Each week, I dive into the film of the Eagles’ upcoming opponent to get a feel for who they really are. Think of it less as a stats preview and more as an overview of what shows up repeatedly on film, and what the Eagles will be facing. Usually, this is two articles, but due to the short week, I’ve had to combine it into one this week.
The Chicago Bears present one of the more interesting matchups of the Philadelphia Eagles’ season. They are a talented, explosive, but deeply inconsistent team whose high points are genuinely dangerous but whose low points make them beatable. They’ve dominated bad defenses and hung around against good ones, but injuries, inconsistency on offense, and major defensive leaks have held them back.
Bears Offense
Pass Game
Caleb Williams is the entire engine of the Bears’ offense. At his best, he looks like a top-tier quarterback. His talent is unbelievable.
His ability to create something out of nothing is remarkable. He has already delivered five fourth-quarter comebacks. His timing has improved, he’s scanning faster, and he’s doing far better at holding underneath defenders with his eyes.
But his volatility remains a defining part of the film. Williams holds the ball longer than any quarterback in the NFL and scrambles on over 21% of his dropbacks (second only to Jayden Daniels). He can make some terrible plays outside of structure, too.
These scramble runs are dangerous; he’s rushed for nearly 300 yards with a 72.7% success rate. What he does incredibly well is negate free rushers. Williams has faced 29 unblocked pressures and is the only QB in the NFL who has not taken a single sack on those plays.
Chicago’s passing structure under Ben Johnson leans heavily on deception: play-action, spacing, and middle-of-field in-breakers. Johnson’s system is designed to make the reads easier with lots of glance, dagger, deep cross, and layered intermediate concepts to exploit vacated linebacker zones. That structure has helped Williams become an efficient intermediate passer, even though his deep ball accuracy remains inconsistent. Rome Odunze is the vertical threat and one-on-one winner and Colston Loveland is a matchup problem between the hashes. Odunze, in particular, is a major test for the Eagles because Chicago builds many of its explosives off his vertical juice. He’s had a good second year.
The main flaw is simply inconsistency. Williams still misses easy throws, drifts into trouble, or locks onto a man-beater against zone. He becomes overly reliant on hero ball, and Johnson’s scheme loses its sequencing. This is where the Eagles’ pass rush must win.
Oh, and expect some trick plays…
Run Game
Chicago’s run game has taken a noticeable step forward since early this season. Early in the season, they were one of the least efficient rushing teams in football, but recent film shows a group that’s far more cohesive up front and much clearer in its identity. The offensive line finally looks settled, and they generate movement up front. When they stay on double-teams and climb together, they can create wide, natural lanes in a way that wasn’t happening in September.
D’Andre Swift is being used more appropriately as an outside-zone runner where he can win with speed, acceleration, and open lanes. When the Bears stretch a defense horizontally and allow him to press the edge, he’s able to create chunk gains before contact in a way that wasn’t showing up earlier in the year.
Kyle Monangai complements him as the interior runner. He’s decisive, sturdy, and much more efficient between the tackles. His presence finally gives Chicago a reliable option to keep them ahead of the sticks, and the offense looks far more balanced with both backs playing to their strengths.
Caleb Williams has also become an increasingly important part of the run game. His designed keepers and zone-read looks force backside defenders to hesitate, and his scrambling has been a real weapon. He’s run for nearly 300 yards with a strong success rate, and the Bears are using his athleticism in the run game.
This is no longer the one-dimensional, inconsistent rushing attack they opened the year with.
Bears Defense
Pass Defense
Chicago’s pass defense is strange. With Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon returning, and Kevin Byard and Tremaine Edmunds playing at a high level, the Bears suddenly look far more complete on the back end than they did three weeks ago. But their structure and style carry significant risk.
Dennis Allen calls one of the league’s more aggressive secondaries. They play a lot of man, a lot of Tampa 2, and a lot of disguised “two-hole” coverages designed to bait quarterbacks into throwing in-breakers or seams that look open pre-snap. The Bears jump routes constantly. They’re opportunistic, hunting interceptions rather than simply contesting passes, and they lead the NFL in total picks.
Five for Nahshon Wright, five for Byard, and four for Edmunds.
However, they are extremely vulnerable to double moves, deep shots, and any route that stretches the safeties horizontally. This is where the injuries matter. When Gordon and Johnson were out, Chicago was playing backup-level corners in high-aggression schemes, and they gave up explosive after explosive. With both returning, they’ll be harder to beat structurally, but their aggressive DNA remains unchanged. And they have issues at linebacker this week!
The bigger problem for Chicago is the pass rush. Outside of Montez Sweat and Gervon Dexter, the Bears have almost no reliable pressure. They rely heavily on blitzes that rarely get home. This creates a risky combination: aggressive coverage without a pass rush to speed up the process. When the rush doesn’t arrive, Tampa 2 holes open, safeties get stretched, and deep shots become available.
Run Defense
Chicago’s run defense is the worst part of their team. Even with Andrew Billings anchoring the middle, the Bears are consistently gashed because their linebackers struggle to fit runs, their ends lose contain, and their safeties trigger late from depth.
They allow some of the highest yards before contact in the NFL and are bleeding explosive runs. Light boxes are standard in Dennis Allen’s system, and they have struggled to stop the run. The key nuance: this might be improving. With Gordon returning, the Bears should be significantly better at fitting the run from nickel and dime. But the schematic issue is unchanged, and they have a lot of injuries at linebacker this week.
The Eagles’ run game has been inconsistent, but this is a matchup they theoretically should be built to exploit.
Final Thoughts
The Bears’ offense is scary when Caleb Williams catches fire, but it collapses when the run game disappears, and the protection breaks down, forcing long, late downs. The Bears’ defense can generate turnovers and jump routes with the best of them, especially now that Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon are healthy. Still, they are incredibly susceptible to explosives through the air and have struggled all season against the run.
This is not an easy opponent, but it is beatable, especially if the Eagles play an aggressive, structured game without allowing Caleb Williams to take over.
Thank you for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcast here. If you would like to support me further, please check out my Patreon here!
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