Bears’ win in Philly sends message: ‘We’re for real’

PHILADELPHIA — The Chicago Bears are finally ready to start thinking about the postseason.

Friday’s 24-15 win over the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field went a long way toward legitimizing the run Chicago has experienced in its first 12 games under Ben Johnson. The Bears have won nine of their past 10 games and moved to the No. 2 seed in the NFC, the position previously held by the Eagles.

Like the Bears, the Eagles entered Week 13 in first place in their division and with an identical record. Philadelphia had ventured through the same one-score battles that have become synonymous with Chicago’s season and had one more win (7) than the Bears (6) in those tight contests.

That served as the backdrop for Chicago’s biggest test to date. The message sent after toppling a true contender in their conference in a prime-time window?

“[That] we’re for real,” running back D’Andre Swift said.

Weeks ago, as the Bears began compiling their current five-game winning streak, their longest stretch of victories since 2018, players and coaches weren’t ready to think about the playoffs. After a win of this magnitude, that attitude has shifted.

“We should be confident in ourselves,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “We shouldn’t shy away for anything like that. We’re on the roll right now, and we could just keep getting better. But that’s what we should be thinking [the playoffs]. I mean, we got a whole bunch of dogs in the locker room and things like that, and that’s the way we’re trending and we’re changing the culture. So yeah, that’s how we should think.”

That confidence extended to the postgame locker room. During Johnson’s weekly “Good, better, best” chant, the 38-year-old coach ripped off his shirt in celebration. The Wieners Circle, a Chicago-area hot dog restaurant, then tweeted that they will give out free hot dogs Tuesday like they did after Caleb Williams threw four touchdowns against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 3.

The Bears leaned on their rushing attack to set the tone against the Eagles. Swift and fellow running back Kyle Monangai were the catalysts behind Chicago’s second-best rushing output of the season (281 yards) and sparked long drives that controlled the pace of the game. The Bears had a near 19-minute advantage in time of possession Friday and gained 17 of their 28 first downs by running the ball compared to the Eagles’ 2.

Swift and Monangai each reached the end zone and found themselves in rarefied air. Friday marked the first time the Bears have had multiple 100-yard rushers in a game since Walter Payton (107) and Matt Suhey (102) accomplished that feat on Nov. 10, 1985. Monangai logged his fourth straight game with a rushing touchdown, becoming the third Bears rookie in the Super Bowl era with a four-game rushing touchdown streak, joining Jeremy Langford in 2015 and Payton in 1975.

“We knew they are an explosive offense, we’re an explosive offense,” Monangai said. “We knew each possession was important and we had to put points in the board with each one, and we wanted to do better on some of those drives where we went three-and-out. But we knew drives was going to be at a premium, so I had to make the most of each opportunity.”

The Bears went to Philadelphia with a league-high 24 takeaways and 16 interceptions. Against an offense that had turned the ball over only six times through 12 weeks, Chicago knew the battle it would face to add to those totals.

It had been more than a month since Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception (Oct. 9 vs. the New York Giants), his only one of the season entering Friday. Philadelphia’s famed tush push has long felt like an automatic conversion.

In the third quarter, the Bears put those streaks to the test. Safety Kevin Byard, who entered Friday tied for the league lead in interceptions, now stands alone with six after picking off a Hurts’ deep ball. Two possessions later, cornerback Nahshon Wright forced Hurts to fumble on a tush push with the Eagles 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 started using the play regularly in 2022. The other happened in Week 8 of the 2023 season against the Washington Commanders.

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

While Chicago’s defense was once again without its top four linebackers Friday, the secondary got a boost with the return of cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. Johnson exited Chicago’s Week 2 loss at Detroit after already 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, logged 34.

Gordon was the first draft pick by general manager Ryan Poles in 2022. After experiencing three straight losing seasons, the type of wins the nickel corner sees the Bears pulling off reinforces the team’s goal of playing its best football in December and January.

“I think you see by the way we end every game that we’re not finished,” Gordon said. “I think we’ve got future plans to be somewhere further in February, so that’s what we’re really shooting for.”