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NFL Monday Night Football Picks & Predictions: Eagles vs. Bears

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Week 3 of the NFL season caps off with a game featuring a home team that’ll almost certainly be without its starting quarterback, as Caleb Williams was carted off in Week 2 with a hamstring injury. According to Courtney Cronin of ESPN, Bears head coach Ben Johnson said earlier this week he doesn’t expect Williams to practice, and on Wednesday, Case Keenum took reps with the first team. As for fellow Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent, he suffered a concussion while relieving Williams in Week 2. Bagent does have an extra day to clear the protocol, but in the modern-day NFL, a player is almost certain to miss at least one game after suffering a concussion. We could see Keenum under center for the first time since 2023, when he went 1-1 for the Houston Texans. With that in mind, let’s dive into the best NFL Monday Night Football picks for this matchup.

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    NFL Monday Night Football Picks & Predictions: Eagles vs. Bears

    (Odds Courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

    Philadelphia Eagles -4.5 (-115)

    Case Keenum hasn’t taken a regular-season snap since 2023. In his last start, he completed 11-of-17 passes (64.7%) for 62 yards and two interceptions in a 36-22 loss to the Cleveland Browns. He was eventually benched in favor of Davis Mills.

    Since 2020, Keenum has been dreadful against pressure. Across 45 dropbacks, he’s completed 13-of-32 passes (40.6%) for 154 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception. Now, in this game - again, his first since 2023 - he’ll face an Eagles defense that’s generated 25 pressures through two games, tied for ninth-most in the NFL.

    The Eagles are allowing 127 rushing yards per game, 24th in the league, so that could be an avenue for the Bears to milk the clock and control the pace, but it could also make them too one-dimensional. I cannot rely upon a Keenum-led offense.

    Jalen Hurts 220+ Passing Yards (-105)

    In Week 2, Jalen Hurts showed out as a passer, completing 70.3% of his passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns. His yards per attempt (7.1) and air yards per attempt (5.8) were quite low, but I think he could be in for another solid passing day against the Bears.

    Pending weather (Week 2 in Chicago was a downpour), Hurts will play a Bears defense that played a lot of man coverage against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2. This season, against man coverage, Hurts has completed 7-of-9 passes for 88 yards, averaging 9.8 yards per attempt.

    The Bears’ next most-used coverage was Cover 3. Against that coverage, Hurts has completed 8-of-11 passes for 56 yards, and a much lower 5.1 yards-per-attempt average, but still a high completion rate. He had 264 yards in Week 2, and while he fell short in Week 1, his completion rate was a low 56%, which shouldn’t happen against the coverages the Bears will likely throw at him.

    D’Andre Swift Anytime Touchdown Scorer (+110)

    If there’s one player to feel a bit more confident about on the Bears’ roster with Case Keenum under center, it’s D’Andre Swift. He scored three times in Week 1, and while he was held scoreless in Week 2 (the Bears didn’t score a touchdown), he still caught five passes for 54 yards.

    Swift has earned 63% of the running back carries and a respectable 12.3% target share. He’ll be on a team with a quarterback who’ll rely on him and against an Eagles defense that allowed a rushing score in Week 1 and north of 100 rushing yards per game to the position.

    Swift is in a good spot to score in Week 3.

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