Yeah, that rainy game last week was the anomaly, because with a 27 to 7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Chicago Bears are who we thought they were.
While many expected (including me) the Bears to dust off an old-school ground-and-pound game plan to protect 38-year-old Case Keenum, Chicago went the other direction and aired it out. They called more pass plays than run plays and showed complete trust in their third-string quarterback.
Ben Johnson’s offensive game plan last night was brilliant.
A season ago, he ran all over this talented Eagles front, but this time, it was the quick passing game that diced up Vic Fangio’s Philadelphia defense, and that caught the Eagles off guard.
The Bears had more total yards (375 to 248), more first downs (24 to 14), and had the time-of-possession edge (36:53 to 23:07). That 23:07 is the Eagles’ second-lowest time of possession in their last 42 games, worse than only last year’s Black Friday game against the Bears (20:42).
Let’s look at the Bears’ playing time breakdowns and a few individual stats from the game.
OFFENSE
Case Keenum is now 4-0 when playing against a Vic Fangio-coordinated defense.
Keenum was a perfect 10 for 10 when the Eagles blitzed him for 140 yards, a +1.18 EPA/dropback, and a 90% success rate.
Keenum now holds the record for the oldest player to score a rushing touchdown in Bears history, and he did it on a play designed by a former Bears’ offensive coordinator.
“That’s a Mike Martz special right there,” Ben Johnson said about the TD. “That’s the old sucker sneak, and I think that they were a little bit tight initially, and then they stemmed out at the last second, which gave us the green light to get to that play, and, you know, it’s an old play but a good play right there.”
DEFENSE
I was told all offseason that there would be a turnover regression, but Chicago’s defense had three more takeaways, including safety Dillon Thieneman’s first career interception. Again, last week was the anomaly, because in Week 1 they also had three takeaways.
Austin Booker had a Peanut Punch, and Dayo Odeyingbo had a sack! T.J. Edwards had a pick and a career-high 3 passes defended.
Dennis Allen’s defense has now stacked two good games in a row after getting lit up Week 1. They held the Eagles to 2 for 9 on third-down attempts (22.2%) and stopped Philly on both of their fourth-down tries.
SPECIAL TEAMS*
*The above image has players who only played in the third phase.
Cairo Santos hit all three extra points and both field goals, but he missed the landing zone on another kickoff, resulting in a penalty. You have to assume he’s being coached to try and dirty kick these short to mess up the timing of the returns, but he needs to get this right.
Tory Taylor had 2 punts for a 52.5 average (38.5 net) with 1 inside the 20. He nearly had a second down near the goal line, but a rookie mistake by Sam Roush turned it into a touchback.
Zavion Thomas had a 32-yard kickoff return.
Elijah Hicks had 2 special teams tackles.
New (old) long snapper Scott Daly was perfect on all his snaps.
To check out the complete Bears vs. Eagles box score, I find ESPN’s site is easy to navigate.
All statistics and snap counts, as well as the accompanying pictures, are taken directly from the NFL’s Game Statistic and Information System.
