Philadelphia Eagles continue to roll
The Chicago Bears weren’t supposed to cause the Philadelphia Eagles very many issues on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, but the team with the best record in the entire National Football League had their work cut out for them. While the Eagles ultimately prevailed with the 25-20 victory, the Bears put forth a valiant effort.
The win ensured the Eagles had matched the best start in franchise history, equalling the 2004 side that went all the way to the Super Bowl before being knocked off by Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.
“The great teams, the great players, they find a way,” Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts said following the game, via TSN.ca. “And I think collectively as a group, we all came together and found a way as a team. And I think that’s the biggest takeaway from this game.”
While Hurts completed 22 of 37 passes for a respectable 315 yards, all his touchdowns on the game came on the ground. The 24-year-old rushed for three touchdowns against the Bears for a total of 61 yards. He did throw two interceptions in the first half though.
“He can’t control a bad play earlier; he moves on to the next play,” Eagles’ head coach Nick Sirianni said. “It’s no surprise. That’s who this guy is. And we’ve seen that over and over again.”
Bears’ starting quarterback had even more yards on the ground than his counterpart, running for 95 yards on Sunday afternoon to reach the 1000-yard milestone for the season. He broke the all-time franchise record of 968 rushing yards for a quarterback in a 14-game season that had been previously held by Bobby Douglass who accomplished the feat in 1972.
“He’s doing an excellent job,” Bears’ head coach Matt Eberflus said of Fields following the contest. “He’s doing a really good job of leading our football team. I think it’s where he’s growing the most over the second half of the season. He’s just getting more and more confident as he goes.”
The Bears have now lost seven consecutive games and sit with just a 3-11 record on the campaign. Their last win came all the way back on October 24th, when they knocked off the New England Patriots 33-24 at Gillette Stadium.
Even though Sunday’s victory over the Bears means the Eagles remain two games up on the NFC’s second-placed team the Minnesota Vikings, they still have some work to do before they officially clinch top spot. The final three games of the campaign for the Eagles are all against NFC opposition, including two division rivals in the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.
Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Dallas to take on the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on Christmas eve, where they will have the opportunity to clinch both the NFC East division title and the top spot in the NFC with a win. Philadelphia have yet to lose on the road this season with a perfect 7-0 record away from Lincoln Financial Field. Kickoff for Saturday’s contest in Texas is scheduled for 4:25 pm.
