The Eagles Got Punched in the Mouth on Monday Night, and They Have No One to Blame but Themselves

Let me tell you who Case Keenum is, for the folks who spent Monday night pretending they didn’t watch the whole thing. He is a 38-year-old journeyman third-string quarterback who hadn’t started a game in almost three years. He walked into Soldier Field in place of an injured Caleb Williams, and he carved up the Philadelphia Eagles for 247 yards, two touchdown passes and a rushing score in a 27-7 beatdown that wasn’t as close as the score.

I grew up in Camden watching this franchise, and I’ve seen the Birds lose plenty of ways. I’ve seen them lose heartbreakers. I’ve seen them get out-talented. What I saw Monday was worse than either of those, because it was self-inflicted. This was a 2-0 team that walked into Chicago believing the standings were a substitute for the effort, and a backup quarterback made them pay for it in front of a national audience.

One touchdown, then nothing

The offense was the story, and not the good kind. There was one flicker — Jalen Hurts using every tenth of a second in the first half to churn his way into the end zone, the kind of grimy short-yardage touchdown that has defined his best moments here. And then nothing. That touchdown turned out to be the death rattle. The Eagles managed just one first down across four drives in the third quarter and only three first downs in the entire second half. Three. Against the Bears.

Hurts was outplayed by Keenum, and there’s no soft way to write that sentence. The interception to T.J. Edwards stung the most — a former Eagle, a guy who used to wear the green, reading Hurts on a fourth-and-5 that Nick Sirianni chose to leave the offense on the field for. You want to talk about a sequence that captures a bad night? Coach gambles, quarterback throws it to the other team, ex-Eagle makes the play. That’s the whole game in one snap.

And Hurts had to leave briefly to get checked for a concussion after taking an illegal shot out of bounds. He came back. The offense never did.

No panic, and no excuses

Here’s what I need South Jersey to understand before the panic sets in, because I can already feel it building from Camden to Cherry Hill. It’s Week 3. The Eagles are 2-1. One bad Monday night does not erase a season, and this region has watched too many teams start slow and finish strong to hit the eject button on the last Tuesday in September. I’m not writing an obituary.

But I’m also not going to insult you by pretending this was a fluke. You don’t get shut out for a half by a 38-year-old third-stringer by accident. The offensive line got pushed around. The playcalling got predictable when it needed to get creative. And the defense, which should have feasted on a backup quarterback making his first start in almost three years, instead let Keenum look comfortable all night. That’s a coaching problem, a scheme problem and an attitude problem all wearing the same jersey.

You don’t get shut out for a half by a 38-year-old third-stringer by accident.Samuel Banks

The good news about getting embarrassed in Week 3 is that there’s a whole season to answer for it. The bad news is that the answer had better come fast, because nobody in this league feels sorry for the Eagles, and nobody should. You want respect in the NFC, you go earn it back. You don’t get it handed to you because you were 2-0 two weeks ago.

South Jersey lives and dies with this team, and Monday was a small death. Now we find out what they’re made of. The tape doesn’t lie, and neither does the standings page. The Birds have work to do, and the clock is already running.

Based on reporting from The Philadelphia Inquirer, ESPN, Yahoo Sports, PHLY Sports and Philadelphia Eagles.com.