Breaking down what to expect Monday night when the Bears host the Eagles:
WHEN THE BEARS HAVE THE BALL
When Bears general manager Ryan Poles set out to rebuild the Bears’ defensive line in the 2025 offseason, he pointed to the Eagles’ “waves of pass rushers” as something he wanted to emulate. No matter who plays quarterback for the Bears, time could be short in the pocket.
The Eagles actually are off to a slow start up front and had just three sacks and got pressure on only 22.6% of pass plays over their first two games. They also allowed 254 yards rushing.
Nonetheless, with players like defensive tackle Jalen Carter and linebacker Zack Baun and a world-class defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, that’s likely to click into place sooner than later. The Eagles will put the Bears’ offensive line through its toughest test of the season to date.
That won’t be a problem for some. Right tackle Darnell Wright, right guard Jonah Jackson and future Hall of Fame left guard Joe Thuney can hold their own against anyone.
There are concerns, though, about left tackle Braxton Jones and center Garrett Bradbury. While coach Ben Johnson gave both of them a vote of confidence publicly over the past week, Jones was in a rotation with Theo Benedet against the Vikings and Bradbury committed four penalties.
The Bears’ big-picture plans are for Ozzy Trapilo to step in at left tackle and Logan Jones to take over at center, but Trapilo likely is still at least a week away as the team plays it cautiously with him and Jones is in line to be a starter next season.
WHEN THE EAGLES HAVE THE BALL
The Philadelphia fan base never seems happy enough with quarterback Jalen Hurts, but he rarely misses a game, has a triple-digit passer rating over the last three seasons and has won six playoff games, including a Super Bowl. Most franchises build statues for guys like that.
Even in a relatively poor game last week against the Titans, Hurts managed 264 yards passing and 16 rushing as the Eagles won 24-20 on his touchdown pass to wide receiver Darius Cooper with nine seconds left.
Hurts was fifth at his position with 421 yards rushing last season, including two games of 60 or more, and the Bears typically have had trouble with dual-threat quarterbacks as they slow down the pass rush even more and often force the defense to use a linebacker as a spy.
That said, one of his worst games last season was against the Bears. While Hurts totaled 261 yards combined passing and rushing and threw two touchdown passes, he managed an 84.2 passer rating, threw an interception and lost a fumble on a Tush Push as the Bears won 24-15. They did that despite cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon playing at far less than 100%.
The Bears are off to a solid start up front and will need more of that against a top-five offensive line. While the defense had only five sacks over the first two games, it had a 37.3 pressure rate, which ranked third in the league.