Week 9: Philadelphia Eagles

As the Bears headed into Philadelphia to face the Eagles after their bye week, a lot was the line for the Bears to either gain or lose. A victory would mean a number of things for the Bears. They would have the tie breaker over the three teams closest to them for the sixth and final playoff position, they would be able to maintain the confidence and momentum heading into the game against Detroit and lastly they would only be one game behind Detroit for the fifth playoff seed in the NFC. The Bears started the game off exactly how I assumed they would. They pounded the ball on the ground with Matt Forte who gained 52 yards on the drive and eventually threw a touchdown pass to Matt Spaeth to take an early 7-0 lead. The Bears defense came out and looked great in the first half against the Eagles. They never seemed to allow LeSean McCoy to get going and kept Michael Vick contained with their front four. The second quarter however did have some hiccups for the Bears. About half way through the quarter, Jay Cutler dumped a pass off to Matt Forte in the flat and Forte ended up fumbling the ball. The fumble was Forte's first in over 345 touches. The Bears ended the quarter strongly with a fumble recovery off a punt that was punched out of DeSean Jackson's arms, which ultimately ended up as a touchdown on the following play for the Bears. As half time concluded, it seemed like the Eagles had completely forgotten about the fumble and quickly regained the momentum off another Matt Forte fumble. After the fumble, McCoy immediately broke of a touchdown run and put the Eagles back on top 24-17. However, the Bears come out in the fourth quarter and responded wonderfully. They marched down the field 92 yards and Jay Cutler eventually found Earl Bennett for what wound up to be the game altering touchdown pass. It was very evident throughout the game that Cutler loved having Bennett back in the lineup. Whenever a big play needed to be made by the passing game, Cutler looked for Bennett and was not disappointed. It is going to be interesting to see what happens in the second half of the season as the Bears line continues to improve with the passing game. If they can start hitting on some big plays down the field, the Bears offense should be able to do some nice things. Another thing that was interesting about the game is that the Bears offensive line did not give up a sack. If they can continue opening to open huge holes they did for Matt Forte and keep Jay Cutler protected, it should only mean good things for this offense. Also, we are finally starting to see some chemistry between Jay Cutler and Roy Williams, who caught three passes for 45 yards.
Defensively, the Bears played great and in large kept Vick and the offense in check. The defensive line consistently got pressure on Michael Vick and was even able to get some hits on him as the game wore on. It was also impressive to see that the Bears were comfortable in playing the Eagles in man to man coverage. It gives teams a different look to game plan against with the Bears and may be helpful later on this season. Overall, it was a very well played game by the Bears who showed, poise, determination and the willingness to fight. They should be heading into the game next week against Detroit with a ton of confidence and revenge on their mind. So until next time Chicago, Bear Down!