Bears crush Eagles: Chicago consolidates and aims for Playoffs

The Chicago Bears are Projected to the Postseason After Defeating the Eagles

The Chicago Bears are ready to focus on the postseason. Friday’s 24-15 victory over the current Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, at Lincoln Financial Field, consolidated the Bears’ good form in the first 12 games under the direction of Ben Johnson. The team has won nine of its last 10 games, rising to second place in the NFC, a position previously held by the Eagles. Like the Bears, the Eagles entered Week 13 leading their division with an identical record. Philadelphia had overcome the same close games that have characterized Chicago’s season and had one more win (7) than the Bears (6) in those close encounters. This scenario served as the backdrop for Chicago’s most important test to date. The message sent after defeating a true contender from their conference in prime time?

“We’re serious,” said running back D’Andre Swift.

D’Andre Swift

A few weeks ago, when the Bears began to accumulate their current five-game winning streak, the longest since 2018, the players and coaches weren’t ready to think about the playoffs. After a victory of this magnitude, that attitude has changed.

“We should have confidence in ourselves. We shouldn’t shy away from any of that. We’re on a roll right now and we could keep getting better. But that’s what we should be thinking about [the playoffs]. I mean, we have a lot of dogs in the locker room and stuff like that, and that’s the way we’re evolving and we’re changing the culture. So yeah, that’s how we should think,” commented safety Jaquan Brisker.

Jaquan Brisker

That confidence extended to the locker room after the game. During Johnson’s weekly “Good, Better, Best” chant, the 38-year-old coach took off his shirt in celebration. The Wieners Circle, a Chicago-area hot dog restaurant, tweeted that they will give away free hot dogs this Tuesday, as they did after Caleb Williams threw four touchdowns against the Cowboys in Week 3. The Bears leaned on their ground attack to set the pace against the Eagles. Swift and his fellow running back Kyle Monangai were the catalysts behind Chicago’s second-best rushing production of the season (281 yards) and fueled long drives that controlled the pace of the game. The Bears had a nearly 19-minute advantage in time of possession on Friday and gained 17 of their 28 first attempts running the ball compared to the Eagles’ 2. Swift and Monangai arrived in the scoring area and found themselves in an unusual environment. Friday was the first time the Bears had multiple 100-yard rushers in a game since Walter Payton (107) and Matt Suhey (102) achieved that feat on November 10, 1985. Monangai recorded his fourth consecutive game with a rushing touchdown, becoming the third Bears rookie in the Super Bowl era with a four-game streak with rushing touchdowns, joining Jeremy Langford in 2015 and Payton in 1975.

“We knew they are an explosive offense, we are an explosive offense,” Monangai said. “We knew every possession was important and we had to put points on the board with every one, and we wanted to do better on some of those series where we went three-and-out. But we knew the series were going to be top-notch, so I had to make the most of every opportunity.” The Bears traveled to Philadelphia with a league-leading 24 fumble recoveries and 16 interceptions. Against an offense that had only turned the ball over six times in 12 weeks, Chicago knew the battle they would face to increase those totals. More than a month had passed since Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception (October 9 against the Giants), the only one of the season before Friday. Philadelphia’s famous “tush push” has always seemed like an automatic conversion. In the third quarter, the Bears tested those streaks. Safety Kevin Byard, who entered Friday tied for the league lead in interceptions, is now alone with six after intercepting a long pass from Hurts. Two possessions later, cornerback Nahshon Wright forced Hurts to fumble on a “tush push” when the Eagles were threatening to score after Williams threw an interception. It was the second time Hurts has lost a fumble on the “tush push” since the Eagles began using the play regularly in 2022. The other occurred in Week 8 of the 2023 season against Washington.

“Personally, and the defense, we take it as a challenge,” Byard said. “I looked at the stats before. Jalen only threw one interception this season, so I took it as a challenge to try to get one. You can even watch the film of mine, I had to really go get it, and [Wright] made a crazy play to take the ball away and recover it on the ‘tush push’. We talk about that’s the reason we’re the best in the league at taking the ball away.”

Kevin Byard

While Chicago’s defense once again didn’t have its top four linebackers on Friday, the secondary received a boost with the return of cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. Johnson exited Chicago’s Week 2 loss in Detroit after dealing with a groin injury and required surgery to repair a core muscle in early September. In his first game back, Johnson played 32 of 51 defensive snaps, while Gordon, who has been limited to two games due to multiple soft tissue injuries, recorded 34. Gordon was general manager Ryan Poles’ first draft pick in 2022. After experiencing three consecutive losing seasons, the kind of wins the nickel cornerback sees the Bears achieving reinforces the team’s goal of playing their best football in December and January.

“I think you can see by the way we’re finishing each game that we’re not finished,” Gordon said. “I think we have future plans to be somewhere beyond in February, so that’s what we’re really looking for.”

Kyler Gordon