Ran Over

PHILADELPHIA — Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” pulsed from a tailgate in neighboring lot, but it was the Chicago Bears that wouldn’t take no for an answer, grinding out a 24-15 win over the Eagles and improving to 9-3. It wasn’t an aesthetically pleasing game by any means from the Eagles (8-4), who allowed two 100-yard rushers in D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.

GETTY IMAGES: The Philadelphia Eagles allowed 281 rushing yards to the Chicago Bears in the 24-15 loss.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 19 of 34 pass attempts for 230 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception. As a runner, Hurts carried four times for 31 yards. He also lost a fumble. Running back Saquon Barkley rolled up 56 yards on 13 carries. Wide receiver A.J. Brown led all Eagles pass catchers with 132 yards and two touchdowns on 10 receptions. Running backs D’Andre Swift (125) and rookie Kyle Monangai (130) fueled Chicago’s offensive attack.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams completed 17 of 35 pass attempts for 154 yards and a touchdown, to go along with an interception.

Inactive for the Eagles were OLB Josh Uche, QB Sam Howell (3rd QB), CB Mac McWilliams, RB A.J. Dillon, T Lane Johnson, WR Xavier Gipson and DT Ty Robinson.

The Eagles elected for two practice squad call-ups this week, elevating OLB Patrick Johnson and S Andre’ Sam. For Johnson, Friday was his third and final elevation. Sam, elevated for the first time this season, appeared in his second NFL game. Sam served as the No. 3 safety, while Johnson replaced Uche’s role on the game day roster.

Let’s get to the observations.

*The Eagles open in nickel, with Adoree’ Jackson again aligning opposite Quinyon Mitchell at cornerback with Cooper DeJean at nickelback. Despite an 11-play drive that covered 42 yards, the Bears had nothing to show for it. On a fourth-and-1, the Eagles got great push up front, with DT Byron Young knifing through to stuff Monangai for no gain, returning possession to the offense at the Eagles’ 25. The momentum was short-lived, however, as the offense covered just 20 yards over five plays before being forced to punt. Brown committed a false start following a 5-yard Barkley run, his second in as many games.

*The Bears gashed the Eagles’ defense on the ground on the ensuing series with the “thunder and lighting” tandem of Swift and Monangai. Running through the teeth of the Eagles’ defense, Monangai picked up 17 and Swift rolled up 23 later, spearheading an 11-play, 78-yard scoring drive capped by a 3-yard Swift scamper. On the 23-yard Swift run, it looked at first glance that wide receiver Rome Odunze came across and got in the way of OLB Jaelan Phillips enough to create a sizeable gap to run through. The Bears did a nice job changing it up with the different backs throughout the drive. Great design and well-blocked by the Chicago offensive line.

A lot of motion, misdirection and shifting from a Bears offense presided over by head coach Ben Johnson. The razzle dazzle prohibited the Eagles’ defense from settling in.

*The Eagles engineered a 7-play, 39-yard drive on the second offensive possession, which appeared poised for its first touchdown of the afternoon. But on a third-and-8 from the Bears’ 26, Hurts threw behind a wide open DeVonta Smith across the middle, forcing the Eagles to settle for a 44-yard Jake Elliott field goal. For an offense struggling to find its footing, you have to connect on those layups. For what it’s worth, both quarterbacks struggled with accuracy and ball placement in this one.

*It’s worth mentioning how impactful the wind was Friday afternoon. Apart from throwing the football — Williams and Hurts combined for 16 of 34 pass attempts for 147 yards at the break — it also affected the return game. When punting the football, it almost looked as if the ball hit a wall and dropped. Britain Covey did well to track a bouncing punt late in the second quarter and muster eight yards on the runback. By the second half, the flags in the corner of the end zone were furiously waving as the winds picked up.

*A common theme for the vast majority of the season, Friday proved to be tough sledding in the run game for Barkley and Co. More often than not, Barkley was greeted by a swarm of defenders once accepting the handoff and there was little push up front to create running lanes or room to maneuver. For perspective, Barkley accumulated 56 yards on 13 carries (4.3 average).

*Dominant performance from Brown, who separated with consistency and used his positioning and physicality to create space against a Bears’ secondary near full strength. He did well to come back for several throws. Without his efforts, the offense might’ve been blanked.

*The game, momentarily, shifted in the third quarter, with Hurts connected with Brown for a 33-yard touchdown to seemingly draw even. The Eagles failed to convert on the point after attempt. On the ensuing drive, the Eagles regained possession when OLB Jalyx Hunt intercepted Williams, returning possession to the Bears’ 36. The drive came up empty, though, with Hurts fumbling away the football on a fourth-and-1 sneak. Bears CB Nahshon Wright slipped in to dislodge — and recover — the ball. The play marked Hurts’ second turnover of the day, his first occurring in the third quarter on an interception to S Kevin Byard. Unlike the Byard interception, the fumble recovery spawned a 12-play, 87-yard touchdown drive.

*Quick story on Bears RB Kyle Monangai. Back in 2015, the Eagles signed his brother, Kevin — who played RB at Villanova — as a rookie free agent. When I spoke to Kyle at Rutgers’ Pro Day, he vividly recalled watching his brother play at the Linc. He said he was 13 years old at the time. It has come full circle for the rookie RB, who cleared the 100-yard rushing barrier and reached the end zone.

*The Eagles lost the collective battle in the trenches, with the Bears driving the defensive line off the ball in the running game and swarming Hurts for many of his dropbacks. Credit the Bears for playing a physical brand of football, but this was the second consecutive week this has been a prevailing theme.

*Some housekeeping notes: With Sydney Brown — typically operating as the gunner opposite CB Kelee Ringo — starting at safety, the Eagles elected to deploy WR Darius Cooper as his replacement. At kick returner, with both Gipson and Dillon inactive, the Eagles paired Covey with RB Will Shipley as the other kick returner.

*The Eagles were penalized seven times for 44 yards and the offense continued to struggle on third downs, going 4-for-11.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com