Bears Defeat Eagles, 24-15: 10 Takeaways From Philadelphia’s Humiliating Loss
The Philadelphia Eagles had a chance to secure the inside track to the second-overall seed in the NFC with a win on Black Friday. Yet the Eagles looked totally unprepared and soft in a humiliating 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Friday’s loss was a perfect encapsulation of what the Eagles have become in recent weeks. Philadelphia’s inconsistent offense has been propped up by an elite defense and unreliable turnover avoidance. Both areas came crashing back down to reality in Week 13.
Here are my 10 takeaways from Philadelphia’s humiliating performance.
Change Is Needed at OC, Despite What Nick Sirianni Said
Following Philadelphia’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week, I said that a change needed to be made at offensive coordinator. Yet I also pointed out that the Eagles likely wouldn’t make that change during a shortened week.
After another concerning offensive performance, it’s time for the Eagles to address rhetorical elephant in the room. While first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo isn’t the only one at fault for Philadelphia’s struggles, it’s the easiest problem for the team to fix, at this point.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stated after the game that Philadelphia will not be changing the play caller. Sirianni said that the team will evaluate everything but “it’s never just about one person.”
Sirianni is right, Philadelphia’s offensive struggles aren’t about one person. Yet in late November, the Eagles can’t make any notable changes to the roster. Therefore, switching up the play caller is the only realistic change that the offense can make to provide a much-needed spark at this point in the season.
It’s Time for Jeffrey Lurie or Howie Roseman To Step In
Sirianni is close friends with Patullo, so of course he wasn’t going to publicly say that the Eagles are going to be making a change at play caller. Yet at this point, the decision should no longer be in Sirianni’s hands.
It’s time for Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie or general manager Howie Roseman to step in. Lurie is spending a ton of money on Philadelphia’s star-studded offense, yet they’re one of the worst units in the NFL this season.
Since September, Roseman has traded away four picks in the 2026 NFL Draft to try and upgrade this roster. Yet Patullo has failed to maximize all of the talent that Roseman has handed him.
Here’s where the Eagles rank on offense in 2025:
Total yards per game: 304.8 (24th)
Passing yards per game: 196.3 (22nd)
Rushing yards per game: 108.5 (22nd)
Points per game: 22.5 (19th)
The Eagles are simply too talented to be in the bottom half of the NFL on offense through the first 12 games of the regular season. Philadelphia’s offense is bland, predictable and lacks any type of cohesion, from top to bottom.
After all that they have invested in this unit, I would be shocked if Lurie and Roseman just stood by and watched this ship sink. Something needs to change and the easiest change to make is likely at offensive coordinator.
The Eagles could promote quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, who hasn’t called plays in the NFL but could bring a refreshing perspective from his time as a play caller in college. Parks Frazier and Jason Michael are two other members of the current coaching staff that have play calling experience in the NFL.
If the Eagles refuse to make a change at offensive coordinator, they could at least bring in an offensive consultant. Former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich could be an intriguing option after Stanford hired a new head coach. We’ll see if the Eagles will actually make the necessary changes or not.
Jalen Hurts Struggled But He Isn’t Going Anywhere
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts picked a tough time to have arguably his worst performance of the season. Hurts salvaged his performance in the box score with some garbage time yards but he mostly struggled in Week 13.
Hurts missed several open throws that halted any momentum that Philadelphia’s offense found. He also had two costly turnovers, one on a forced throw during a scramble drill and he also had the ball ripped away on a tush push attempt.
Hurts looked great on Philadelphia’s first touchdown drive, as he ran for 23 yards on a designed run before throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown. Yet then the Eagles rarely let Hurts utilize his legs and the offense stalled.
While Hurts has been one of the main targets of criticism following Philadelphia’s loss in Week 13, he is far from their biggest problem. Hurts isn’t going anywhere and if anything, the Eagles need to utilize Hurts’ running ability more often to fix this offense and salvage the season.
The Offensive Line Isn’t Getting Any Better
I’ve said for weeks that Philadelphia’s offensive line was holding this unit back. While many tried to use injuries as an excuse, that hasn’t been the only problem. The entire offensive line looks disjointed and lost, despite it being Week 13.
We’ve become spoiled by the consistent presence of elite offensive lines during Jeff Stoutland’s tenure as offensive line coach in Philadelphia. Yet Stoutland University has reverted into a community college this season.
Despite the absence of Lane Johnson, the Eagles still have three Pro Bowl caliber players in Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens. Yet you would never know that based on how poorly they have played in 2025.
Tank Bigsby’s Inexcusable Usage Continues
Heading into Week 13, the Bears had one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. Yet the Eagles failed to take advantage of a favorable matchup and were unable to get anything going on the ground, as they had just 87 rushing yards.
It was an inexplicably poor performance as the Eagles opted to move the ball through the air, despite the Bears missing four linebackers. Saquon Barkley had just 13 carries for 56 yards, while Tank Bigsby didn’t register a single carry.
Bigsby played just one offensive snap in Week 13, as the Eagles continue to avoid using a player that Roseman traded two draft picks for. Bigsby is averaging 9.1 yards per carry with the Eagles, yet he has just one carry in Philadelphia’s last two games.
Philadelphia’s Run Defense Was Finally Exposed
I have highlighted Philadelphia’s struggling run defense in recent weeks, yet it never came back to bite them…until Black Friday. The Bears ran the ball down the Eagles’ throats, and they couldn’t do anything to stop them.
The Bears literally turned back the clocks in Philadelphia as Chicago had two players run for over 100 rushing yards in the same game for the first time since 1985. It was an embarrassing performance as Philadelphia’s defense was punked by Ben Johnson’s offense.
Prior to Week 13, the Eagles have allowed opposing running backs to feast at times, yet then opposing teams would inexplicably stop running the ball. Johnson wasn’t going to make that same mistake as the Bears had their way with the Eagles on the ground.
“The Straw That Broke The Camel’s Back”
While the Eagles allowed the Bears to run for 281 rushing yards, Philadelphia’s defense held up well for three quarters. The Eagles forced a key turnover late in the third quarter, yet the offense was unable to capitalize on it.
Despite all of the yardage surrendered, Philadelphia’s defense limited the Bears to just 10 points through the first three quarters. Yet the Eagles couldn’t get anything going on offense and ultimately couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been tasked with holding up this team for far too long. Philadelphia’s defense has won several games for the Eagles this season, but Chicago’s rushing attack was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” in Week 13.
Eagles Still Can’t Defend Play Action
In my game preview ahead of this matchup, I highlighted Philadelphia’s struggles to defend downfield passes off of play action. As the Bears continued to run the ball, I knew that an eventual deep shot was coming.
That’s exactly what happened late in the fourth quarter. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams connected with tight end Cole Kmet on a 28-yard touchdown pass off play action to give Chicago an insurmountable 24-9 lead.
The Bears completed several other passes off play action and I expect that to be a constant issue for the Eagles moving forward. Philadelphia’s safety duo of Reed Blankenship and Sydney Brown struggled in coverage and will continue to be targeted this season.
Jihaad Campbell Officially Benched
Following Nakobe Dean’s full return to action in Week 7 against the Minnesota Vikings, he has become one of the best players on Philadelphia’s defense. While Fangio was trying to utilize all three of his talented linebackers, that idea officially came to an end in Week 13.
Eagles rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell didn’t play a single defensive snap against the Bears. The 21-year-old linebacker played six snaps on special teams and that was it. Dean has replaced Campbell as the full-time starter as Campbell was officially benched.
Jake Elliott Continues To Struggle
While the wind was certainly a factor in Philadelphia, Eagles kicker Jake Elliott continued to struggle in 2025. Elliott missed an unlikely 52-yard attempt late in the fourth quarter, yet his biggest mistake came earlier in the game.
After the Eagles scored a touchdown to potentially tie the game late in the third quarter, Elliott missed the extra point kick. Philadelphia trailed 10-9 and was forced to play catch-up the remainder of the game, ultimately failing to complete a two-point conversion.
Elliott has now made just 75.0% of his field goal attempts this season, the second-worst rate in his NFL career. Philadelphia’s offense is bad enough as it is, but they really won’t be able to overcome those issues if Elliott continues to struggle.