With only two days to prepare for their upcoming game, the Philadelphia Eagles’ coordinators are adapting to a quick turnaround ahead of Friday’s matchup against the Chicago Bears. The contest, known as the “Back in Black” game, will feature both players and fans dressed in black at Lincoln Financial Field. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on Prime Video and locally on FOX.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio addressed the challenge of facing a Bears offense that leads the league in explosive plays—defined as passes over 20 yards or runs over 10 yards. Since Week 3, Chicago has averaged nearly 400 yards per game, ranking first in the NFC and second in the NFL.
“It’s a great scheme. They do a great job calling the game, mixing it up, marrying their run game and their pass game,” Fangio said about Chicago’s approach under head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams. “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.
“Ben does a good job of mixing it up. They package things well together. They play multiple personnel groups, and they’re under center a good bit, probably more than most teams in this league. Kudos to him and his staff for bringing that young quarterback (Williams) along who I don’t think ever played under center in college. He’s doing a great job, and they have fought through any of the pitfalls of that and now they’ve got a quarterback that is executing their offense the way they want to.”
Williams has led five fourth-quarter comebacks this season when trailing with less than two minutes left on the clock. He has shown significant progress from his rookie year by improving both his passing ability and mobility.
Fangio noted Williams’ skill as an elusive runner: “It’s an added dimension to their offense. We’ve talked about how good their offense is, and now with him, there’s going to be plays where you have to defend a second play that he’s creating with his scrambling,” he said. “He’s a high-level scrambler, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got good instincts when he is scrambling. It’s tough.”
On offense, Eagles coordinator Kevin Patullo emphasized ball security against a Bears defense that leads the NFL with 24 takeaways this season.
“They do a really good job of coming after the ball,” Patullo said. “Their secondary does a nice job ball hawking and seeing space, keeping vision on the quarterback. They really fly to the ball. It’s really impressive what they do at all levels. The front seven plays extremely hard, and I think the biggest difference is, it’s on their mind when they’re going to tackle you, when they’re going to do something. They’re constantly going after the ball. They’re hustling all over the tape. You’re not going to have a lot of plays where you see one guy rushing and one guy coming after it to make a tackle.
“It’s all a group effort and when you get that – that is one of the things we focused on today in the meetings, taking care of the ball. It’s going to be a huge part of the game and that’s what we have to do.”
The Eagles aim for consistency throughout all four quarters as they try to improve their record against an NFC North-leading Bears team currently riding four straight wins at 8-3 overall.
If victorious Friday night at home—the team’s goal is reaching 9-3 before enjoying an extended break—the Eagles will need disciplined execution against what coaches describe as one of their toughest tests so far this season.
