Eagles Survive Bears Challenge to Move to 13-1 with 25-20 Win

Jalen Hurts overcame two interceptions by running for 3 TDs and throwing for 315 yards while the Eagles defense piled up six sacks

CHICAGO – The only way the Eagles could lose to the talent-deficient, three-win Bears was to beat themselves.

Three turnovers, squandered opportunities, and a questionable game plan nearly did the trick, but in the end, the Eagles and their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, finally found enough footing to capture a 25-20 win and escape the icebox that was Soldier Field on Sunday.

They moved to 13-1 and can wrap up home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs by beating the Cowboys, who lost to the Jaguars in overtime on Sunday, on Christmas Eve in Dallas.

The Eagles committed three turnovers - two Jalen Hurts interceptions in the first half and a second-half fumble from Miles Sanders.

"Turnovers, that's the big thing," said head coach Nick Sirianni. "We'll look at them. I have an idea what happened on three of them, but I'll look at them and make sure we get the coaching points right to make sure to move on and get better."

On a day when the wind ripped at about 15 miles an hour and temperatures barely made it to 20 degrees, Hurts overcame his two picks by rushing for three touchdowns to give him 13 this season.

"I think early in the game, I really couldn’t feel my hands," said Hurts. "It was very cold. Didn’t really have good vision on the field, personally. It’s a lot of different things going on. 

"I think to be able to persevere through that wasn’t something done by myself. You look at special teams, the plays that they made, you look at the defense how they showed up after the turnovers and were able to get the ball to us and give us opportunities."

His last TD came with 4:20 to play and removed much of the nail-biting that occurred all game long. The 1-yard plunge from Hurts and his ensuing PAT run gave the Eagles a 12-point advantage, their largest lead of the game.

The Bears did not go quietly, getting a 35-yard TD from Justin Fields to Byron Pringle with 2:43 to play.

The Eagles recovered the onside kick and were able to run out the final time.

Hurts’ first touchdown came from 22 yards with 43 seconds to play in the first half and gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead at the break.

The QB completed 22-of-37 throws for 315 yards. He ran for another 61 yards on 17 carries.

One of his biggest throws of the game came on third-and-six to A.J. Brown that covered 68 yards and set the Eagles up with a first-and-goal at Chicago’s 3. At the time, Philadelphia led by just 17-13.

 "I felt like me and Jalen got off to like a slow start the first half, but as we picked up in the second half, things just started going," said Brown. "We stopped trying to fight against what they were doing against us. 

"My DB was taking away the inside leverage. They would not let me get inside. So it's like we got to start taking some shots and start taking advantage of what they giving."

Brown finished with nine catches for a career-high 189 yards and now has 1,201 this season. 

DeVonta Smith had five receptions for 126 yards.

"Playing football in the cold is not bad," said Smith, who has 901 yards receiving this season, 15 away from tying what he had as a rookie. "Playing football in the rain is what’s bad. I can play in the cold all day … It’s tough out there when it’s raining.

"(With the wind), the longer the ball’s in the air, the more it moves around. That comes down to tracking the ball. At the end of the day, you’re still tracking the ball."

The Bears made life difficult on the ground for Philadelphia. Their rushing defense was ranked 27th in the league but held the Eagles to 112 yards rushing.

Sanders, who entered as the league’s fifth-leading rusher, didn’t get his first carry until just over six minutes to go in the third quarter. He finished with 11 runs for 42 yards, but a costly fumble midway through the third quarter gave Chicago life.

"Probably lack of execution and making big plays," responded right tackle Lane Johnson to a question about why they didn't run more and why the success wasn't always there when they did.

"That’s probably the biggest thing. And then throwing balls up to Smitty and AJ, and them making plays like that, it’s hard to get back to (running).

Until Sanders' fumble, it appeared as if the Eagles had all the momentum.

They scored on their opening possession of the second half, with Hurts scoring his 12th rushing TD of the season. He had 10 last year to set the team record for rushing scores from a quarterback.

The Eagles were given a short field after a 58-yard kickoff return by Boston Scott.

On their second possession, which started at Chicago’s 40, Sanders eventually fumbled on a short throw into the flat.

The Eagles had chances to extend the lead, but a fourth-and-six throw to A.J. Brown from the Bears’ 33 fell incomplete.

Jake Elliott also doinked a 38-yard field goal try off the right upright that would’ve given the Eagles a 20-13 lead with just over eight minutes to play in the game.

The Eagles’ defense rang up six sacks and now have 55, six away from tying the club record of 62 set back in 1989 when Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, and Jerome Brown roamed the playing fields.

Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, and Javon Hargrave each had two.

Hargrave now has 10 and he joined Reddick in double figures.

Reddick has 12, .5 away from tying his career-high set in 2020.

Sweat set a new career high and he has 9.5.

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.