Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Enemy Intel – The Bears

Posted September 25th, 2026 | No Comments »

Heaven and hell. That would be a good way to describe the Bears season so far. They looked great in the opener, beating Carolina 59-37. Then Chicago lost to the Viking 9-3. Even worse, QBs Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent both were injured. Two weeks and two very different results.

We don’t know the QB situation for sur, but there is a good chance Case Keenum is the starter on Monday. That changes the Bears offense in a big way. Not schematically mind you, but in terms of what they can do. Williams is a gifted athlete who can use his legs as a weapon. He ran for a 29-yard TD in the opener. He can also move around to buy time and let his receivers get open downfield, which can lead to big plays. Keenum is a smart veteran, but he’s not a playmaker. With Keenum, the offense will succeed or fail based on execution.

Chicago still has enough weapons to move the ball and score points. The OL is the foundation, especially RT Darnell Wright.

That OL has five good run blockers. They can open holes and get movement. They ran for 291 yards in Week 1 and you don’t do that unless you dominate the line of scrimmage. The offense struggled vs Minnesota, but still ran for 134 yards. you don’t really stop that run game, you just hope to limit it.

Former Eagle D’Andre Swift is the star RB. He averages 5.0 yards per carry and has run for 3 TDs. Kyle Monangai is a talented backup and averages 7.4 ypc. The k=line gives these guys room to run and they make the most of it.

Rome Odunze and Luther Burden are the key receivers. Burden is very dangerous after the catch. Odunze is averaging 19.0 yards per reception on the year. The Bears have an excellent group of TEs. Colston Loveland is the star. He only has one catch so far this season, but he is a big time talent. Cole Kmet is very good as well and Sam Roush gives them a good #3 TE.

Coach Ben Johnson is going to be pissed off that his team only scored 3 points last week. He will be driven to show the rest of the league that the Bears can win without Williams as the QB. Expect a creative gameplan. Expect the unexpected.

Chicago will need to score points because their defense isn’t great. DE Montez Sweat is the best pass rusher. DT Grady Jarrett can be disruptive, but he’s banged up right now. Devin Bush and TJ Edwards are the LBs. Neither guy is filling up the stat sheet so far this year. They have combined for 15 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 PD.

Rookie safety Dillon Thieneman leads the team with 17 tackles. He has a good combination of size and speed. Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson are the corners. Stevenson is second on the team with 14 tackles. He is dealing with a hamstring injury. If Stevenson is out, there could be a shuffle in the secondary.

That wouldn’t be ideal. You hate having multiple guys move spots, but that might be the best use of personnel.

Here is the Bears injury report as of Thursday afternoon. They have some key guys banged up right now.

Kalif Raymond is a good punt returner. The KORs aren’t anything special.

Cairo Santos is 2 for 3 on FGs, but did have one blocked last week.

The Bears are an interesting team. With Williams, they are a Super Bowl contender. I don’t like the defense, but Johnson and Williams have proven to be a dynamic player/coach combination and that makes Chicago tough to beat. They aren’t going to score 59 points on the Eagles. They also aren’t likely to be held to just a field goal. They will be at home and highly motivated. Even down a QB or two, this will be a dangerous team.

*****

The Eagles could have one outside advantage on Monday night.

It will be interesting to see f this trend continues.

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