As someone who’s written a lot of articles and shared a lot of sports takes in my career, let me give you an invaluable piece of advice:
Sometimes, it helps to wait a bit. Because the reality is, you don’t know what will happen.
I know that concept gets lost in our “attention” economy, where everyone feels like they have to share every thought in their mind because, well, that’s just what people do today. But I find it quite useful as a journalist, especially as one who wants to tell you the truth
as opposed to one who just wants your clicks.
Now, if I were to share some of the texts I sent to family and friends (which I won’t), you’d know I wasn’t entirely surprised by the Bears beating the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football, even with Case Keenum, their third-string quarterback, in the fold. Funnily enough, I had a whole post ready for Friday about how I had a decent amount of confidence in Keenum playing better than expected ready to go before my actual full-time job drove it from my mind.
But I don’t mind that I didn’t send it. Because actually watching Monday’s game gives me a perspective I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Because, let me tell you, I was fully prepared to warn all Bears fans to make their peace with this season already and just prepare to flush it down the toilet. What’s another lost year, after all?
But Keenum played far better than I anticipated he would, and the Bears as a whole far better than I predicted. (Maybe that Ben Johnson guy isn’t too bad after all.)
Some of this might be a result of the Bears just knowing how to slow down an Eagles offense too reliant on its running game and too susceptible to droughts from a passing standpoint because their quarterback struggles to play from the pocket consistently.
However, I think the most basic thing in all this is simply that the Bears and Johnson, no matter the odds stacked against them, are tougher than you think.
Obviously, it was hard to see the Bears (on paper) winning a Monday Night Football game without star quarterback Caleb Williams, who—I don’t know if you heard—went down with a hamstring injury last week that could cost him the next month or so. Keenum, after all, is the third-string quarterback behind Tyson Bagent, who was in concussion protocol most of this week. Despite his experience as a starter who has won some big games, what could you realistically expect from him, right?
But here’s the thing about the Chicago Bears: the grit from last season wasn’t a fluke. You don’t win all those one-score games without some mental toughness. That doesn’t just go away when your starting quarterback goes out. (At least, not if you have good leadership.)
For all that talk about Johnson never having to start a backup QB in his career as an offensive coordinator or head coach, he sure looked like he had a good plan for Keenum to me. The veteran journeyman played like a man who knew what to expect and who didn’t intend to make any big mistakes on Monday, and his teammate benefited tremendously from that as Chicago’s surprising defensive performance continues.
This isn’t just about one football game, though.
After all, in a season with only 17 games in it, one game can have far more importance than you expect. Chicago being 2-1 on the season rather than 1-2 has already substantially boosted their odds of making the playoffs. If Chicago can simply break even through the next month or so without Williams, their odds feel even greater.
You sign backups like Keenum the same way you invest in insurance: you pay them in case you need them.
Don’t get carried away and think Chicago should keep a healthy Williams on the bench if Keenum’s playing well, of course. (That should be self-explanatory, but I know some of you can’t help yourselves.) If the Bears want any shot of winning the Super Bowl this year and beyond, Williams has to be under center.
But right now, the Bears just need to survive until Williams can take the field again. Step 1 of that mission is now accomplished.
