Case Keenum Went 24-for-34 on Monday Night and I’m Still Processing It

Case Keenum during a 2019 preseason game with Washington. Photo: Joe Glorioso / All-Pro Reels, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Picture someone telling you this over coffee: “Case Keenum went 24 of 34 for 247 yards and two touchdowns, and the Bears beat the Eagles 27-7.”

You would assume they were reading an old box score from 2017.

Nope. Monday night, Soldier Field, 2026. Keenum is 38 years old, he’s Chicago’s third-string quarterback, and before this week his last NFL start came for Houston in December 2023. The Eagles walked in unbeaten. They walked out with a 20-point loss and three turnovers, including a late Jalen Hurts pass thrown straight to linebacker T.J. Edwards, who appeared to know the play before the Eagles did. Keenum also punched in a quarterback sneak, which makes him the second player 38 or older to throw two touchdowns and run for another in a prime-time game. The other one is Tom Brady. Normal company.

Plenty of the credit belongs to Ben Johnson, whose offenses keep looking great regardless of who’s taking the snap. Keenum said afterward that Johnson was “cooking,” and nobody who watched is going to argue. Still: 24 of 34, 247 yards, two touchdowns. That is not a stat line you expect to see out of Case Keenum.

And he wasn’t even the only backup who had a weekend.

The Backups and the Old Guys

In Landover, Marcus Mariota threw three touchdown passes filling in for Jayden Daniels, and Washington beat Seattle 33-31. The Seahawks had won 12 straight, a franchise record that ran through last season’s Super Bowl, and they closed as roughly an eight-point favorite. Mariota played well, a Commanders team that started 0-2 finally got a win, and that’s good for them. They needed it.

In New Jersey, the Giants beat the Titans 12-7 with Jameis Winston as their starting quarterback. Winston went 14 of 22 for 118 yards, the offense never found the end zone, and all 12 points came off field goals in a nor’easter. Afterward, Winston explained the score was a tribute to injured starter Jaxson Dart, who wears No. 6. (His math: six times two.) The Giants are 2-1.

Cleveland beat Carolina 21-18, and this was not a game the Browns were supposed to win. Deshaun Watson looked okay, which for Cleveland is its own small victory. After a red-zone interception got wiped out by a roughing-the-passer flag, Watson hit the go-ahead touchdown three plays later. Getting the win and a functional quarterback on the same afternoon counts as a good Sunday in that building.

Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati 30-27 because a little of the old Aaron Rodgers magic is still in there. He threw three touchdown passes, and the Bengals helped with a roughing-the-kicker penalty and a muffed punt before Joe Burrow got strip-sacked on the final play.

Then there’s Las Vegas. Don’t look now, but the Raiders are 3-0 for the first time since 2021, and Kirk Cousins has that offense moving. He went 22 of 33 for 248 yards and three touchdowns with no picks, and the Raiders came back from 11 down in the second half at the Superdome. For context, Las Vegas won three games in all of 2025. And the Saints are a better team than 1-2 says. Tyler Shough has been a great quarterback this year (four touchdown passes Sunday), but New Orleans turned it over four times in the fourth quarter and that was that.

Ugly Counts

Buffalo turned the ball over five times against the Chargers and won anyway, 24-16. James Cook fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, Josh Allen threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, and the Bills still went to 3-0. Allen summed it up by saying there were “a lot of smoke detectors going off.” Wasn’t a pretty game. Bills still win. The last time Buffalo won a game with five or more turnovers was 1997.

Which brings us to the Chargers, who received five turnovers as a gift and scored 16 points. Only two of their five drives after a takeaway ended in points. The Chargers keep finding ways to lose, and they’re 0-3 because they’re very, very good at it.

Detroit squeaked one out against the Jets, 31-24, with Jahmyr Gibbs catching the go-ahead touchdown after somehow being left wide open. Gibbs also moved into second on the Lions’ all-time touchdown list, behind only Barry Sanders.

Indianapolis got off the mat and beat Houston 19-17. Daniel Jones, back from a torn Achilles, got strip-sacked twice and kept throwing anyway, then drove the Colts into range for Spencer Shrader’s game-winning field goal.

Minnesota handled Tampa Bay 23-16 and is 3-0. The offense sputtered after Justin Jefferson left early, and it didn’t matter much, because Brian Flores keeps dialing up blitz, blitz, blitz, and it keeps working. (Tampa Bay is 0-3, and Baker Mayfield hurt his thumb on the game-sealing interception.)

Arizona lost 36-30 to San Francisco, but the Cardinals came back a little late, drawing within two at one point before the 49ers pulled away. A small sign of life, and I’ll take small signs of life in September.

The Teams That Look Real

Jacksonville destroyed New England 35-6, and the Jaguars look super dangerous. Trevor Lawrence was sharp in the face of the rush, the offense is for real, and at 2-1 they’re driving the AFC South. On the other sideline, Drake Maye has the yips right now. Three turnovers against Jacksonville, including a red-zone throw into a blanketed receiver that Travis Hunter picked off. It is not looking good for Drake Maye.

Atlanta absolutely destroyed Green Bay 35-14 at Lambeau. Michael Penix Jr. made his first start of the year, threw an early pick, and then the Falcons scored 27 straight points. They outgained the Packers 488 to 348, and Green Bay didn’t score again until garbage time.

Kansas City handled business against Miami, 24-10. Patrick Mahomes started 11 for 11, Travis Kelce caught a touchdown, and the Chiefs look really good. That sentence has been true for about eight years, and it’s still annoying for everyone else.

Baltimore beat Dallas 34-31 in Rio, and both offenses looked good. The Ravens defense stepped up when it had to, holding the Cowboys to a field goal in the red zone late, before Lamar Jackson hit Zay Flowers and Tyler Loop drilled a 56-yarder to win it in regulation. I think the storyline for both of these teams all season is going to be whether the defense can do enough. The offenses will be fine.

And Denver beat the Rams 30-26 after trailing 16-0 at halftime. The Broncos scored 30 in the second half, Talanoa Hufanga picked off Matthew Stafford twice (one for a pick-six, one on the final play), and the Rams fell to 1-2. The Rams are struggling because their defense can’t do enough to give them wins. Davante Adams roasted Pat Surtain early, then kind of disappeared in the second half while Surtain shadowed him, and the last pass of the night went his way and ended up in a Bronco’s hands.

The Bears haven’t said yet whether Keenum starts again. I’d like to formally request that he does, if only so I get to type 24-of-34 one more time.