. Initially, it was feared that he’d possibly torn his Achilles or ACL based on how he went down without being touched. His emotional reaction on the turf and crying while being carted to the locker room received instant backlash once it became clear it was a grade 1 strain. Among those eager to call Williams a drama queen for his reaction were some former players.

Will Compton, a former linebacker who spent 9 seasons in the league, blasted the quarterback for getting carted off for a hamstring problem. That is unacceptable. Tough guys don’t allow it. Compton didn’t wait long for a response as former Bears guard Kyle Long fired back. As somebody whose own career was drastically shortened by injuries, the last thing Williams needs or deserves is to be lectured by somebody.

Compton wasn’t the only one trashing Caleb Williams.

Emmanuel Acho, another former linebacker who spent all of two seasons in the NFL, has become a prominent media voice for whatever reason. He, too, questioned Williams’ reaction to the injury. Taking a cart and crying on the way to the locker room is reserved for guys who know their season is over. Williams had no right to do all of those theatrics and then casually walk out of the stadium.

As with Compton, it didn’t take long for Acho to get a response. This time, it came from former Super Bowl champion running back Leonard Fournette and Pro Bowl wide receiver Jarvis Landry. They called Acho out for having no concept of what real athletes put their bodies through to prepare for those games. Telling someone how to cope with an injury is laughable. Acho’s comments are seen for what they are: engagement farming.

If all of that weren’t enough, Caleb Williams got an additional show of support from Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby. As somebody who hates all quarterbacks, he believes the criticism of Williams is silly. He speaks from experience. Crosby injured his hamstring before. The effect it can have on the body is unnerving. Things stop working as they should. You start wondering if your career is in jeopardy. It’s emotional stuff. Don’t begrudge somebody who loves the game for being afraid of losing what he loves.

Former benchwarmers getting smacked down by better players is a delight.

Always keep in mind which players are doing the talking. If you’re getting called out by the best in the game, that is a red flag. In this case, Williams was getting grief from two guys who host their own shows. It’s hard to call their comments genuine and not a blatant attempt to take advantage of the social media frenzy surrounding the quarterback’s injury. You know it’s bad when other current and former players, all of them significantly better than you, call you out for being hacks.

Not that Williams cares. He’s aware of the noise, but unlike some other people, he uses it to fuel his motivation to succeed. If anything, he is glad guys like Compton and Acho keep chirping. It only feeds the fire. It’s just nice to see that several players who have actual reputations worth respecting have his back.

The Chicago Bears already had to deal with the prospect of not having Caleb Williams on Monday night against the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles. Still, they felt confident that backup Tyson Bagent could step in and keep the offense on track long enough for him to return. While not the level of talent Williams is, Bagent has earned respect in the locker room for his intelligence, work ethic, and keen understanding of the position. His strong preseason performances indicated he had the ability to play well if called upon.

Sadly, it’s looking like the moment he’s waited years for might’ve been ripped away. Ian Rapoport dropped a bombshell on Tuesday. Bagent apparently suffered a concussion at some point during the game against Minnesota and is now in the team’s protocol. Most likely, it occurred on the last play, when he was slammed to the turf for a sack on 4th down. Unless the symptoms clear up quickly, the Bears are staring down the prospect of starting Case Keenum against the tough Eagles defense.

Tyson Bagent needs some good luck to overcome this setback.

NFL players must progress through a strict five-step process in the concussion protocol before they’re cleared to return. The good news is that Bagent has some fortunate circumstances on his side. This is his first documented concussion that he has suffered. Such a case means his brain is not susceptible to worse damage than somebody who’d dealt with multiple. There is also the schedule. Having that extra day before their game gives the quarterback a crucial extra 24 hours to recover. This is often crucial in the protocol evaluations.

What it will come down to is the symptoms. Doctors will be looking for signs of headaches, balance issues, or dizziness. If Tyson Bagent exhibits any of them going into the weekend, there is no chance they will let him play. In that scenario, third-string quarterback Case Keenum will get the nod to start. If the symptoms don’t manifest, it’s possible he could be cleared as early as Saturday. That would be the preferred outcome for everybody, but much depends on what the trainers recommend and how head coach Ben Johnson wants to handle it.

Keenum’s experience will impact the decision.

This isn’t your normal, garden-variety emergency option. This is a grizzled 38-year-old veteran who has been in the league for well over a decade. He has started 66 games in his career, going 30-36. The Vikings reached the NFC Championship with him in 2017. Keenum knows what he’s doing. The primary concern is that he hasn’t played since 2023. It is hard to know how his body will respond to seeing live regular season action for the first time in three years.

Chicago might be about to find out. Philadelphia’s defense is a tough opponent to deal with. They have one of the best pass defenses in the league under Vic Fangio. Asking Keenum to throw the ball a lot against that unit feels like a losing proposition. Then again, if the Bears can lean on their running game, it’s not an impossible obstacle to overcome. How Bagent progresses in the next 48 hours will prove crucial.

The Chicago Bears’ offense had a tough afternoon on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. Part of it was the Vikings playing good defense, but most of it was the Bears’ inability to get out of their own way. They ran 14 plays inside the red zone and came away with just 3 points. They had 6 penalties in Minnesota territory, a fumble at the goal line, and a dropped pass at the 5-yard line that probably would’ve scored had the receiver held on. Then Caleb Williams got hurt. It was a brutal series of events. That said, the game wasn’t without positive performances. Ask Darnell Wright.

Chicago’s newly paid right tackle was in top form on Sunday. He had the unenviable task of going against surging Vikings pass rusher Dallas Turner and only allowed 1 pressure all day. He was also the team’s highest-rated run blocker. That can make it easy to stop watching him. You just know he’ll get the job done.

This is a shame because most fans completely missed Wright delivering one of the greatest blocks in NFL history. It came midway through the 2nd quarter. Facing 2nd-and-8, Chicago faced one of Minnesota’s many blitzes. As he was coming out of his stance, Wright stumbled. It looked like Vikings edge rusher Kyle Van Noy had a clear line to the quarterback. Wright somehow uses his momentum from the stumble to spin himself around 270 degrees and land directly in Van Noy’s path, slowing him just long enough for Williams to get the pass off.

Somehow, the sideline view is even better. It gives you an incredible perspective of the insane agility and presence of mind Wright needed to pull it off.

Darnell Wright is somehow still underappreciated.

For the longest time, people have circled Detroit’s Penei Sewell as the class of the NFC North at right tackle. That has made it far too easy for Wright to be overlooked. Well, that perspective might be changing. Sewell had a brutal second week, putting up a clunker against the Bills in Buffalo. Wright has allowed just 3 total pressures on the quarterback in two weeks despite facing an array of good pass rushers. He’s also one of the best run-blocking tackles in all of football. There aren’t any holes in his game.

Credit must go where it is due. For the longest time, the Bears have been terrible with their evaluations of 1st round offensive tackles. They drafted Jimbo Covert in 1983, who went on to the Hall of Fame. The list of choices since then hasn’t quite matched that success.

Ryan Poles finally broke the streak.

It seems rather fitting that a former Bears offensive lineman was the one who finally got them back on track. What makes it even better is that lots of people questioned the decision. Coming out of Tennessee, experts saw Darnell Wright as more of a mid-to-late 1st round prospect. Great size and good athleticism, but he has too many flaws in his game. Poles didn’t care. He saw a rare talent with an outstanding work ethic. With some time, he could become something special. So the Bears took him 10th overall.

Since then, he has become the foundation of an offensive turnaround that has been decades in the making. Every success the Bears have enjoyed on that side of the ball since head coach Ben Johnson arrived can be traced to him. The only thing missing was a signature block to show everybody how great he is.

Well, he has that now.

The Chicago Bears‘ defense got off to a horrid start this season. Through the first two quarters of the year, they allowed 24 points in Carolina. It was hard to watch. However, things have shifted. In the six quarters they’ve played since then, they’ve only allowed 22 points. That is a significant improvement. Part of it is Dennis Allen and his staff doing a good job of making adjustments to get guys in a better position to make plays. However, much of the shoring up should be credited to the surprisingly rapid ascent of rookies Dillon Thieneman and Malik Muhammad.

For the second week in a row, the Bears’ two draft picks have been a big part of helping the defense step up when needed. Last week, Muhammad had a big interception of Bryce Young. This week, he added a sack to that list. His ability was never a question. It was about whether he could develop the consistency needed. That is certainly the case so far.

As for Thieneman? He leads the entire defense with 17 tackles and 2 passes defended. His ability to clean up his teammates’ mistakes, from good tackles to timely hits in coverage, should not be overlooked.

Dillon Thieneman being this good already is a big deal.

People forget the level of risk this team took in the spring when they basically allowed their entire safety room to depart in free agency. Kevin Byard left for New England. Jaquan Brisker left for Pittsburgh. C.J. Gardner-Johnson left for Buffalo. Overhauling an entire position group in one offseason is difficult. Still, it looked like the Bears made a strong effort. First, they signed standout Coby Bryant in free agency, fresh off his Super Bowl title with Seattle. Then they drafted Thieneman 25th overall, the first safety taken in the 1st round by the franchise in 36 years.

It looked like a strong pairing to work with. Then barely a week into training camp, Bryant injured his knee. He was forced to undergo surgery, facing a two-month recovery as a result. That left Dillon Thieneman in the unenviable spot of trying to carry the position as a rookie while the Bears scrambled to find a suitable replacement for Bryant. All things considered, he’s done a fantastic job. Just how much better might it get once Bryant returns in a few weeks?

Muhammad is easily the biggest surprise.

Remember, he was a 4th round pick. Expectations for his rookie year weren’t overly high. He’d serve as a rotational backup who might get a handful of snaps each week. Then the entire Kyler Gordon fiasco unfolded. Once it became clear the nickel cornerback would not be ready to start the season, the Bears had to search for other options. Even though Muhammad played most of his college career on the boundary, they decided he had the necessary skill set to move inside.

That assessment was right on the money. The rookie has taken to the position like gasoline to a fire. It’s been good enough so far that you have to at least ask the question. Do the Bears automatically have to re-insert Gordon when he does return? He hasn’t exactly been reliable over the past year and a half. Definitely a storyline to watch once he becomes eligible to return after the Jets game in two weeks.