Two weeks ago, most NFL fans didn't know that Case Keenum was on an NFL roster. The average response would have been closer to "Isn't he the guy who played for the Vikings way back when?"
At 38, that guy just led a beat-up Chicago Bears team to a dominant victory over one of the best teams in the NFC. After the win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Keenum didn't hesitate to heap praise on his head coach, Ben Johnson.
Keenum said, "You want to run through a brick wall for the man. If I get a chance to have that guy in my ear, golly man, he's gonna go down as probably the best play caller, play designer, coach, all of the above when it's all said and done."
Potentially a future coach himself, Keenum's words shouldn't be taken lightly. Projecting Johnson to become the greatest coach of all time is bold, but based on what Bears fans have seen from him so far, it's not as far-fetched as it may seem.
Ben Johnson proved he's destined for greatness in Bears' win over Eagles
Any coach can win a game with a talent advantage. An offensive coordinator can face no truer test than a game in primetime without his starting quarterback. Johnson took the challenge to a different level, playing against a Super Bowl contender with a quarterback who hadn't thrown a regular-season pass since 2023.
The result was a 27-7 masterclass in which the Bears controlled the game from start to finish. Keenum looked like a starting-caliber QB, dicing up Vic Fangio's Eagles defense. Johnson's offense ranked in the top ten in the NFL in both EPA per pass and success rate for the week. It was the best performance that Bears fans could have hoped for.
At this point, it should have been expected. Johnson has been getting the most out of his offensive players since his days with the Detroit Lions. The head coach now has a diminished Bears team off to a 2-1 start, firmly on the road to another playoff appearance.
After 22 games at the helm, is it premature to say that Johnson is destined to be one of the greats? Maybe, but he has already given Bears fans more to believe in than they had for the last two decades. It's hard to picture the next era of the NFL not being heavily influenced by what his Bears can accomplish.
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The fact that we're still only experiencing the beginning of Johnson's impact in Chicago has to be thrilling for Bears fans.
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