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Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles live updates from Soldier Field

By The Citizen on December 18, 2022

CHICAGO – The Bears might have their toughest test yet on Sunday.

The 12-1 Philadelphia Eagles come to Soldier Field for a matchup with the 3-10 Bears. Head coach Matt Eberflus and his team has a major challenge ahead. Quarterback Justin Fields has faced some tough defenses this season, but the Eagles are in the conversation among the best.

Follow @bears_insider for live updates all game long. Shaw Local Bears beat reporter Sean Hammond is covering the game live from Soldier Field. Follow him on Twitter at @sean_hammond and on Instagram at @bears_reporter. Reporter Jake Bartelson will also be reporting live from Soldier Field, follow him on Twitter at @JakeBartelson.

Catch up on all the latest Bears news below, and stay here all game long for live updates.

Velus Jones Jr. fumbles again

Bears rookie receiver Velus Jones Jr. took the football and tried to find a hole as he ran out wide toward the left sideline. An Eagles defender popped Jones and the football went flying from Jones’ hands.

The Eagles’ Haason Reddick recovered the fumble for Philadelphia. The Eagles took over with a four-point lead, 17-13, late in the third quarter.

It marked Jones’ third lost fumble of the season. He lost two fumbles on muffed punts earlier this year. This was his first turnover on offense.

Jones was the team’s third-round draft pick (71st overall) in the spring.

Gordon recovers fumble; Bears score touchdown

Bears defensive tackle Mike Pennel forced a fumble from Eagles running back Miles Sanders early in the third quarter. Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon picked up the loose ball and set up the Bears’ at the Eagles’ 15-yard line.

On the ensuing possession, the Bears scored a touchdown on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields to running back David Montgomery. They cut into the Eagles’ lead, 17-13, with 8:45 to go in the third quarter. It went as a three-play, 15-yard drive for the Bears.

The turnover was Philadelphia’s third of the game. The Eagles entered the game with a plus-14 margin in the turnover battle, best in the NFL.

Hurts scores another rushing touchdown; Sanborn injured

Jalen Hurts connected with A.J. Brown for a 29-yard gain early in the third quarter. Brown caught a ball perfectly in stride and stepped out of bounds at the 2-yard line. One play later, Hurts punched in a QB sneak for his second rushing touchdown of the game.

The Eagles extended their lead, 17-6, with 12:19 to go in the third quarter.

The Bears also appeared to lose starting linebacker Jack Sanborn to an apparent injury. Sanborn was holding his lower leg or ankle after a play earlier on the drive. Sanborn needed medical evaluation in the tent, then took a cart back to the locker room.

Hurts’ touchdown gives Eagles the lead

On third-and-8 at the Bears’ 22-yard line, Eagles QB Jalen Hurts took a designed QB run right up the gut for a 22-yard touchdown. The Bears blitzed safety Jaquan Brisker on the play, but Brisker attacked one gap and Hurts ran through a hole the other way.

It was Hurts’ 11th touchdown run of the season. The Eagles regained the lead, 10-6, just before halftime.

Hurts throw second interception

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts threw his second interception of the game, this time to safety DeAndre Houston-Carson, in the second quarter. Hurts had thrown only three interceptions all season entering Sunday’s game. Much like the first one, the second appeared to be well off the mark of his intended target.

The Bears offense moved backward on the ensuing possession. After a sack on third down, the Bears were faced with a fourth-and-27 situation at the 31-yard line. Rather than try what would’ve been about a 48-yard field goal attempt, coach Matt Eberflus elected to punt the football.

Justin Fields rips off crazy run; Montgomery scores touchdown

Justin Fields escaped pressure left and right and ran from the pocket for a ridiculous 39-yard run. The play came on a second-and-27 play, moments after Fields had fumbled on a strip sack. The Bears were lucky to recover the fumble thanks to right tackle Alex Leatherwood.

Then Fields had yet another electric QB run.

Fields found the end zone and celebrated like crazy, but he had stepped out of bounds at the 9-yard line. Even so, the play brought the home stadium to life. David Montgomery scored a 9-yard touchdown on the next play.

With the run, Fields surpassed Bobby Douglass’ 1972 Bears QB rushing record of 968 yards. With 81 rushing yards in the game, he is narrowing in on 1,000 rushing yards on the season.

The Bears missed the extra point, but took their first lead of the game, 6-3, in the second quarter.

Jaylon Johnson comes up with big stop; Eagles kick field goal

On second-and-15 at the Bears’ 23-yard line, cornerback Jaylon Johnson batted away a Jalen Hurts pass intended for A.J. Brown in the end zone. Johnson played nearly perfect coverage in a one-on-one situation against the Eagles’ star receiver along the left sideline.

The Eagles went back to Brown on the following play for a short completion, but he was short of the first-down marker.

They settled for a 32-yard field goal from kicker Jake Elliott. Philadelphia took a lead, 3-0, early in the second quarter.

Kyler Gordon picks of Jalen Hurts

Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon intercepted a pass from Eagles QB Jalen Hurts on the Bears’ first defensive possession of the game. It was just Hurts’ fourth interception of the season.

The pick came on Philadelphia’s fourth play from scrimmage. Hurts threw a pass deep that appeared to be under thrown. There were two Eagles receivers in the general area. Gordon made a nice leaping catch.

Teven Jenkins appears to suffer serious injury

Bears starting right guard Teven Jekins suffered an injury on the fourth play from scrimmage. Jenkins immediately fell face-first into the grass after the play and appeared to be in obvious pain.

The medical staff attended to Jenkins for several minutes on the field and brought out a backboard to lift the 24-year-old onto a cart. Jenkins lay on his back as he was carted off the field.

The entire Bears team left the bench and surrounded Jenkins on the field as staff attended to him. It was a sobering moment at Soldier Field just minutes after the game started.

The Bears later announced that Jenkins would miss the remainder of the game with a neck injury.

Receiver Equanimeous St. Brown also suffered an apparent head injury a play earlier. St. Brown is questionable to return and is in the concussion protocol.

The latest injury updates

Bears receiver Chase Claypool will not play Sunday. Claypool sat out the entire week of practice due to a knee injury. He landed hard on his knee while being tackled during a Dec. 4 game against the Packers at Soldier Field. Claypool later returned in the second half of that game but has not practiced since.

Additionally, tight end Trevon Wesco (calf) has also been ruled out and tackle Larry Borom (knee) is listed as doubtful. Receiver N’Keal Harry (back) and cornerback Kindle Vildor (ankle) are questionable but were full participants in practice.

After missing two games due to concussions, rookies Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker are expected to be back in the starting lineup Sunday.

Update: The Bears will be without Harry, who is listed as inactive, along with Claypool and Borom. Other inactives are quarterback Tim Boyle, guard Ja’Tyre Carter, tight end Trevon Wesco and defensive back Justin Layne.

The Bears’ five active receivers Sunday will be Equanimeous St. Brown, Byron Pringle, Dante Pettis, Velus Jones Jr. and Nsimba Webster, who was brought up from the practice squad.

Fields chases 1,000 rushing yards

Fields is 95 yards shy of becoming the third quarterback ever to rush for 1,000 yards. The QB was dealing with an illness this week, which kept him out of practice for a day, but it’s not expected to affect him on Sunday.

Sunday’s game presents a matchup between two quarterbacks with similar styles in Fields and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts. With 10 touchdowns, Hurts is the only quarterback with more than Fields (eight) this season. Hurts is having his best season yet in Philadelphia.

What to expect from the Eagles

The Eagles have one of the top defenses in the league and are beating their opponents by an average of 10.6 points. Here’s five things to watch in Sunday’s matchup.

The Eagles have the second-best rushing attack in the NFL entering Week 15, behind only the Bears. Hurts has also thrown for 22 touchdowns and only three interceptions on the season. He has two really dangerous weapons in receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown.

How is our staff feeling about this matchup for the Bears? Check out our Shaw Local staff picks here.

What else did I miss this week?

Here’s what other news came out of Halas Hall this week.

Here are 4 Chicago Bears rookies with more to prove during final 4 games

Chicago Bears nominate Sacred Heart-Griffin’s Ken Leonard for NFL’s Don Shula High School Coach of the Year award

Where the Chicago Bears stand in the latest 2023 NFL draft projections, through Week 14

Hub Arkush close to return 4 months after near-fatal heart attack

Source: The Daily Chronicle

Published in Malta Illinois

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