4 Keys to a Bears victory over the Eagles in Week 15

The Chicago Bears are back in action following their bye week, and recently these post-bye games have not been kind to them. The last time the Bears won their first game after a bye was in 2013 when they beat the Green Bay Packers 27-20 at Lambeau Field. Josh McCown was the starting quarterback for that one.

This year, Chicago has the sensational sophomore quarterback Justin Fields and will face the 12-1 Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field.

The Eagles come into this game as the top seed in the NFC, leading the league in sacks and interceptions. Quarterback Jalen Hurts is in the MVP conversation, and they are seen as the most likely team to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

A lot has to go right for the 3-10 Bears to have a chance of winning this game, but “any given Sunday” is still the mantra and the beauty of the NFL. So let’s look at what the Bears must do to end their six-game losing streak.

Contain Jalen Hurts

For the first time this season, the Bears face a quarterback who poses the same kind of dual threat as Justin Fields. Last month, Hurts gashed the Green Bay Packers for over 100 yards rushing. Oh, and that was just in the first quarter. The Bears have to find a way to contain Hurts, and stop him from making something out of nothing with his legs. If they can take away his running threat, that will make their lives much easier on defense.

Impact Plays on Defense

In the last five games, the Bears have accumulated an astonishing three sacks and two takeaways. Just one of those sacks came from a defensive lineman. For a storied franchise like the Bears, that is simply unacceptable. If there was ever a game to right the defensive ship, it’s this one. The defense needs to get takeaways so Justin Fields and the offense have as many scoring opportunities as possible, and they need to sack the quarterback to get the Eagles off-script. If they can’t do either, there’s simply very little hope for the team to celebrate a win.

Win in the Trenches

This one’s pretty simple. The Eagles lead the league in sacks and are probably expecting to keep Justin Fields on the run. We know Fields can make magic happen on these off-script plays, but the Bears shouldn’t rely on that for offensive success. Chicago has to give Fields time to throw on Sunday and open up running lanes for David Montgomery so they can run their offense on time and on schedule. If the offensive line can give Fields consistent pockets, a breakout game from wide receiver Chase Claypool — if he plays — could be in the cards.

Justin Fields

As Fields goes, so go the Bears. While Bears fans are hoping that an offseason with over $100 million of cap space and a bounty of draft picks will make the team more complete in 2023, for now, the team rides on the shoulders of its quarterback and whatever magic he can conjure up.

If Fields can play like he did against Green Bay in Week 13, a game when he completed 80% of his passes and threw for over 250 yards to go with 71 yards and a touchdown rushing, then the Bears have a chance to win.

This matchup feels like a classic “trap game” for the Eagles, like last year when the 5-2 Buffalo Bills lost to the 1-6 Jacksonville Jaguars. Maybe the Bears will pull off the upset of the season this week, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Expect a fairly one-sided game, with the Eagles winning 34-20.