The Chicago Bears have several reasons to be upbeat heading into their “Black Friday” showdown against the host Philadelphia Eagles.
For starters, the Bears (8-3) find themselves atop the NFC North on the strength of their second four-game winning streak of the season.
Chicago may also catch Philadelphia (8-3) flat-footed after the latter saw its second four-game winning streak halted in horrific fashion. The Eagles’ offense went limp in squandering a 21-point lead in a 24-21 road setback to the rival Dallas Cowboys last Sunday.
As for the Bears, Caleb Williams threw two of his three touchdown passes to DJ Moore in a 31-28 home victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday.
“Yeah, I mean, we’re an 8-3 team in the National Football League,” Williams said. “We feel good where we’re at, but we do got to get better. I would say, ‘Yeah, we don’t feel like we’re the same old Bears.’ We pull through for each other when it matters most. We got to keep getting better, like I said. It starts with me on my side, and we’ll keep growing from there.”
Rookie Kyle Monangai has found the end zone in three straight games, while fellow running back D’Andre Swift likely is champing at the bit to see his former team with which he had a career year in 2023 and made his lone Pro Bowl as an Eagle.
The Bears rank eighth in the league in points per game (26.3), sixth in total yards per contest (369.6) and tops in forced turnovers (24).
Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts totaled three touchdowns last weekend versus Dallas, rushing for two and tossing one to A.J. Brown. The latter led the team with eight receptions for 110 yards while fellow wideout DeVonta Smith had six for 89, respectively.
Smith, who leads the Eagles in catches (55) and receiving yards (754), sat out his second consecutive practice Wednesday. He had an illness designation added to his chest and shoulder injuries as the reason for his absence.
Star running back Saquon Barkley (groin) remained limited Wednesday, while offensive tackle Lane Johnson (foot) and wide receiver Xavier Gipson (shoulder) did not participate in practice. Philadelphia placed starting safety Andrew Mukuba (ankle) on injured reserve after he was hurt against Dallas, and he must sit at least the next four games.
The Eagles on Friday will see a familiar face in CJ Gardner-Johnson, who was traded from Philadelphia to the Houston Texans in March. It didn’t work out in Houston for Gardner-Johnson, who has since played four games with the Bears.
“Yeah, I love CJ,” Philadelphia head coach Nick Sirianni said on Wednesday. “We’ve had some great times together in the one Super Bowl together, won another one together. I always loved the emotion he played with and how he went about his business. So yeah, I miss him and he’s playing good football.”
Chicago cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson (groin) and Kyler Gordon (calf), who currently are on injured reserve, were both full participants in practice for the second consecutive day on Wednesday.
Bears coach Ben Johnson wasn’t tipping his hand in regard to the availability for those two players, however.
“We have a plan in place with them, and we’re really right on track with what we’re hoping to get done with them,” he said. “We’ll know soon enough.”
Gardner-Johnson may have let the cat out of the bag in regard to Jaylon Johnson, labeling him as one of the league’s best cornerbacks while telling the Chicago Sun-Times that “he’ll probably get a chance to actually show that, being active this week against a great receiving corps.”
The following players did not participate in practice for the second straight day for the Bears: starting linebackers T.J. Edwards (hand, hamstring), Noah Sewell (elbow) and Ruben Hyppolite II (shoulder), defensive back Tyrique Stevenson (hip), offensive lineman Luke Newman (foot) and defensive lineman Dominique Robinson (concussion).
