The Philadelphia Eagles are 2-0, with a pair of wins over lesser opponents in the Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans. In Week 3, they'll face their hardest opponent to date in the Chicago Bears, who beat the Eagles last season.

1) The Eagles' run defense vs. the Bears' rushing attack

In the Eagles-Bears matchup last season, the Bears had 281 rushing yards, with Kyle Monangai running for 130 yards and D'Andre Swift running for 125. The Eagles' defensive line got absolutely owned up front, while the linebackers were often caught out of position, and the safeties were missing tackles.

Jalen Carter was dealing with injured shoulders in that game, and wasn't himself. After that matchup, he had procedures on both shoulders. So that didn't help. But also, when you watch the above, that was a total team effort (or lack thereof) against the Bears' rushing attack.

After two games this season, the Bears have the No. 1 rushing offense in the NFL.

Their top two backs are D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai. Swift is aptly named, and a great fit for the Bears' run scheme, as he runs with tempo and patience, but with quick-cut ability when holes open. Monangai is a classic bowling ball runner who moves piles, breaks tackles, and typically falls forward. They have combined for 316 rushing yards this season already in two games.

Of course, the numbers are boosted by QB Caleb Williams, who is also a major contributor to the Bears' run game. He very likely won't play Week 3 (more on that in a moment).

The Bears want to run the ball. They have a really good 1-2 combo in Swift and Monangai, and as noted above they wrecked the Eagles on the ground in their last matchup. Whether they have Williams available or not, they are going to run it a fair amount in this matchup.

Meanwhile, the Eagles' run defense hasn't been great so far this season. They are allowing 127.0 yards per game, which ranks 24th in the NFL. On Sunday, they gave up an embarrassing 27-yard run on 3rd and 22 that nearly cost them the game.

Doing a far better job against the run than they did against the Bears a year ago — or even in their two games so far season — has to be a point of pride for this Eagles defense.

"We gotta play it better, obviously," Vic Fangio said of the Eagles' 2025 performance against the Bears. "They are one of the better running teams in the league. They've got a really great O-line, great backs, their scheme is good. We're going to have to play a whole lot better."

2) The Bears could be without their top two quarterbacks in this matchup

When Caleb Williams suffered his injury Week 2 against the Vikings, he was writhing and screaming on the ground in pain. He was then carted off the field, towel over his head initially, followed by teary fist pumps for the home crowd. It sure looked like a serious, season-ending type of injury initially.

But nope. It was just a low-grade hamstring strain. During a radio appearance on Monday, Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that Williams "will likely miss some time."

We covered Williams' injury in a little more depth here.

But also, it was later reported that QB2 Tyson Bagent suffered a concussion against the Vikings, likely on the following play:

He is in the concussion protocol. The Bears have an extra day to prepare for the Eagles since they play on Monday night, but if Bagent isn't ready to go by then, 38-year-old QB3 Case Keenum would start.

Keenum has carved out a long NFL career as a journeyman backup quarterback.

• Houston Texans (2012–2013)
• St. Louis Rams (2014)
• Houston Texans (2014)
• St. Louis / Los Angeles Rams (2015–2016)
• Minnesota Vikings (2017)
• Denver Broncos (2018)
• Washington Redskins (2019)
• Cleveland Browns (2020–2021)
• Buffalo Bills (2022)
• Houston Texans (2023–2024)
• Chicago Bears (2025–present)

He has 66 career starts, with a 30-36 career record. His best season was in 2017, when he went 11-3 with the Vikings, leading them to the NFC Championship Game. Of course, he and the Vikings got blown out by the Eagles in that game.

Keenum hasn't appeared in a game since 2023, when he started two games for the Texans. He went 1-1 in those two starts. We cut up video of those two games, and, well, they're not pretty.

• In his first start against a bad Titans team, Keenum didn't get much going offensively all day, and he almost threw 2 INTs late that would have sealed the game for the Titans. But, the Texans' defense kept them in it, and they won in overtime.

• In his second start against the Browns, Keenum was 11 of 17 for 62 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, and 3 sacks, before he was benched in the third quarter.

And, again, he hasn't thrown a pass in a real game since.

The Bears have a pair of young receivers they're excited about in Luther Burden and Rome Odunze, to go along with a dynamic veteran slot guy in Kalif Raymond. They also have a couple of tight ends who can make plays in Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. 

But clearly, the Eagles' game plan on defense should be to commit to stopping the run, and making Keenum beat them through the air.

3) Where might the Eagles go #Feastin'?

The Bears' offensive line will probably look like this:

The Bears' regular starting LT is Ozzy Trapilo. He suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in the Bears' wildcard round win over the Packers last season. He began training camp on the PUP list, but surprisingly came off of it prior to the start of the regular season. He has been among the Bears' inactives the first two weeks of the season, although he practiced in full leading up to the Vikings game Week 2.

A combination of Jones and Theo Benedet have filled in for Trapilo. They've been fine. But certainly, that LT spot is the one to watch leading up to gameday.

Otherwise, the Bears' line is set. They have two good guards in Thuney and Jackson, and Wright has become a star player who absolutely mashes in the run game. Here's Wright and Jackson dominating on the ground against the Panthers Week 1 (via Clay Harbor):

The only weakness is Bradbury, who already has five penalties (3 holding, 2 false starts).

Still, the Eagles faced a couple of crappy offensive lines the first two weeks of the season, and didn't really capitalize against them. This line will present their toughest test so far of this young season, by far.

#FeastinMeter™️: 3 turkey legs 🍗🍗🍗

(Note: My apologies for the #FeastinMeterJinx™️ the first two weeks of the season.)

4) DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks vs. Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson

One of the things the Eagles can be thrilled about so far this season is the play of their top two receivers in Smith and Wicks, not to mention Jalen Hurts.

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One of the concerns so far for the Bears has to be the play of their top two corners in Johnson and Stevenson.

Per PFF, Johnson and Stevenson have combined for an opposing passer rating of 141.7 through the first two games.

PFF also has Stevenson down for four missed tackles.

5) Can the interior of the Eagles' offensive line start playing better?

In Week 1, an obviously not-right Landon Dickerson gave up pressure all day to a bad Commanders defensive line. In Week 2, after Dickerson was placed on IR, Cam Jurgens moved from C to LG, and Drew Kendall filled in at C. The interior of the line struggled yet again, with Jurgens having an alarming game.

Of course, part of the reason for Jurgens' poor performance was because he was trying to block the best interior defensive lineman in the game in Jeffery Simmons.

The Bears don't have any players along their defensive line anywhere remotely as good as Simmons, which presents an opportunity for improvement. And certainly, if the Eagles are going to contend for a Super Bowl this year, the offensive line has to be a lot better.