On Friday, the Chicago Bears walked into Philadelphia and took down the defending champions 24-15, and afterward, Ben Johnson stepped to the podium and finally said the quiet part out loud.
When asked what message the win sent, Johnson didn’t hesitate: “It’s the same message we’ve been sending every week–that we’re just going to compete our tails off for 60 minutes.”
This win marked the Bears’ fifth straight and their ninth in their last ten games, a stretch fueled by the most reliable thing in Chicago right now: the run game.
“I don’t think we win that game if we’re not able to run the ball like we were,” Johnson said. “Both the backs over 100 yards was just outstanding.”
Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift became the first Bears duo to do it in the same game since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey in 1985.
Johnson made sure the credit went exactly where it belonged: “It doesn’t happen without that offensive line. You can’t say enough about Ozzy and Joe and Drew Dalman and Jonah and then Darnell. I mean, those guys… were huge for us.”
On 42 designed carries, the Bears racked up a season-high 91 yards before contact and 177 after contact. Monangai broke tackles, Swift made defenders vanish, and the line simply moved the Eagles front however it pleased.
One Throw That Told the Truth About Caleb Williams
GettyBears RB Kyle Monangai
While this game was far from a Caleb Williams showcase, when Chicago needed a big play, Williams delivered one.
“That throw to Cole was enormous,” Johnson said. “He’s rolling out to his left; to be able to throw a dime like that at that point in the game… that was really big for us.”
A tight-window, rolling-left, 28-yard dagger is the kind of play big-time quarterbacks make, especially when a coach trusts them to finish the game with the ball in their hands.
The Chicago Bears haven’t had that kind of synergy between play caller and quarterback since the Lovie Smith era. The rest of the league noticed.
The Defense That Breaks You
GettyBears DB Jaquan Brisker
Johnson hammered home what has defined Chicago’s 9-3 start:
“We kind of harped on the importance of getting into these third down situations… I think we created a number of those.”
Philly converted just 4 of 12. And then there were the takeaways.
The Bears entered Week 13 leading the NFL in takeaways, and on Friday they added two more: Kevin Byard III’s interception, which moved him into the league lead, and Nahshon Wright’s game-changing strip on a tush push, the Eagles’ supposedly “guaranteed” play.
And with Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon finally back, Chicago’s secondary looks like something out of a playoff nightmare.
Everything about this Bears team has been consistent for weeks. Johnson just confirmed what everyone has been thinking: Chicago is not a fluke or a feel-good story anymore…
The Chicago Bears are a problem.
“These guys should feel pretty good about what they just did,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to go on the road and beat a good team like that.”
It’s even harder to ignore a team that’s doing it over and over again.
Cause after Black Friday in Philadelphia, nobody’s ignoring the Chicago Bears anymore.
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