Chicago Bears rampage against reeling Eagles on Black Friday for fifth straight time | NFL
Kyle Monangai ran for 130 yards and a touchdown, D’Andre Swift ran for 125 yards and a score, and the Chicago Bears finished with 281 rushing yards to win their fifth straight game, 24-15 over the reeling Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night.
Led by rookie coach Ben Johnson, the surprising Bears (9-3) are alone in first place in the NFC North heading into the Dec. 7 showdown at Green Bay.
Last season, the Bears’ Thanksgiving loss at Detroit led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus and was the sixth straight in a 10-game losing streak. A year later, the Bears bullied Philadelphia’s defensive line to a relatively easy victory at the home of the Super Bowl champions.
The Eagles (8-4) seemingly wrapped up the NFC East two weeks ago, only to suffer back-to-back losses that make them look little like a Super Bowl contender. Perhaps still reeling from turning a 21-0 lead in Dallas on Sunday into a 24-21 loss, the Eagles offense showed few signs of coming out of its funk. Weary Philly fans spent the game booing and calling for the team to fire offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
The Eagles’ season took such a turn that even the beloved push doomed them in this one.
With the Eagles leading 10-9 late in the third quarter, Jalen Hurts fumbled on the drive deep into Chicago territory and the Bears recovered.
The Bears – who have a knack for winning games by one score – made turnover the driving force of the day. Monangai had a 31-yard run on the first play and Caleb Williams — who was 17 of 36 for 154 yards and a touchdown — completed a seven-yard pass to Colston Loveland on fourth down that extended the drive.
Monangai ran for a four-yard TD that made the score 17-9 early in the fourth, and Williams added the insurance score with a 28-yard TD pass to Cole Kmet for a 24-9 lead.
Fans chanting “Fire Kevin!” ” has started to trickle towards the exits – and the Eagles will face even more questions about the sorry state of their offense.
The bears don’t care. Even with three linebackers injured, Chicago knocked the Eagles out of the jump.
Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns to disgruntled receiver AJ Brown, who had 10 catches for 132 yards. Saquon Barkley couldn’t get free against one of the NFL’s worst run defenses and finished with 56 rushing yards.
The Eagles ran just 17 plays and had two first downs (with 83 total yards and 26 rushing) in the first half. The Bears totaled 142 rushing yards in the half.
Swift, who became the first running back to top 100 yards against the Eagles this season, scored against his former team on a three-yard run for a 7-0 lead. The Bears led 10-3 when Hurts hit Brown in the third quarter for a 33-yard touchdown that made the score 10-9.
Jake Elliott missed the extra point, adding to the list of ugly plays that sank the Super Bowl champions.
Hurts and Brown connected on a four-yard TD late in the fourth, but the Eagles missed the two-point conversion attempt to keep it a two-score game.
