Already in Week 13, high-profile teams made statements about what they are and will be this season. Some good, some bad.
The Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens might not be the championship contenders they hoped to be. Maybe the Green Bay Packers are. The Dallas Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals don’t feel they’re dead yet.
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The Chicago Bears might have made the biggest statement of all: They’re not going anywhere in the NFC North race.
The Bears got their best win of the season and held onto first place in the division by beating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-15. The Eagles have their issues, particularly on offense, but they came into the game with an 8-3 record with most of the same roster that won a Super Bowl a little more than nine months ago. And the Bears were the far superior team. Chicago never trailed, and it never seemed like the Bears were in any danger of losing.
The Bears have two head-to-head matchups left against the Packers, who are 8-3-1. Now that Chicago has beaten the Eagles, the Bears should feel confident that they can beat the Packers too. A team with four straight double-digit loss seasons is in great shape to make the playoffs.
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It’s a big transformation in coach Ben Johnson’s first year on the job.
Bears get a big win
The Bears had a great record but not everyone believed in their staying power.
The Bears had only one win against a team that had a record above .500 going into the Week 13 games, and that was a three-point win over the Steelers at home last week. They had a series of close wins and a point differential of -3 for the season.
There won’t be much skepticism about the Bears after Friday. They played much better than the Eagles in Philadelphia. They pounded the Eagles defense with their run game to the tune of 281 yards. The defense shut down the Eagles, though Philadelphia fans would gladly tell you that says more about everything that is wrong with the Eagles this season.
Caleb Williams and the Bears were clearly the better team for much of the game Friday, and improve to 9-3 atop the NFC North. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)
From the first half on, it was clear that the Bears were the better team. Philadelphia had just two first downs in the first half. The Bears defense is getting healthier in the secondary and that made a difference. Philadelphia’s offense got almost nothing going, though that has been a season-long trend for the Eagles.
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And the Bears were content playing a ball-control game, gashing the Eagles on the ground. That’s part of Johnson’s excellence as a play caller.
Caleb Williams puts the game away
While most of the attention on the Bears’ hire of Johnson focused on what he would do for Caleb Williams, Johnson’s offenses when he was offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions were devastating in large part because they could run the ball on anyone.
The Bears are turning into that type of offense. They had 142 rushing yards in the first half alone. Early in the fourth quarter both D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai had 100 yards rushing. The Bears hadn’t had two backs with 100 yards in a game since 1985, when Walter Payton and Matt Suhey did it.
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That was keeping the Eagles’ offense off the field, though Philadelphia’s inability to string first downs together was a factor in that too. The Bears scored first, on a Swift touchdown in the first quarter, and never trailed.
The Bears didn’t get a ton going in the pass game, though they didn’t need to. But Williams made the play to put the game away. He floated a pass to the end zone for Cole Kmet, who caught it for a 28-yard score.
That gave the Bears a 24-9 lead with 6:19 left, and the Eagles offense wasn’t coming back from that. At that point Philadelphia had just one drive out of nine in which they gained more than one first down. The Eagles did score a touchdown after that, but then went for two and Hurts threw incomplete. The Bears still led by nine points and were on their way to a win.
The Bears looked fantastic on Friday. When Johnson was hired, the question was how long it might take him to turn Chicago into a playoff team. The answer seems to be that he’ll do that right away.
Live coverage is over45 updates
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 12:42 PM PST
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 3:05 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Philadelphia stumbles at home, falling to Chicago in a pretty one-sided matchup.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 3:03 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Jalen Hurts gets a few big passes to move the Eagles down the field, but Philadelphia’s offense stalls yet again, and they’re forced to go for the long field goal. But Jake Elliott’s 52-yard attempt goes wide left thanks to the whipping winds that have plagued the game so far.
Victory formation for the Bears.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:59 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Caleb Williams’ incomplete pass leads the Bears to turn over on fourth-and-4 at the Eagles 30, and Philadelphia gets the ball back with a little over a minute left.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:55 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Bears are deep in Eagles territory at the two-minute warning with a nine-point lead. A score here would just about seal the deal for the Bears, but if Philadelphia’s defense can get the stop on third down, then the Eagles just might have a chance.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:47 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Jalen Hurts gets the ball to A.J. Brown for the second straight big catch, and Brown twists into the end zone to keep the game alive.
But the two-point conversion falls flat, and it stays a two-score game.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:45 PM PST
Kari Anderson
On third down, a pass from Jalen Hurts is reeled in by A.J. Brown for a 17-yard gain, as Brown gets both feet in bounds to get the Eagles to first and goal.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:38 PM PST
Kari Anderson
There’s a little over six minutes left in the game, and Eagles fans are streaming out of the Linc after Chicago grows its lead to 15 points.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:38 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:35 PM PST
Kari Anderson
The Bears are really running away with it now: Caleb Williams goes long to Cole Kmet, who gets the catch right over the top of Reed Blankenship and gives Chicago a 24-9 lead.
It’s a gem from Williams, who nails the throw for his his first passing touchdown of the day and helps the Bears grow their lead.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:25 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Jalen Hurts throws to DeVonta Smith, but Smith gets wrapped up with Bears lineman Amen Ogbongbemiga. No defensive pass interference is called, possibly because the ball was underthrown.
The Philadelphia crowd wanted the call, as did Smith; Ogbongbemiga, though looked right at the camera to flash a thumbs down, seemingly sharing his opinion about the potential flag.
The Eagles are eventually forced to punt on the drive as a result.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:21 PM PST
Kari Anderson
The Bears get on the board again, capping off a 87-yard bounceback drive with another touchdown. This time, it’s Monangai who runs in for the score, as Chicago sticks with the guy who has ruled the second half for the Bears. They hold a 17-9 lead as a result.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:18 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:13 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Gutsy move by Ben Johnson, who has the Bears go for it on fourth-and-5. But it pays off, as Caleb Williams finds Colston Loveland for a seven-yard gain and a first down just before the end of the third quarter.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:10 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:08 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:05 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Eagles break out the tush push on third-and-1, but the ball gets out of Jalen Hurts’ hands, and Chicago is able to recover it. Philadelphia might’ve gotten a big turnover, but now the ball is going right back.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 2:03 PM PST
Kari Anderson
Caleb Williams goes way back on second-and-1 for a throw, but Jalyx Hunt gets his hands on it in the backfield for a potentially game-changing interception. The pick puts Philadelphia at the Chicago 36, in excellent position.
The Linc has come back alive, and the Eagles have true momentum for the first time this game.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 1:59 PM PST
Kari Anderson
That’s the first touchdown that the Eagles have scored since the second quarter of last week’s loss to the Cowboys.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 1:58 PM PST
Kari Anderson
After a futile start, Philadelphia comes out of nowhere with an rapid drive to get back in the game. Jalen Hurts gets a 23-yard rush, and then sends a 33-yard pass to A.J. Brown, who pulls off an incredible catch for a touchdown.
Unfortunately, the bad luck doesn’t completely stop: Jake Elliott, who has yet to miss an extra point this season, sends the kick wide left. Philadelphia will have to settle for a one-point game.
Fri, November 28, 2025 at 1:53 PM PST
Kari Anderson
The Eagles get a first down (!) for the first time since the start of the second quarter, as Jalen Hurts finds A.J. Brown for a 16-yard gain. A roughing the passer call on the Bears gives Philadelphia even more of a boost, and they’ll now go to their own 39.