Ben Johnson flexes shirtless in locker room after Bears’ 5th straight win, 24-15 over reeling Eagles

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — After beating the Eagles on the Super Bowl champions’ home turf, it was time for rookie Bears coach Ben Johnson to bare arms. Oh, and go bare-chested.

Johnson tore off his shirt inside a jubilant locker room and flexed like a professional wrestler as the victorious Bears danced, hollered and chanted in a circle around him.

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest till your good gets better and your better gets best,” the Bears and Johnson shouted.

One of the surprise teams in the NFL, the Bears had every reason to go wild following a vintage rushing performance that echoed their famous Super Bowl-winning 1985 squad.

No shuffling here. Playing like a contender suits these Bears just fine.

Kyle Monangai rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, D’Andre Swift ran for 125 yards and a score, and Chicago finished with 281 yards on the ground to win its fifth straight game, 24-15 over reeling Philadelphia on Friday.

Led by Johnson, the Bears (9-3) are alone in first place in the NFC North heading into a Dec. 7 showdown at Green Bay.

“These guys just feel pretty good about what they just did,” Johnson said before video of his strip tease emerged. “It was hard to go on the road and beat a good team like that.”

The Bears had two players top 100 yards rushing in a game for the first time since Walter Payton had 107 yards and Matt Suhey had 102 on Nov. 10, 1985, against Detroit.

Last season, the Bears’ Thanksgiving loss at Detroit led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus and was their sixth straight of what ballooned into a 10-game losing streak. A year later, the Bears bullied Philadelphia’s defensive line for a relatively easy win.

“They have a lot of belief in what we’re doing. They have a lot of belief in themselves,” Johnson said. “They have a lot of belief in this coaching staff. And so that confidence just starts to develop and continues to bubble over.”

Johnson’s exuberance bubbled over in the locker room — though there was an apparent method to his toplessness. The Wieners Circle, a Chicago hot dog stand, offered free hot dogs if Johnson took off his shirt after any victory this season.

The Eagles (8-4) seemingly had the NFC East wrapped up two weeks ago, only to suffer consecutive defeats that have them looking little like a Super Bowl contender. Perhaps still feeling the sting of turning a 21-0 lead at Dallas on Sunday into a 24-21 loss, the Eagles’ offense showed few signs of snapping out of its funk. Fed-up Philly fans spent the game booing and calling for the team to fire offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.

Not this week. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said after the loss he was sticking with Patullo.

Philadelphia’s season has taken such a turn that even the beloved tush push doomed the Eagles in this one.

With Philly trailing 10-9 late in the third quarter, Jalen Hurts fumbled on the usually reliable play deep in Chicago territory and the Bears recovered.

The Bears — who have a knack for winning one-score games — turned the turnover into the drive of the day. Monangai ripped off a 31-yard run on the first play and Caleb Williams — who was 17 of 36 for 154 yards and a touchdown — completed a 7-yard pass to Colston Loveland on fourth down that extended the drive.

Monangai ran for a 4-yard TD that made it 17-9 early in the fourth, and Williams added the insurance score with a 28-yard TD pass to Cole Kmet for a 24-9 lead.

“We haven’t hit our pinnacle yet, in the sense of a team and execution on offense, and we’re still winning these games,” Williams said. “So that’s really important and that’s why I’m extremely excited.”

Fans who had been chanting “Fire Kevin!” began flocking toward the exits — and the Eagles will face even more questions about the sorry state of their offense.

Hurts and his teammates backed the beleaguered Patullo.

“I have confidence in him. I have confidence in this team,” Hurts said. “I have confidence in us when we’re collaborative. I have a lot of confidence when we have an identity, so I think that’s the first thing that we have to establish that we’ve talked about.”

The Bears don’t care about the Eagles’ problems. Even with three linebackers out with injuries, Chicago socked the Eagles from the jump.

Hurts threw for 230 yards and a pair of touchdowns to disgruntled receiver A.J. Brown, who had 10 catches for 132 yards. Saquon Barkley couldn’t break free against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL and finished with 56 yards rushing.

The Eagles ran just 17 plays and had two first downs (with 83 total yards and 26 rushing) in the first half. The Bears totaled 142 rushing yards in the half.

Swift, who became the first running back to top 100 yards rushing against the Eagles this season, scored against his former team on a 3-yard run a 7-0 lead. The Bears lead 10-3 when Hurts hit Brown in the third quarter for a 33-yard TD that made it 10-9.

Jake Elliott missed the extra point, adding to the list of ugly plays that sunk the Super Bowl champs.

Hurts and Brown connected on late 4-yard TD late in the fourth, but the Eagles missed the 2-point conversion attempt to keep it a two-score game.

Injuries

Bears defensive lineman Andrew Billings was evaluated for a concussion.

Up next

Bears. Play at NFC North rival Green Bay (8-3-1) on Dec. 7 with the division lead on the line.

Eagles: Visit the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday, Dec. 8.

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