First-round rookie Dillon Thieneman’s first interception came off the hand of only the second-most improbable quarterback to play Monday night.
Eagles backup Andy Dalton tried to throw to receiver Dontayvion Wicks on third-and-goal from the Bears’ 2 in the second quarter. The Bears safety stepped between Wicks, who was running along the back left of the south end zone, and the ball.
Thieneman, who slid to the ground for a touchback, kept the ball for himself, carrying it to the Bears sideline while being mobbed by his teammates.
He was tempted to try to run out of the end zone for extra yards.
“I was trying to,” he said. “I was running and was about to make a move, and everybody was looking and me and was like, ‘Don’t come out.’”
The red-headed veteran — and one-time Bear — was only in the game because starter Jalen Hurts was hit late by linebacker D’Marco Jackson as he ran out of bounds four plays earlier. The NFL’s concussion spotter ordered Hurts to be examined.
Hurts returned for the next drive after being cleared and marched the Eagles to a touchdown at the end of the first half, running a quarterback sneak up the middle as time expired.
No Tyrique
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was declared healthy for the game — and then wasn’t in his usual spot. Stevenson, whom the team said hurt his hamstring last week, participated in only one full practice this week — on Friday. He didn’t carry an injury designation.
He was nonetheless replaced by rookie Malik Muhammad, who started at Stevenson’s outside cornerback spot. With Muhammad outside, the Bears played Cam Lewis in the slot.
Hold it
The NFL’s special teams coordinators held a meeting Friday to discuss a loophole in the league’s new kickoff rule exploited by both the Falcons and Eagles earlier this season. The NFL allows teams to use a 12th player on kickoffs — a holder who keeps the ball straight before the kicker can boot it.
The intent of the rule was for the kicking team to use a tee in such situations. The Eagles didn’t in Week 2, which Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said violated “the intent of the rule.” On Monday night, they used a tee.
Notes
• Running back D’Andre Swift, who spent a year with the Eagles before signing with the Bears, was the team’s extra captain.
• Rookie tight end Sam Roush cost the Bears field position when he touched a punt that cornerback Josh Blackwell stopped at the 2. Roush sprawled out on the ground with his foot on the goal line, prompting the touchback call.