PHILADELPHIA — With a convincing 24-15 road win over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Friday night, the Chicago Bears made it clear they belong in the playoff conversation.
The victory, Chicago’s ninth in their last ten games, vaulted them into the No. 2 seed in the NFC and dropped Philadelphia from that spot. Both teams entered Week 13 tied atop their respective divisions and sporting identical records, but the Bears passed their toughest test yet in prime time.
“That we’re for real,” running back D’Andre Swift said when asked what message the win sent.
Just weeks ago, amid a five-game winning streak (their longest since 2018), players and coaches avoided playoff talk. That changed Friday.
“We should be confident in ourselves,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “We’re on a roll, we’ve got a locker room full of dogs, and we’re changing the culture. Yeah, we should be thinking playoffs.”
The celebration reflected the mood: In the locker room, head coach Ben Johnson ripped off his shirt during his signature “Good, better, best” chant. Chicago’s famous Wiener’s Circle even announced free hot dogs on Tuesday, echoing their promotion after Caleb Williams’ four-touchdown game earlier this season.
The Bears controlled the game with a dominant ground attack, rushing for 281 yards—their second-highest total of the year. Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai powered long, clock-eating drives that gave Chicago nearly a 19-minute edge in time of possession. Seventeen of Chicago’s 28 first downs came on the ground; Philadelphia managed just two.
Both Swift and Monangai scored and surpassed 100 yards rushing, marking the first time two Bears reached triple digits in the same game since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey in 1985. Monangai also extended his streak to four straight games with a rushing touchdown, joining Payton (1975) and Jeremy Langford (2015) as the only Bears rookies in the Super Bowl era to accomplish that feat.
The Bears moved to the No. 2 seed in the NFC with Friday’s win in Philadelphia, marking their ninth victory in their past 10 games.
“We knew they’re explosive, and we are too,” rookie running back Kyle Monangai said after the win. “Every drive was valuable. We wanted to score on as many as possible and limit the three-and-outs. Opportunities were going to be scarce, so we had to maximize them.”
The Bears arrived in Philadelphia leading the NFL with 24 takeaways and 16 interceptions, facing an Eagles offense that had surrendered the ball just six times all season. Jalen Hurts hadn’t thrown a pick since October 9—his only one of the year—and Philadelphia’s signature tush push had felt unstoppable.
Chicago’s defense ended both streaks in the third quarter.
Safety Kevin Byard, who entered the night tied for the league lead with five interceptions, jumped a deep ball from Hurts to take sole possession of first place with six. Two drives later, cornerback Nahshon Wright jarred the ball loose from Hurts on a tush push inside the Bears’ 10-yard line and recovered the fumble—the second time Hurts has ever lost a fumble on the play since it became a staple in 2022.
“We took it personal,” Byard said. “I saw he only had one pick all year, so I challenged myself to go get one. You can see on the tape—I had to go attack it. Then Nahshon makes an insane play stripping it on the tush push. That’s why we lead the league in takeaways.”
Despite still missing their top four linebackers, the Bears’ secondary received a major lift with the returns of cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson (first action since core muscle surgery in September) and Kyler Gordon (limited to two games because of soft-tissue injuries). Johnson played 32 snaps and Gordon 34 in their long-awaited comebacks.
For Gordon, the 2022 first-round pick of GM Ryan Poles, victories like Friday are proof the rebuild is paying off.
“You can see how we finish games—we’re built for the long haul,” Gordon said. “We’re not done. We’ve got plans to be playing in February, and that’s exactly what we’re working toward.”
