A Black Friday matchup between the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles provided both NFC clubs with an opportunity to send a message to the rest of the league with a statement win. What we got on Friday was Chicago proving it might be the team to beat in the North, while Philadelphia’s downward spiral is continuing.
Let’s dive into our winners and losers from the Bears vs Eagles game.
Read More: Takeaways from Thanksgiving Day Games
Winner: Ben Johnson’s Rushing Attack
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You think the Detroit Lions are missing Ben Johnson. The second-year Bears head coach understood the assignment on Black Friday. Beating the Eagles would require attacking their run defense. Mission accomplished. In the first half alone, D’Andre Swift (8.8 yards per carry) and Kyle Monangai (5.1 YPC) combined for 129 rushing yards and a touchdown. It’s especially impressive when you consider that opponents averaged just 92 rushing yards per game against Philadelphia in the last five weeks. Of course, this is becoming par for the course from Chicago. From Weeks 6–12, the Bears averaged 165.1 rushing yards per game with a 5.3 yards-per-carry average, and they ranked second in Success Rate (49.2 percent). Johnson isn’t doing this with a star running back, either. He just keeps proving he’s a maestro at dialing up a great rushing attack.
Loser: Kevin Patullo Remains Part of the Problem
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This is the Brian Johnson situation all over again. After losing offensive coordinator Shane Steichen to a head-coaching gig, Philadelphia promoted Brian Johnson from quarterbacks coach (2021–’22) to offensive coordinator in 2023. Through 11 games that season, the Eagles offense averaged 28.2 PPG, 364.3 total YPG, with a 47.3 percent third-down conversion rate while averaging 5.44 yards per play. He was eventually fired.
Fast forward to 2025, with pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo promoted to take over as offensive coordinator. Entering Week 13, the Eagles offense averaged 23.2 PPG, 303.6 total YPG, with a 34.6 percent third-down conversion rate and a 5.18 yards-per-play average. Patullo’s offense looked even worse at home on Friday. An in-season change is unlikely, but Patullo has left the organization with no choice but to fire him whenever this season ends.
Winner: A.J. Brown Provides Eagles a Much-Needed Spark
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On their third drive of the second half, Philadelphia got the football only trailing 10–3. While it was only a one-score deficit, it felt like so much more because of how much the Eagles offense had struggled the entire night. A. J. Brown gave the team and fan base the proverbial shot in the arm they all needed. It started with a 16-yard reception to get the Eagles away from their 8-yard line. A few plays later, he made a spectacular adjustment for the catch with a defender right by him, and then walked in for the 33-yard touchdown. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, it couldn’t get anything going after that.
Loser: Eagles’ Inability to Run the Ball
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If there’s one team Philadelphia should have had a ton of success running the football against, it would be Chicago. The Bears entered Week 13 allowing 138.1 rushing yards per game this season and a 5.2 yards-per-carry average; this was a perfect matchup for Saquon Barkley. Yet, outside of a 15-yard run, Philadelphia couldn’t find any sustained success on the ground. Not having Lane Johnson plays some part in it, but this has been a problem for most of the season. If the Eagles can’t pound the rock with effectiveness versus Chicago, there’s no reason to think improvement is around the corner.
Winner: Dallas Cowboys’ Playoff Hopes
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Just two weeks ago, it was viewed as a foregone conclusion that the Eagles would win the NFC East with a shot at the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. Now? It feels like everything is up for grabs. The Dallas Cowboys now have just one fewer loss than Philadelphia. If Dallas beats the Detroit Lions in Week 14, there’s a very real scenario where Dak Prescott and Co. win out against the Vikings, Chargers, Commanders, and Giants. If that were to happen, the Eagles could only afford one more loss in their final five games to retain the NFC East crown.
Loser: Jalen Hurts
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For the first time in more than a year (Nov. 10, 2024), Jalen Hurts had multiple turnovers in a game. The last time that happened, the Eagles still put up 348 total yards of offense with the defense (5 takeaways) also thriving. That’s just not happening with this version of the Eagles. Barkley isn’t having an MVP-caliber season and the play-calling is so much worse than it was a year ago. All of that means Hurts has to do more and it’s pretty clear that’s not a role he can handle.
Matt Johnson is Senior Editor of NFL and College Football for Sportsnaut. His work, including weekly NFL and college … More about Matt Johnson