The Philadelphia Eagles look to start a season 3-0 for a fourth time under Nick Siriannia and will try to do so against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.
While the Eagles still have areas to improve in, they have been able to start the season 2-0 with wins against Washington and Tennessee. The Bears look to bounce back from their 9-3 home loss to Minnesota last week, but will have to do so without starting quarterback Caleb Williams who is out with a hamstring injury.
Here are some key matchups that could determine the outcome of this NFC clash:
We know Williams is out, but who will be under center for the Bears is still up in the air between backup quarterback Tyson Bagent (concussion protocol) and third-string Case Keenum. Regardless, it’s an advantageous matchup for an Eagles defense who is just one of three teams in the NFL still without a takeaway this season.
The Eagles will look to pressure either quarterback to help force a takeaway. According to Next Gen Stats, the Eagles pass rush has generated pressure on 45.2% of opposing dropbacks, but doing so on the seventh-lowest blitz rate (24.2%).
Chicago’s offensive line has allowed the sixth-highest pressure rate at 41.5% of dropbacks this season.
The front seven which features the likes of Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Jalyx Hunt, Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell might get a boost with Jonathan Greenard listed as questionable for the first time this season, indicating perhaps the $100-million pass rusher is ready to make his Eagles debut.
Saquon Barkley is expected to play in this game although he mentioned during the week he will still wear the cowboy collar to protect his neck (stinger) and will change his stance in the backfield slightly to adjust to the new protective gear. With all that said, Barkley looks to be a factor in this game after he essentially missed the entire game in Week 2 in Nashville.
The Bears have allowed opposing cowbell backs to have success so far this season. Last week, Aaron Jones ran for 105 yards on 23 carries averaging 4.6 yards per carry. In Week 1, they allowed Chuba Hubbard to average 4.9 yards per carry while former Eagle AJ Dillon averaged 5.6 yards per touch on five carries.
The success the Bears had on the ground against the Eagles last season on their Black Friday matchup in Philadelphia last season will be mentioned numerous times throughout the broadcast.
Chicago manhandled the Eagles’ defensive front and gashed them for 281 yards total with running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai racking up 255 of those yards while both finding the end zone in a 24-15 win.
“They are one of the better running teams in the league,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said earlier in the week. “They’ve got a really great O-line, great backs. Their scheme is good. We’re going to have to play it a whole lot better.”
Despite not having Williams at quarterback, if the Bears lean heavily into the rushing attack once again against the Eagles, it could be the deciding factor in the outcome of this game.
Now as the new alpha wideout on the team, Smith is seeing more downfield targets, averaging 14.7 air yards per target this season, his highest mark since his rookie season (14.8) per NextGen Stats. His 33.3% share of the team's targets is also a career-best, ranking sixth in the NFL.
Smith put together his first WR1 type game last Sunday hauling in 10 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. Last season Smith had just two, 100-plus yard receiving games in the regular season with the first one not taking place until Week 5.
Opposite of him, Wicks is sixth in average depth of target at 14.8 yards and all of his catches this season have been to convert a first down.
The duo should have plenty of chances come Monday night against a Bears secondary that features Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson. Johnson, a Pro Bowler in 2023 and 2024 has not been the same after being limited to just seven games last season and has struggled so far to open up 2026, allowing a 114.8 opposing passer rating allowing eight catches on 11 targets for 168 yards per NextGen Stats. Stevenson, who was on the team's injury report with a hamstring injury, has had his share of troubles as well, allowing a 137.5 opposing passer rating allowing five receptions on nine targets for 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Davis played just 23 snaps in the sweltering heat in Nashville last week, equating to just 43% of the team’s defensive snaps with only six of them being pass rushing snaps. The Eagles are hoping they can get more from one of their two start defensive tackles who they paid swimmingly in the offseason.
Coming off his best season of his career, Davis looks to be a disruptor against Garrett Bradbury who was called for four penalties at center in last week’s loss to Minnesota has received a lot of scrutiny so far this season. The 18th overall pick back in 2019 by Minnesota looks to rebound after a tough performance but has a tough test lining up across from Davis and not to mention Jalen Carter.
