The Chicago Bears played their overall best game of the season in the 27-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field. Find out what was working for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's defense.
It took the Philadelphia Eagles every second of the game clock in the first half of Monday night's game against the Chicago Bears to score.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed for a 1-yard touchdown as the clock expired in the second quarter. That were the only points for the Eagles, as Chicago's defense shut out Philadelphia in the second half to help the team secure a 27-7 win.
After the game, head coach Ben Johnson handed out game balls. He mentioned that it was hard to single out one individual on the defense, so he handed out the first game ball of the night to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
"It's not about the call, it's about the way you guys bring the call to life," Allen said. "Offense, defense, kicking game it's all bout you guys out there on the field and in all three phases, we executed tonight, alright, and we got the win. That's a hell of a freaking job, alright. Enjoy this one this evening and then you guys get ready to get back to work, alright? Because we got the Jets coming in here."
Allen's already looking towards next week's opponent, but the defense's performance against the Eagles should be properly recognized. The Bears allowed the Eagles inside the red zone just twice all game and both occurred in the first half. Philadelphia's most successful drive in the second half only reached Chicago's 39-yard line.
The Eagles' other red zone attempt ended with rookie safety Dillon Thieneman intercepting backup quarterback Andy Dalton, who filled in for Jalen Hurts while he was in concussion protocol.
Thieneman saw the Eagles' route concepts develop and waited for one of the receivers to enter his space, and when that happened, he made the Eagles pay. But it's important to recognize the three plays before the interception.
On a second-and-4 from Chicago's 15-yard line, running back Saquon Barkley broke free towards the left side and looked like he was set to score, but Thieneman took just the right angle and used his speed to push him out of bounds at the 1-yard line. Barkely got another carry on first-and-goal and linebacker Devin Bush made a tackle for loss. With the Eagles now facing a second-and-goal from the 2, defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and Thieneman tackled Barkley for no gain. That set up the defense for what ended up being Thieneman's third-down interception.
Barkely finished the first half of the game with 73 rushing yards on 11 carries, but the Bears made sure that success wouldn't translate in the second half. The Eagles running back ended the game with 82 total rushing yards on 15 attempts.
Allen's defense limited the Eagles to 248 yards of total offense and 2 of 9 on third down conversions. Chicago's defense created three takeaways on the night, starting with defensive end Austin Booker's forced fumbled that was recovered by safety Xavier Woods.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards picked off Hurts with :27 seconds left in the third quarter, and the Bears turned that takeaway into a touchdown drive on the offense's next possession.
Chicago is tied for third place in total takeaways (6) with four other teams, and has allowed 53 points through the first three games, seventh-best in the NFL.
Allen's unit had a disappointing start in the Week 1 performance against the Carolina Panthers, but the unit has found its grove the last two weeks, giving up just one touchdown in the at time span.
"The last two weeks they have played outstanding football for us," Johnson said. "They continue to trend the right way. It's great to see the takeaways. That was huge for us, it really was, and I can't say enough good things about the plan that DA had in and the coaching staff coaching it up. I'm in my office after the game trying to highlight ok, who stood out and just had a monster game on defense? It's hard to say just one guy did. It felt like the whole unit that second half. They were flying around and they were playing together as one, which is awesome to see. So we have to continue to foster that. It's how we play football. It's how we outrun, out hit and rally to the football. That's really what we want to be our calling card."
