Bears 24, Eagles 15: Three observations in Chicago’s NFL Week 13 win

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PHILADELPHIA — The Bears were riding high at 8-3 entering this week, but that strong overall record came with some caveats. Questions were raised about the quality of competition in the early going, with just a few wins over teams with winning records.

That’s not the Bears’ fault. They don’t control the schedule, and they did a good job taking care of business against the teams they did play.

Their status as real NFC contenders could be cemented by their performance Friday against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

This was a tough game played on a short week, against a super-talented team in a period of sustained success. The Eagles are standard bearers in the conference, even though they aren’t as efficient or explosive as in years past.

The Bears proved they could compete with the Eagles. They also showed they could finish them off, winning 24-15.

Yep, You read that right. The Bears are 9-3, with wins in five consecutive games and nine of their last 10. Right now, they’re the No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC, and the top spot and a first-round playoff bye isn’t out of the question.

Let’s look at three things we learned from the NFL Week 13 game at Lincoln Financial Field:

Bears own the fourth quarter

Nahshon Wright shifted momentum Chicago’s way while defending a Tush Push, when the cornerback stripped Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and recovered the fumble.

The offense capitalized on the turnover and created their largest lead of the game early in the fourth, when the run game asserted itself yet again (more on the ground game below) on a 12-play, 87-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock.

Kyle Monangai capped it with a three-yard run that, combined with the extra point, gave Chicago a 17-9 lead.

Chicago expended on their next drive, with another run-first enterprise mixed with some high-percentage passes. Then Caleb Williams floated  his best pass of the day to Cole Kmet for a 28-yard touchdown.

But, as is tradition, the Bears couldn’t run away with this one. The Eagles scored on an A.J. Brown touchdown catch with roughly three minutes remaining, but the two-point conversion failed to maintain Chicago’s two score lead.

The Bears were able to grind out a first down that left the Eagles without timeouts. After that, it was a matter a running the ball while taking care of it and grinding out the clock. They weren’t able to finish the game on offense, however, giving the Eagles late life but little pulse. A field-goal attempt to cut it to a one-score deficit failed, which secured victory for the Bears.

Bears fail to take firm control

Head coach Ben Johnson’s team was moving the ball efficiently. They were getting off the field on third down. They were doing things required of teams to take firm control of a football game.

A few big misses kept the Eagles in this one. The Bears went for it on fourth down on their opening possession deep in Eagles territory, only to have the conversion overturned on replay.

The Bears settled for a 30-yard field goal after Caleb Williams missed a wide-open Rome Odunze in the end zone.

Then, in Kevin Byard III made the incredible interception in the third quarter you’ll see below.

Then the offense went three-and-out and punted. Then the Eagles cut the score to one point with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown.

That left yet another game that shouldn’t been close hanging in the balance entering the fourth quarter.

Bears dominate on the ground

The Bears run game couldn’t be stopped, especially early in this contest. They were generating explosive runs with D’Andre Swift – he averaged 8.8 yards per carry in the first half – and some tough interior power from Kyle Monangai.

They were able to sustain long drives, though scoring efficiency wasn’t high, the Bears were assertive on the ground and built a huge time-of-possession advantage. The offensive front was dominant, especially on the interior, with Ben Johnson dialing up creative run plays with motion and misdirection that the Eagles had a tough time defending.

The run game was at its best on an 11-play, 78-yard touchdown drive that ended with Swift’s scoring run. On that drive, the Bears 62 yards on the ground, often in big chunks.

The passing game wasn’t on that level, with wind playing a major factor in its lack of success. That forced some conversative decisions both teams.

The Bears moved the ball consistently despite that fact but didn’t score enough carrying a 10-3 lead into the third quarter that could’ve been much larger and had a few more plays gone their way.

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