Windy City Gridiron
That was a statement game.
A short week, on the road, down your entire linebacking corps. against the defending Superbowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, and the Chicago Bears breezed to a fairly convincing 25-14 victory in a game where they did not trail, and held the lead for over 45 game minutes after a 3-yard D’Andre Swift touchdown late in the first quarter put the Bears up 7-0.
It was their 9th win in 10 games, and 5th win in a row. This marks the first time since 2018 the Bears were winners of 9 of 10, and 5 in a row. (There’s beginning to be some eerie similarities to that season!)
All 4 scoring drives went 63-yards or longer, including a 12-play 87-yard drive that culminated near the beginning of the 4th quarter with a Kyle Monangai 4-yard touchdown to put the Bears up 17-9, proving to be the game winning touchdown.
The Bears pulled off the impressive with on the backs of their running backs, as both rookie Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift went for 100+ yards and a touchdown (a feat last accomplished by Walter Payton and Matt Suhey in 1985, and one that I may have predicted.) Before Friday, the Eagles had not allowed a 100 yard rusher all season, on Friday they allowed two. The Bears as a team they racked up 281 yards on the ground, the most the Eagles had given up at home in team history, and second most all time by the Eagles.
In fact the Bears ground game was so good that 177 of the 281 total yards came after contact, showcasing both Monangai’s highly touted contact balance, and Swift’s newly found penchant of it while continuing his tutelage under Bears running backs coach, Eric Bieniemy.
As for the passing game, it was an ugly stat line in ugly weather conditions. Caleb Williams would only complete 17 of 36 passes for 154 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception and a 56.9 Rating (80.4 TPR). Despite that lackluster stat line, Coach Johnson had nothing but praise for Caleb.
“He continues to get better each week. I couldn’t be more pleased with how he played last week. His process is really good how he approaches the week. I think he will continue to ascend whether the stats say so or not.” – Ben Johnson on Caleb Williams
One of the factors to some of these poor box scores may be an overlooked factor, a team that has seen the most air yards dropped by it’s receivers over the last 4 weeks.
But, back to the game. When the chips were down Williams made plays when needed, which included one of his most impressive throws this year given the circumstances. A cross-body ball on the rollout lofted perfectly to Cole Kmet to put the game away.
The Eagles would respond with a “too little, too late” touchdown. to push the final to 24-15.
As always, let’s dive into some metrics and play reviews.
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