A national audience will tune into Friday’s showdown between the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles, curious to see if the Bears’ 8-3 start stands up to the defending champions’ 8-3 record.
But the Bears aren’t viewing the Week 13 game (2 p.m., Prime Video) as a litmus test of their legitimacy.
“We don’t put that type of energy, that type of effort, that type of pressure on any other game,” quarterback Caleb Williams said. “We go into each game (with the) focus on being 1-0. You don’t look over there (and) compare yourself to their record, their team, their coaches, their players, or anything like that. We focus on us.”
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Williams and others have credited the Bears’ new outlook to the culture change Ben Johnson has instilled since his hire as a first-time head coach in January.
Safety Kevin Byard III said, “I’ve talked about this from the beginning, how Chicago’s got the right guy in place, just the type of culture he’s been able to set from the beginning since he’s been here.
“I don’t think we could have pegged it to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to be 8-3 to start this year.’ But I just knew just from the process that we had, from the spring up to this point, it’s a winning culture and it’s a winning process.”
Here are five things to watch on Friday.
1. There’s a reverence for Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio walks on the field before a game against the Cowboys on Nov. 23, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez )
Fangio steered the Bears defense from 2015, when they ranked 20th in scoring defense (24.8 points per game), to 2018, when they ranked first (17.7). He was named the 2018 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year before the Denver Broncos hired him as head coach, a role he served for three seasons.
The Eagles defense ranked third from the bottom in scoring defense (25.2) in 2023. In Fangio’s first season in Philadelphia, he turned them into the second-ranked unit (17.8) and ultimately Super Bowl champions.
This season, the Eagles are eighth in scoring defense (20.5) and third in the red zone (48.48%), but are less daunting in other areas, such as their 340 yards allowed per game (ranked 20th) and 5.84% sack rate (26th).
Still, the Bears have a lot of respect for the 67-year-old coach, whose first coordinator job was with the Carolina Panthers in 1995.
“He’s really changed the way teams play defense,” said Declan Doyle, Bears offensive coordinator, of Fangio.
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said, “Everybody in the league pays attention to what other teams are doing, especially guys that have been as successful as Vic’s been throughout his career. He’s outstanding at what he does.
“Everywhere he’s been, he’s coached top-level defenses – go all the way back to the freaking Dome Patrol back in New Orleans. I’ve got a lot of respect for him and what he’s been able to accomplish defensively, and certainly we try to look at his tape and see what he’s doing that can marry up to some of the things that we’re trying to get accomplished.”
Williams, who has to face Fangio’s Eagles defense, said, “They do well hiding coverages and hiding pressures and waiting until the ball is snapped to do a bunch of different rotations and things like that.”
Doyle added, “They do a good job of holding the shell and trying to disguise and make things cloudy on the quarterback.”
Fangio has a lot of respect, as well, for Johnson and his staff’s makeover of the Bears offense.
“They do a great job calling the game, mixing it up, marrying their run game and their pass game,” Fangio told reporters in Philadelphia. “They’re highly ranked in a lot of areas and I don’t think it’s any accident. They’ve got really good players, and it’s a great scheme and a great play caller.”
2. Pressing question: Can the Bears stop the tush push?
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts runs the “Tush push” for a first down against the Packers during the first half on Nov. 10, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
It’s perhaps the most reliable – and most controversial – facet of the Eagles offense.
In short yardage and goalline situations, offensive teammates push quarterback Jalen Hurts from behind as he surges over the offensive line.
“It’s just the pad level up front,” said Jeremy Garrett, Bears defensive line coach. “The drive and the strength of the offensive linemen up front. Everybody in the country knows what’s coming, and you have to line up and stop it. Quarterback does a great job of finding a crease, and those guys, they just move bodies on the inside.”
Football purists seem to either love it or hate it. But at least the Bears have some familiarity with it.
The Pittsburgh Steelers ran the formation a few of times on 4th-and-1 in the second quarter Sunday, both with direct snaps to tight end Connor Heyward. The first time the Bears stuffed it. The second time, the Steelers tricked the Bears and handed off to running back Kenneth Gainwell for a 55-yard run.
Bears linebackers D’Marco Jackson (48) and Amen Ogbongbemiga (45) tackle Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell in the fourth quarter at Soldier Field on Nov. 23, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
“Tush push is a tush push,” Garrett said. “Obviously, Philly has perfected it, but it was still tough. Pittsburgh was succeeding at a high rate with theirs as well. It’s tough to stop.
“So I do think rolling into Philly, (it’s) hey, we’ve seen this look before, we’ve stopped it. I think it does give the guys a little bit of confidence.”
Still, the other outcome – Gainwell’s big gain – is present in Allen’s mind.
“We do have a plan in place and we feel like it’s a good, solid plan in terms of not only trying to stop that play, but all the plays that come off of it,” he said. “And that’s what makes it even more difficult to stop.”
The play may not be as difficult as it once was, however.
Certainly, there’s not a statistic labeled “tush push,” but Next Gen Stats/NFL Research provided the Tribune with the Eagles quarterback’s sneak conversion rate, which has been the same since the Eagles began using the tush push in 2021.
2021: 13 first downs on 14 attempts (92.9%)
2022: 29 first downs on 33 attempts (87.8%)
2023: 35 first downs on 42 attempts (83.3%)
2024: 32 first downs on 39 attempts (82.1%)
2025: 16 first downs on 23 attempts (69.6%)
The Eagles’ conversion rate has dropped significantly from last year, but a 70% rate is still pretty effective.
3. Player in the spotlight: Grady Jarrett, Bears defensive tackle
Bears defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is blocked by Lions guard Tate Ratledge in the first quarter on Sept. 14, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Jarrett and fellow DT Andrew Billings led the way in stopping Pittsburgh’s tush push Sunday.
“They moved the line of scrimmage back,” Garrett said of his defensive line. “You have to not only match their pad level, but you have to be lower than them, which is difficult to do when those guys are bear-crawling into the ground.”
Jarrett was pretty juiced. “Just being able to stop one of football’s most hated plays, obviously, right?”
But what’s next for Jarrett is the question after he missed three games with a knee injury earlier this season. He ha played inthe last five.
“I’m on an upswing of dealing with my injury,” he said. “It was a rough start, fighting through injury, and then having to take a step back and get worked back up into a ramp-up. I’m happy to be able to play a standard of football that I want to play week in and week out.”
Will Jarrett would gorge himself on turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy on Thursday to give him some extra oomph against the Eagles’ tush push?
“I’m going to wait until after the game to celebrate Thanksgiving, so I can really go to work,” he said. “I don’t need to be all heavy going into that Friday game.”
4. Keep an eye on … the Bears secondary.
Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright celebrates after defeating the Steelers 31-28 on Nov. 23, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
With defensive backs Jaylon Johnson (groin) and Kyler Gordon (calf) in their practice windows, it’s a week-to-week — if not a day-to-day — watch for their return.
When Gordon’s game-ready, what do the Bears do with C.J. Gardner-Johnson?
But here’s a better question: When Johnson is back in action, what the heck do the Bears do with Nahshon Wright, who’s technically the “third” cornerback behind Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson but shares the NFL lead in interceptions with five? Could the Bears really play Wright off the bench?
“Everybody’s going to have a role,” Allen said. “He certainly earned the right to play. What that role is, each and every week, may change, but we’re going to try to find ways that if we have a guy that we think can help us win games, we’re going to try to find ways to get him on the field.”
Al Harris, the Bears pass game coordinator and defensive backs coach, said of Wright, “We’ve got to find a way to get our best 11 guys on the field. He’s one of our best 11 guys.”
5. Injury updates.
Bears linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga celebrates after a tackle in the second quarter against the Steelers on Nov. 23, 2025, at Soldier Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Linebackers T.J. Edwards (hand/hamstring), Ruben Hyppolite II (shoulder) and Noah Sewell (elbow) didn’t participate in Tuesday’s estimate report following a walk-through. Tremaine Edmunds (groin) is on injured reserve, so that potentially puts backups D’Marco Jackson and Amen Ogbongbemiga back in the spotlight after they combined for 29 tackles Sunday.
“I was really impressed (with) the way how coachable (he was) and even-keeled he was,” linebackers coach Richard Smith said of Jackson. “The moment wasn’t too big for him. (I) saw some really good plays with speed and acceleration, and the effort was really, really good.”
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Ogbongbemiga expressed gratitude for the chance to shine when Hyppolite went down, but he was initially disappointed he didn’t get the start.
“That’s good,” Smith said. “You’d rather have a guy who believes in himself than someone who says, ‘I’m a backup.’”
It could be all hands on deck to stop Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (limited with a groin injury).
“Barkley has great vision,” Smith said. “He runs hard and hits the hole. He has a strong lower body. He spins out of tackles.”
Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (hip) was a non-participant Tuesday, while fellow defensive backs Johnson and Gordon remain on injured reserve. Defensive lineman Dominique Robinson (concussion) also didn’t participate.
Nickel corner Nick McCloud played outside, opposite Wright, against the Steelers.
“DA (Dennis Allen), even in the spring, he cross-trained a lot of guys on this team,” Byard said. “Just using a random example like Kyler Gordon, he was taking reps at safety, he was taking reps at nickel, taking reps at corner.
“He has done it for a lot of guys, whether it was Tremaine and T.J. flipping sides, everybody’s kind of gotten different reps at different spots that really understand the schematics of the defense. Guys have really come in and (taken) advantage of opportunities. You look at a guy like Nahshon, who wasn’t projected to be a starter this year, or you talk about D’Marco just this past week.”
Left tackle Theo Benedet was a full participant after being inactive Sunday, but backup lineman Luke Newman didn’t participate. Offensive lineman Ozzy Trapilo filled in for Benedet and drew raves from the coaching staff.
Predictions
Brad Biggs
There’s been enough drama coming out of Philadelphia this season that you’d swear the team’s record is 3-8 and not 8-3. The defending Super Bowl champions lost some key pieces on defense and the vaunted offensive line has dealt with several injury setbacks. The opportunistic Bears, who lead the NFL with a plus-24 turnover margin, might not be able to count on that. The Eagles are tops in the league with only six giveaways. If Philadelphia gets Saquon Barkley rolling — and far less accomplished backs have had big days vs. the Bears — this could be a mismatch.
Eagles 30, Bears 16
Sean Hammond (9-2)
The Eagles have had their issues this season, notably on offense. Yet they are 8-3. The Bears linebacker injuries, particularly against a better quarterback than Pittsburgh’s Mason Rudolph, make this a concerning matchup. Saquon Barkley should find ways to test the middle of the Bears defense. Vic Fangio’s defense could be the toughest challenge yet for Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson’s offense. If the Bears can hang around, they’ll have a chance, but I think Philadelphia holds them off.
Eagles 27, Bears 21
Phil Thompson (7-4)
The Eagles certainly looked vulnerable against the Dallas Cowboys, but familiarity with a division opponent breeds opportunity to exploit weaknesses. The Bears haven’t faced a team as put-together on offense and defense as the Eagles are. Saquon Barkley averages a full yard more on the ground at Lincoln Financial Field (4.5 to 3.1) than on the road. The Bears have given up the third-highest rushing yards per play (5.18).
Eagles 30, Bears 27
