Courtney Cronin
Nov. 28, 2025
PHILADELPHIA — The Chicago Bears’ 24-15 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on Friday offered a clear signal: this team belongs in the postseason conversation.
Chicago has won nine of its last 10 games and climbed to the No. 2 seed in the NFC, leapfrogging Philadelphia. The two clubs entered Week 13 tied atop their divisions with identical records, and the Bears’ road triumph in prime time served as the kind of statement win that validates their recent surge.
“[That] we’re for real,” running back D’Andre Swift said.
After the streak began, players and coaches were reluctant to get ahead of themselves and think about the playoffs. A win like this, against a high-caliber opponent in a hostile environment, has shifted the mindset.
“We should be confident in ourselves,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “We shouldn’t shy away from anything like that. We’re on a roll right now, and we could just keep getting better. But that’s what we should be thinking. I mean, we got a whole bunch of dogs in the locker room and things like that, and that’s the way we’re trending and we’re changing the culture. So yeah, that’s how we should think.”
The locker-room celebration reflected that newfound confidence. During coach Ben Johnson’s weekly “Good, Better, Best” chant the 38-year-old ripped off his shirt in jubilation. Chicago-area hot dog stand The Wieners Circle even revived a promotion, tweeting that it would hand out free hot dogs Tuesday — a callback to a giveaway after Caleb Williams threw four touchdowns in Week 3.
On the field, Chicago leaned on its powerful ground game. Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai combined for a near-unstoppable rushing attack that totaled 281 yards — the second-best single-game rushing total for the Bears this season. The run game sustained long drives, kept Philadelphia’s offense off the field and produced 17 of Chicago’s 28 first downs. The Bears also held a nearly 19-minute advantage in time of possession; the Eagles managed just two rushing first downs all game.
Both Swift and Monangai reached the century mark, the first time the Bears have had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since Walter Payton (107) and Matt Suhey (102) on Nov. 10, 1985. Monangai scored a rushing touchdown and extended his streak to four straight games with a rushing TD, becoming the third Bears rookie in the Super Bowl era to accomplish that feat, joining Jeremy Langford (2015) and Payton (1975).
“We knew they are an explosive offense, we’re an explosive offense,” Monangai said. “We knew each possession was important and we had to put points on the board with each one, and we wanted to do better on some of those drives where we went three-and-out. But we knew drives was going to be at a premium, so I had to make the most of each opportunity.”
Chicago’s turnover identity also played a major role. Entering the game, the Bears led the NFL with 24 takeaways and 16 interceptions. Philadelphia had been careful with the ball all season — Jalen Hurts had thrown just one interception (on Oct. 9 vs. the Giants) before Friday.
In the third quarter Chicago broke through. Safety Kevin Byard, who had been tied for the league lead in interceptions, took sole possession of the top spot with a deep snag of a Hurts pass. Later, cornerback Nahshon Wright stripped Hurts on a tush-push short-yardage attempt while the Eagles were threatening to score after Caleb Williams’ earlier interception; Chicago recovered the fumble.
“Me personally, and the defense, we took that as a challenge,” Byard said. “I looked at the stats before. Jalen only threw one pick this season, so I took it as a challenge to try to go get one. You can even watch the film on mine, I had to really go get it, and [Wright] made a crazy play to strip the ball and recover it on the tush push. We talk about that’s the reason why we’re the best in the league in taking the ball away.”
The Bears’ defense did its job despite significant personnel shortages. Chicago was without its top four linebackers Friday, but the secondary got a boost with the returns of cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon. Johnson, who had core muscle surgery after leaving Week 2 with a groin issue, played 32 of 51 defensive snaps in his first game back. Gordon, limited earlier this season by soft-tissue injuries, logged 34 snaps in his second game since returning.
Gordon said the team’s late-season momentum aligns with the organization’s goal of peaking when it matters most.
“I think you see by the way we end every game that we’re not finished,” Gordon said. “I think we’ve got future plans to be somewhere further in February, so that’s what we’re really shooting for.”
With a string of important wins and a resume that now includes a road victory over the reigning champions, the Bears enter December with serious postseason momentum and growing belief that this team is built to make noise in January.