Eagles get by Bears, but bigger tests loom large

The Philadelphia Eagles were never not in control during their 22-14 win over the Chicago Bears. They took the lead with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter and never gave it up. They controlled the ball for 40 minutes and 18 seconds worth of time of possession. Their defense also did something that hadn’t been done in 40 years.

But as a poured through the responses of our weekly “Three Words” request and gauged my own temperature on the win, it didn’t feel like a win should. Yes, a win is hard to come by in the NFL and that makes two straight for the 5-4 Eagles as they head into the bye. But the way the Eagles let a sub-par Bears team hang around until deep in the fourth quarter felt much more like the 2018 Eagles than the 2017 Super Bowl team.

The offense still had to grind out drives with DeSean Jackson being pulled after one drive. The defense still gave free money to a quarterback that’s looking more like Luke Falk than Blake Bortles. It’s a win, but there are bigger tests ahead and many of the same concerns remaining.

It wasn’t all bad, however. The run game continued to be a positive force for the Eagles and it allowed them to grind the Bears defense to dust on a back-breaking, 16-play, 69-yard field goal drive that milked 8:14 off the clock. Carson Wentz also made some key conversions with his arm on that drive, moving the chains on three straight money downs. Khalil Mack didn’t splash the box score or ruin the game despite having the chance to feast on first round rookie Andre Dillard.

Is a run heavy formula sustainable with better opposing offenses on the horizon? Can the Eagles heavily criticized group of receivers get right for those massively important and challenging games? Can the defense limit a quarterback not named Luke Falk, Josh Allen, or Mitch Trubisky to under 24 points? We’ll find out soon enough.

We detail our thoughts on the win and our concerns with the Eagles on BGN Radio #90! Listen to my chat with Brandon Lee Gowton on the media player below or click here if the player doesn’t load. New to podcasts? Check out our guide on how to listen to BGN! FLY EAGLES FLY!