‘Do We Not Acknowledge the Greatness of Ben Johnson?’ — Ex-NFL MVP Questions Why ‘Nobody’s Talking About’ Bears HC’s Masterclass vs. Eagles

The Chicago Bears beat the Philadelphia Eagles 27-7 on Monday Night Football with their third-string quarterback. Caleb Williams was out with a hamstring injury, and Case Keenum , making his first start since 2023, threw two touchdowns and added a rushing score as the Bears forced three Eagles turnovers.

It was a result very few saw coming. And for Cam Newton , the story was just as much about Ben Johnson as it was about Keenum.

Cam Newton Lavishes Praise On Ben Johnson's Tactics and Play Calling in Week 3 Win

Newton went in on the performance on his 4th & 1 with Cam Newton podcast, and his praise for the Bears head coach was hard to miss. Newton even mimicked Johnson's sideline demeanor in an exaggerated bit, smoking a cigar and holding a piece of paper to cover his mouth.

"Do we not acknowledge the greatness of Ben Johnson?" Newton said . "Listen to me when I tell you. I said to myself, Ben Johnson was in his… man, he was in his Goyard."

Newton noted the contrast between Johnson's composure and the sideline theatrics from Eagles counterpart Nick Sirianni.

"All you saw from Ben Johnson was him calling it. That's all he said all night. But he was in his bag, huh? He wasn't caring about all that stuff from Nick Sirianni. He was doing all that. I was reading the lips. I said, 'Boy, Nick Sirianni, boy, he got some…' Hey, man, he was talking to the referees, reckless, making threats across the field," Newton said.

He gave Keenum credit, too, but kept the focus on the scheme around him.

"Not to take anything away from Case Keenum, because he does deserve a lot of credit. But what is there to be said about the strong demonstration of the scheme, the preparation, and the play calling?" Newton said. "See why Case Keenum put on a master class for quarterback operations: identifying the Mike, minimizing any type of pre-snap insufficiencies and inabilities. The offense ran very smooth."

Through the early stretch of the 2026 season, the Chicago Bears are emerging as one of the NFL's most well-rounded teams. Chicago ranks eighth in PFN's NFL Offense Impact Score with a grade of 78.6 and ninth defensively with a grade of 78.8.

Newton also highlighted three things he felt the performance showed about Johnson's approach, which he described as the fundamentals that separate good teams from great ones.

"He did the dynamic three. Protected the football. Score when you have to. And then most of all, you got to bleed the clock," Newton said.

He pointed to fourth-quarter clock management as the key sequence of the game, arguing that such veteran tactics are increasingly uncommon.

"There was only one drive that he wishes he could have back. They went for it on fourth down. But they still played what they call the field position game. Those type of veteran tactics is what this game doesn't have a lot of," Newton said. "Protect your lead, protect the ball, you have to convert on third and fourth down, and then you got to bleed the clock, and you got to, most of all, finish the drive. Field goals is not finishing the drive."

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Newton also pointed to the running game and how Johnson used it to keep Philadelphia's offense off the field. D'Andre Swift was quiet in the first half but contributed alongside the other backs in a way that served the game plan.

"He said, 'Listen, we got to run the football. We got to keep Jalen, DeVonta, them off the field on that sideline.' Yeah. Cause that last drive, y'all done flushed the toilet with eight minutes. Ain't nobody talking about that. We have to control the clock," Newton said.

Keenum finished with two touchdown passes, connecting with Luther Burden III for eight yards in the first quarter and Kalif Raymond for 41 yards in the third.

The Bears improved to 2-1 with the win. They will host the New York Jets on Sunday, Oct. 4, for their Week 4 matchup.