Good morning, Bears fans!

Over the summer, I created an interactive quiz asking readers to name all 45 starting quarterbacks since Super Bowl XX.

I didn’t think I’d need to update it anytime soon, but I have no idea why. These are the Bears we’re talking about, after all.

— Kevin Kaduk

Tyson Bagent in concussion protocol Rap Sheet dropped unexpected news on Tuesday afternoon. Which means Case Keenum becomes QB46 on my quiz if Bagent or Caleb Williams can’t go against the Eagles on Monday. The 38-year-old’s last NFL start came for the Texans in a loss to the Browns on Christmas Eve 2023.

Caleb’s timeline still unclear No major updates on that front. FWIW, Rap went on Pat McAfee and said he couldn’t see Williams playing this week or next. If you’re of the mind that insiders never say anything out of turn, that might be worth something.

Bears bring back Scott Daly The Beau Gardner era was short-lived. The rookie long-snapper’s issues on Sunday forced the Bears to sign Daly off the Saints’ practice squad and waive Gardner. Daly was with the Bears the last two seasons and no one’s going to begrudge him the biggest “I told you so” of all time.

Nick McCloud is back, too The CB was signed to the practice squad with Tyrique Stevenson also suffering a hammy on Sunday.

Eagles sign TE Zach Ertz, DB Kenny Moore II Ertz the franchise legend is back with Dallas Goedert out with an MCL sprain; Moore shores up a secondary that’s been dealing with injuries.

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“Is your Ben Johnson honeymoon over?”

That was the question posed on a social media post from The Score on Tuesday and I have to admit I didn’t expect to see it.

At least not this quickly.

In my mind, the “honeymoon over?” question comes after an extended slump, not the first loss of a season highlighted by torrential rains and a handful of things somehow all going wrong at the same time.

That’s not to say Ben shouldn’t wear any of it. Xs and Os specialist Bobby Peters tweeted out six specific shortcomings in Johnson’s ineffective plan to counter Brian Flores’ defense. Peters called it a “burn the tape” kind of game.

But was it a game that should end with everyone headed to the exits on the Johnson era? C’mon.

Sunday’s loss and the reaction afterward were reminders that Johnson and the Bears have unlocked the next level of expectations. If 2025 was about being delighted at all the surprise extras (division title, playoff win), 2026 and every year after will be about the assumption that Johnson can line up and do it again and again.

We’re already finding out that it won’t be easy. No one had Caleb Williams going down this early and they sure didn’t have Case Keenum possibly starting a game for his first regular season snaps since 2023.

But that’s life in the NFL and the best coaches find a way through.

We know that Johnson already has experience dealing with doubts after Week 2. Last season’s 52-21 loss to the Lions at the same point had plenty of fans looking at each other and wondering if a mistake had been made.

Johnson responded with a game plan that buried the Cowboys in Week 3 and helped reset the season to what it became.

Now another big NFC East team comes to town and the opportunity is similar. Johnson already outfoxed Nick Sirianni and Vic Fangio in Philadelphia last Black Friday, but it’ll take everything in his repertoire to earn a win on Monday Night Football.

The entire NFL will be watching and it became clear on Tuesday that there are plenty of people hoping the confident Johnson continues being cut down to size.

"The Bears are entering into this world where it's like Ben Johnson is constantly out over his skis and they have come through," an anonymous NFL executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando earlier this week. "Well, now, guess what? They got smacked in the face and scored three points. What does that mean?"

I’m guessing it means Johnson isn’t getting any sleep this week.

But little beyond that.

• Steve Greenberg points out the Bears still dominated the Eagles last year despite Caleb’s worst game. (Sun-Times)

• Lou Canellis called in a hamstring expert to explain what might’ve happened to Caleb. (NBC Chicago)

• Adam Hoge put together a “much longer than you need” video on the Bears’ long snapping woes. (Twitter)

• Dan Pompei’s 2025 look at why Case Keenum is still playing football instead of enjoying retirement. (The Athletic)