3 Reasons Why the Chicago Bears Won vs. the Philadelphia Eagles

In week 3, the Bears hosted the 2-0 Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night in front of a national audience and played inspired team football without Caleb Williams as he recovers from a hamstring injury. Here are my three reasons why they won.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 28: (L-R)Head coach Nick Sirianni of the Philadelphia Eagles congratulates head coach Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears after the game at Soldier Field on September 28, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images With the exception of one series where I would have liked for him to kick a field goal after Rome Odunze committed his weekly drop, this time in the endzone, Ben called his best game of the season and completely outcoached Nick Sirianni AND Eagles DC Vic Fangio. The fact that he did so with 3rd string QB Case Keenum (more on him later) was even more impressive. For me, I was most pleased with the decrease in penalties as that has been hindering us the first two weeks of the season. Ben had these Bears ready to play and bounce back from a lackluster effort the week prior in their first real emotional and mental test of the season. He also seemed to relish the opportunity to do so without a 1st overall pick at QB for him for the first time in his play calling career. Overall, it was a near 50/50 split of run and pass with some of the creative genius sprinkled throughout the game and the players were ready to play. I gave him blame last week in Chicago's loss, and he bounced back in a big way against a playoff contender. Exactly what you like to see from your head coach.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 28: Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen of the Chicago Bears reacts against the Philadelphia Eagles prior to the game at Soldier Field on September 28, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images Speaking of coaches, Ben wasn't the only one on Chicago's sideline that was "in his bag" on Monday night. Don't look now, but the former New Orleans Saints head coach has led this defense to two consecutive games holding Chicago opponents under 10 points per game. This week he did it with two rookies in the secondary against a Super Bowl winning team led by Super Bowl LIX MVP Jalen Hurts . Reminiscent of a vintage Lovie Smith performance, this defense played "bend but don't break" ball all night. Though All-World RB Saquon Barkley ran for 5.5 yards per carry and consistently got the Eagles down the field, this Bears defense held the Eagles to only 7 points when they had scored 24 in each of their first two games of the season.