Bears silence doubters with physical win over Eagles

Eric Hartline - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 3 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA - Whatever narratives were used to describe the Chicago Bears (9-3) heading into Friday's game against the Philadelphia Eagles (8-4), those narratives went out the window. Not only is this not the same old Chicago Bears, but this team is for real as they have officially arrived in the 2025 NFL season.

Entering their game against the defending Super Bowl Champions at Lincoln Financial Field, riding a four-game winning streak, it was the Bears looking to silence their doubters with their first signature win in the Ben Johnson era. Not only did they get that signature win, but, from all accounts, they handled the Eagles in every facet of the game, as the Bears took down the Eagles on the road for the massive 24-15 win.

Despite another game with Caleb Williams completing less than 50% of his passes and only 156 yards through the air, it was the Bears' ground attack that set the tone in this one as they gashed the Eagles for 281 yards on the ground. That included 130 yards from Kyle Monangai and 125 more from D'Andre Swift, as this was the first time since 1985 that the Bears had two rushers top 100 yards in the same game.

After turning the ball over on downs on their first possession, the Bears' defense forced a quick punt by the Eagles, which set the tone for what was to come in this one. Chicago opened with a run‑heavy script, leaning on Swift and Monangai to move the chains and chew clock, with Williams mixing in short, safe throws. The Bears finished the drive by punching in a rushing touchdown from Swift to go up 7–0, immediately establishing that they could move the Eagles’ front.

What stood out the most about that entire drive was not only that those were the only points in the first quarter, but that the Bears led this game from start to finish, which alone was a shock in itself. It was also the first of three double-digit drives in the game as the Eagles' defense was searching for answers.

The Eagles finally generated a spark with Jalen Hurts hitting DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown on intermediate routes, but the drive stalled in plus territory as Jake Elliott hit a field goal to cut it to 7–3. Chicago answered with a long, methodical march: a series of Monangai and Swift runs, a Williams scramble on third down, and quick passes to Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and Olamide Zaccheaus pushed the ball inside the red zone. The Eagles stiffened near the goal line, breaking up three straight passes, and Cairo Santos drilled a short field goal to make it 10–3 Bears, which is where things stood at the half.

As the second half got underway, it was the defenses that continued to set the tone, as both teams forced punts on their first two possessions. Then came the Bears doing what they do best as Kevin Byard picked off Hurts for his NFL-best sixth interception of the season, killing another Eagles drive. Unfortunately for the Bears, they were unable to do anything with that drive, as the Eagles forced a punt, setting up their first touchdown of the day.

Aided by a roughing the passer penalty to move the ball near midfield, it was Hurts making things happen with his leg for a 23-yard gain, only to follow that up with a long touchdown pass to AJ Brown to make this a 10-9 game. Elliott went on to miss the potential game-tying extra point as that was as close as the Eagles would get.

Things only got worse from there for the Bears as a nice kickoff return from Josh Blackwell went to waste as Williams was intercepted a few plays later, setting the Eagles up deep in their own territory. From there, it was the Bears' defense coming through once again as they not only stuffed the Eagles on a third-and-short tush push, but Nahshon Wright forced a fumble on the play, leading to another costly Eagles turnover.

This time, it was the Bears capitalizing on that turnover as a pair of first-down runs from Monangai, including a 32-yarder, moved the ball near midfield. Facing a fourth and five near midfield, it was Coleston Loveland coming down with a clutch catch to keep the drive moving as Monangai finished things off from there shortly after to make this a 17-9 game.

Down eight, Philadelphia answered with urgency as Hurts continued to feed Brown, but Chicago’s pass rush forced hurried throws, and the drive stalled short of the red zone, leading to a punt instead of points. That failure to match the touchdown shifted the pressure squarely onto the Eagles’ defense, which had already been worn down by the run.

Chicago delivered the knockout blow on the next possession after more successful runs set up play‑action, Williams hit Cole Kmet up the seam for a 28‑yard touchdown, stretching the margin to 24–9, putting the Eagles behind by their largest margin of the season. Needing offense in a hurry, the Eagles put together one of their better drives in the game as Hurts was forced to air it out more than he normally does.

The result was a second touchdown pass to Brown as the Eagles pulled within 24-15. Hurts finished 19-34 for 230 yards and two scores, 132 of which went to Brown on his 10 receptions. That was as close as the Eagles would get, as Elliott missed a field goal late in the game that would have pulled the Eagles within six, as the Bears run their winning streak to five games with an impressive 24-15 road win.