The Eagles coasted to a win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday, dominating from the moment the green flag dropped. There were some wobbles along the way, but at this stage it appears very few teams in the NFL can go toe-to-toe with the Eagles. Here are some quick hitters from the impressive win.
Can’t put out the flames:
It doesn’t matter what team it is or what kind of offense they run, nobody can stop this Eagles defense. Today’s win marks the fourth straight where Jim Schwartz’s unit has allowed 238 yards or less and the second consecutive game where they haven’t allowed a single touchdown. We’ll get to the sheer domination of the league’s third ranked back later on, but this defense is playing on another level right now. Five QB hits, seven tackles for a loss and a pair of sacks sound great, but holding the Bears to a total of less than 150 yards? That sounds dominant.
Payday:
I wrote just yesterday about how Brandon Graham deserves a contract extension and why it should be a priority for the Eagles. Then, Jason LaConfora reported that there is indeed a negotiation in the works. One day later, BG balls out in a way only the consistent DE can. Two tackles, a sack and a tackle for a loss sum up a day that saw the Bears completely stifled due to the sheer pressure brought by one of the best in the game. The audition for a payday is nigh…but will the Eagles be able to work something out?
Ball security:
The Eagles fumbled not once, not twice, not even three times. They had four separate fumbles on Sunday…and still managed to make a blowout look easy. Against a team with the talent to make them pay for such mistakes, this may have been a different story. Ajayi’s endzone fumble was luckily scooped up by Nelson Agholor for his second touchdown of the afternoon and Blount’s pair of fumbles didn’t exactly ignite the backfield. The Eagles are too talented to let rookie errors chain them down…so expect a lot of attention to be paid on protecting the rock this week.
FINALLY, a 100-yard game:
It took eleven weeks, but the Eagles finally have a 100+ yard receiver. Zach Ertz has that honor after putting up 103 yards and his 7th touchdown of the season. The Birds pounded a cornerback group that has not recorded an interception all season and force-fed their tight end 12 times en-route to his biggest game of the year. The Eagles still spread the ball around, but this game belonged to both Ertz and former Chicago Bear Alshon Jeffery.
Points of authority:
The league’s third best running back? He was held to 6 yards on 7 carries. He averaged 64 yards in the first half alone coming into this season. The entire backfield combined for 6 yards on 14 carries against a defense that smothered the attack from the moment it began to mount. The Eagles kept Mitchell Trubisky quiet as well, holding him to 147 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. The defense ran rampant today…as did their offense. The Eagles backfield contrasted that of Chicago to post up 176 yards on the ground, their tenth consecutive game of 100+. Their offense? Make that five games in a row of 30+ points. Carson Wentz? Make that 9 touchdowns in three weeks. The Eagles are the most dominant team in the league right now…and they don’t care whether their opponents are 9-2 or 2-9, the mentality is the same.
Making Football fun again:
Bowling for strikes? Choreographed dances featuring the ENTIRE secondary? A team photo? The Eagles are killing it and they’re having fun doing so. There’s nothing more entertaining than seeing this team be so good, yet having so much fun. The sense of a “family” is strong and it bleeds onto the field each and every week.
The complete picture:
With nine minutes to go, the Eagles inserted Nick Foles into the game. Wisniewski moved to center, Seumalo entered the game at right tackle and Chance Warmack became the left guard. Mack Hollins caught 2 passes for 30 yards and Rasul Douglas had an interception called back before tipping one to Corey Graham. Deepest team in the NFL? You can make a strong case.
Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports
