The first primetime game for the 2026 Chicago Bears has lost much of its luster since the team will most likely be starting its third quarterback on Monday night.
The Bears welcome the Philadelphia Eagles to Soldier Field in what should have been a great matchup of historical franchises with young quarterbacks dueling it out.
But the NFL is a fickle thing. Bears head coach Ben Johnson has to navigate his first game without his QB1 or QB2.
And the Eagles, coming in 2-0 but not looking dominant, have
a lot to prove.
Beyond wanting to flush the memories of Black Friday last season, when the Bears completely dominated them. The Eagles want to make a statement that they’re back to being true contenders and that their new offense is working well.
Even with a third QB, it should be an interesting game. Let’s get into the opponent then.
Philadelphia Eagles
SB Nation site: Bleeding Green Nation
Record: 2-0, first in NFC East
Last week: 24-20 win over the Tennessee Titans
Game day, time, TV: Monday, 7:15 p.m. CT, ESPN and ABC
Spread: Eagles -3.5
Bears all-time record against: 31-17-1, including postseason
Historical meetings: Week 4, 2008.
The Bears hosted the Eagles on Monday Night Football.
Kyle Orton gave the Bears an early lead, hitting Greg Olsen for a 19-yard touchdown on Chicago’s first offensive drive.
The Eagles answered back with a 74-yard touchdown drive, capped with a Dean Jackson 22-yard touchdown from Donovan McNabb.
Chicago recovered an Eagles muffed punt by Jackson on Chicago’s 40-yard line. Two plays later, Orton hit Marty Booker for a 23-yard touchdown.
Once again, the Eagles answered back with Cornell Buckhalter rushing for a touchdown.
Chicago scored again before halftime on an Orton-to-Devin Hester 20-yard pass.
Things got sloppy in the third quarter, with McNabb and Orton throwing picks on their teams’ drives back-to-back and Philadelphia missing a field goal.
But the Eagles got the ball back right away when Trent Cole forced a fumble on a sack of Orton. That led to a David Akers field goal.
Another Orton fumble set up another Eagles field goal, cutting the Bears lead to 21-20.
But the Bears drove the field and tacked on a 41-yard field goal.
The defense stuffed Buckhalter on a fourth-and-one rush. The Bears bled almost the entire clock and held on for a 24-20 win.
Last meeting: Black Friday last season in week 13.
The Bears put together their best rushing game of the season, outgaining Philly 281 to 87 on the ground.
Chicago racked up 425 total yards and forced Jalen Hurts into two turnovers, including a fumble on the so-called unbeatable Tush Push.
Chicago won 24-15.
Injury report: Since it’s a Monday Night Football game, the injury report was unavailable at press time.
Offense: The Eagles offense ranks 13th in points and yards.
Their passing offense ranks 12th and their rushing offense ranks 14th.
Jalen Hurts (64.5 pct. cmp./467 yds./5 TD/2 INT) is playing well in his seventh different NFL offense.
There have been some struggles, as the Eagles haven’t been dominating, even against a bad team like the Titans.
Saquon Barkley (19 att./92 yds./0 TD) is dealing with a stinger. Tank Bigsby (14/36/1) has taken on some work for him. Hurts (12/62/0) remains effective as a rusher, too. Will Shipley (9/28/0) is also getting carries.
This year, it’s the DeVonta Smith (13 rec./170 yds./1 TD) show in the passing game. Dontayvion Wicks (7/147/1) is the number two. Dallas Goedert (5/81/2) is dealing with an injury. The Eagles brought in Zach Ertz this week, who is 35 and played for the Commanders last year. Rookie receiver Makai Lemon (4/9/0) is coming on slowly.
Defense: The Eagles defense ranks 12th in points allowed and 11th in yards.
Their passing defense ranks fifth, and their rushing defense ranks 24th.
Vic Fangio remains a great defensive coordinator.
Their pass rush is led by Jihaad Campbell (19 tkl/1 sk/1 TFL/1 QB hit/1 FF) Jalen Carter (1 sk/1 TFL/1 QB hit/1 FF), and Nolan Smith (1 sk/2 TFL/1 QB hit). Moro Ojomo (7 tkls/1 TFL) and Jordan Davis (9 tkl).
LBs Zack Baun (16 tkls/2 TFL/2 PD), Jalyx Hunt (8 tkl/1 TFL/1 QB hit) are also playmakers.
In the secondary, Cooper DeJean (13 tkls), Quinyon Mitchell (8 tkl) and Rig Woolen (4 tkl/1 PD) will be tasked with slowing down the Bears’ receivers. The Eagles have yet to snag an interception through the first two games of the season.
Key matchups: Playing with the third quarterback is a disadvantage for any team, even if the third QB is as accomplished as Case Keenum is for Chicago. Ben Johnson will have to rely on his ground game to keep the Bears in the game.
Keep the Eagles on the sideline with long, sustained drives and let Case take explosive shots when possible. Vic Fangio surely remembers Black Friday and will want to get back at his former team.
On defense, slowing down the Eagles’ run game is key. If Saquon can go, don’t let him run wild. And always watch out for Jalen Hurts, too. On the outside, Smith is a very good receiver, and keeping him contained will be important, too.
Key stats
- The Eagles are fourth in third-down conversions, moving the sticks 53.1 percent of the time. They’re ninth in red zone scoring, with 71.4 percent of their drives ending in touchdowns.
- Philly is allowing opponents to run for 4.2 yards per carry and has allowed three touchdowns on the ground.
- Philly has zero defensive takeaways so far this season.
- The Eagles rank 25th in blitz percentage and 21st in pressure percentage.
- Chicago enters week 3 tied for the third-most penalized team (20), while Philadelphia is tied for the third-fewest penalties (9).
