Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson pulled out a classic trick play during his team’s win Monday Night.
The Bears delivered a beatdown to the Philadelphia Eagles, 27–7, on Monday Night Football, despite missing starting quarterback Caleb Williams. Backup QB Case Keenum filled in admirably, throwing 2 touchdown passes and rushing for a score.
Johnson said after the game that the “sucker sneak” was a trick play he borrowed from the playbook of 1990’s offensive mastermind Mike Martz. Martz used it with the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, when quarterback Kurt Warner scored a touchdown with it.
In the play, both guards pull to force the defensive tackles to either freeze or get upfield and blow up the run in the backfield. But if the quarterback sneaks it, the DTs will miss the tackle before he gets into the end zone, which is what happened Monday night.
Johnson said of the win: “I think it’s all about Case Keenum and what he was able to do here tonight. When the running game’s not going, as a play caller, being able to lean into the passing game and knowing that our guys are going to protect for him, and he’s going to get the ball out and go to the right guy in time, take care of the football, good decisions, 24 of 34, almost 250, two touchdowns, just played really efficient football. And [I] couldn’t be more proud of him for that.”
With Keenum’s first touchdown pass on 3rd and 2 from the Philadelphia 8-yard line, wide receiver Luther Burden III came in motion behind the offensive line. Keenum flicked a shovel pass to Burden, who cut upfield behind a pulling guard but was met immediately by the Eagles’ secondary. But the O-line pushed and shoved Burden into the end zone.
“That was good,” Johnson said of the play. “I thought we were just going to get the first down there and get on to our next play. And I thought our offensive line finishing around the ball, pushing the pile, our identity, that showed up a few times tonight as well.”
Keenum threw his second TD midway through the third quarter, hitting return specialist Kalif Raymond wide open over the middle, who then sprinted to the end zone.
Keenum also scored his first rushing touchdown since 2019 on Monday. Midway through the fourth quarter, on 3rd and goal from the 1-yard line, Keenum took the snap and dove into the end zone, squeezing through tackle attempts from defensive linemen Jordan Davis and Byron Young.
“Well, that’s a Mike Martz special right there,” Johnson said. “That’s the old ‘sucker sneak.’ I think that they were a little bit tight initially and then they stemmed out at the last second, which gave us the green light to get to that play. It’s an old but a good play right there, and we just felt like that was going to give us a chance to get in there at that point.”
Keenum’s accomplishments were especially notable because he is the polar opposite of Caleb Williams: Williams is a young former first overall pick with a penchant for extending plays and escaping pressure; Keenum, meanwhile, is 38 years old and has not been a long-term starter since 2019, and has never been known for his mobility. But Johnson was unfazed by the difference, and praised the offense for being equally unfazed.
“Well, I’ve got a little history with that of calling plays for someone not-so-mobile,” the coach said, jokingly referring to Detroit Lions QB Jared Goff, whom he coached when he was the Lions’ offensive coordinator.
“Now I don’t have a history with someone that’s not a number one pick though, so that was apparently a big deal. But Case came through. He played lights-out. It’s what I said before, the guys up front, it starts with them … they’re the engine that makes this go.
“I thought the pass [protection] was pretty good, and Case did a great job getting the ball out of his hand quickly, finding the right guy, giving a good runner’s ball on a lot of those, seeing the coverage. So it’s really a credit to him, but also the challenge really arises with the guys up front. They’re the ones that have to raise their level of play when you don’t have a Houdini back there, necessarily, making guys miss every single play.”
