Bears vs. Eagles Game Balls: A Two-Headed Monster

If you told me that the Chicago Bears would go into Lincoln Financial Field and defeat the Philadelphia Eagles on Black Friday, I would have thought it was plausible.

The Bears have been playing very good, and we just saw the Eagles blow a big lead against another team the Bears have defeated this year (the Dallas Cowboys).

But if you told me the Bears would go into Philadelphia and thoroughly dominate the Super Bowl Champion Eagles for pretty much the entire 60 minutes of the game, I’d have thought you had dipped into some spiked Egg Nog a little early.

But that’s exactly what happened. The stat sheet speaks for itself. Bears on the left, Eagles on the right.

The first downs and time of possession differences really leap off the page. I mean…damn. Sure, the Eagles had an advantage in the passing department (the sod at Lincoln Financial Field didn’t help, taking away at least two big completions for the Bears), but it turns out you don’t need a lot of yards passing when your running backs and O-line are completely dominant.

I don’t think that even the most optimistic Bears fan could have expected what we saw on Black Friday. It’s time the nation starts taking this team seriously; it should be scary to the rest of the league that the Bears are winning right now without even hitting their peak in so many phases of the game. There are many things to improve upon, yet the team is 9-3 and have totally bought in to what they’re building at Halas Hall.

That being said, this is a team on the ascension and they’re starting to play their best ball of the year at the perfect time. January could be a lot of fun.

Let’s get to the game balls.

Offense Game Ball: RBs D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai

I don’t see any way to pick one over the other. Both Bears running backs were so dominant on Friday that they each deserve a game ball. This was the first time two Bears have rushed for over 100 yards in the same game since Walter Payton and Matt Suhey did it against the Detroit Lions on November 10, 1985.

Monangai finished the game with 22 carries for 130 yards rushing and one touchdown (5.9 YPC). Swift added 18 carries for 125 yards rushing and one touchdown (6.9 YPC).

Looking at the stats, they’re pretty darn close to equal. Swift had a higher YPC average, but Monangai had a key 31 yard rush from the team’s own 13 yard line on a drive early in the fourth quarter that put the Bears up 17-9, a huge moment in the game. Again, there’s just no way I could choose one over the other

Of course, this kind of rushing attack doesn’t happen without the Bears ‘offensive line. That unit has really gelled this year and tons of credit goes to OL coach Dan Roushar. Plus, of course, some great running schemes from our head coach. The Bears O-Line thoroughly dominated the vaunted Eagles D-Line.

Defense Game Ball: CB Nahshon Wright

Wright continues to be a wild story for 2025. Forced to play given the rash of injuries to hit the Bears DB room, he’s made the most of his minutes and shows up in a major way seemingly every single week. He’s still hit or miss in coverage, and AJ Brown had a big touchdown matched up against Wright on Friday, but man oh man does this kid just have a knack for the big moments.

This week, it was prying the ball away from Eagles QB Jalen Hurts on the team’s signature “tush push” play at a critical juncture in the game.

The Eagles had the ball at the Chicago 11 yard line at the time, trailing by just one point, in the closing moments of the third quarter. This play halted their momentum, and on the very next play of the game, Kyle Monangai took off on the aforementioned 31 yard rush.

Wright finished the day with five total tackles (four solo), one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

Also, a major shoutout to Kevin Byard III, who had another interception to give him his league-leading sixth of the season. I also considered him for the game ball.

Special Teams Game Ball Coaching Game Ball: Ben Johnson

I’m changing the rules this week and awarding a game ball to our head coach. Last year on Black Friday, the Bears fired Matt Eberflus. This year on Black Friday, the Bears earned a gigantic road victory and moved to 9-3 on the season. The culture that Johnson has brought to the Bears has completely changed the trajectory (and future) of this team. GM Ryan Poles got this hire right and it’s going to pay off, big time, for years to come.

The buy-in from the players is obvious and the results speak for themselves. As a fan, I wasn’t sure I’d ever see the Bears have a top of the league caliber coach again, but we have one. Johnson outcoached Super Bowl winning coach Nick Sirianni in every facet of the game on Friday.

And after all of that, Johnson still put the city of Chicago on his back in the post game locker room to earn free hot dogs for everyone. Mad respect!

Bryan Orenchuk and myself will have plenty to say about this game next week on a new episode of Bears Over Beers. We’ll be live on Wednesday night on the 2nd City Gridiron YouTube channel, or available on demand via your favorite podcasting platform after. Our 2nd City Gridiron Podcast Channel is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, and other popular podcast platforms.

Who would have received your game balls? Let us know in the comments section below.