Chicago Bears dominate reigning Super Bowl champs in Philadelphia

What a difference a year can make for an organization. Last Black Friday, the Chicago Bears ended the Matt Eberflus era in a very dysfunctional way. One year later, the Bears are in first place in the NFC North for the third straight week. They are 9-3 and have won nine of 10 games, and Caleb Williams isn't even playing his best. Safe to say the Bears hit it out of the park by hiring Ben Johnson. This game showed why Ben Johnson was the right coach for Chicago. He has a strong case to make for NFL Coach of the Year.

Bears continue to prove themselves

All season, there has been doubt about how serious this team is, even with the Bears continuing to win. More and more excuses piled up for why this team is winning, and the Bears did not get full credit yet for their success. The Bears saved their best performance for their best opponent. They might not have beaten the Raiders, Giants, and Minnesota with style. They did, however, just beat the previous Super Bowl champs in dominating fashion for a full 60 minutes. Any doubt about this team should be entirely gone by now, and the expectations should no longer be just making the playoffs; this team could get home-field advantage.

Bears imposed their will on the Eagles

The Bears imposed their will over the Eagles and beat them like no other team has beaten them in quite some time. The Bears beat them exactly the way the Eagles like to play football. The Bears came out and punched the Eagles in the mouth to start this game and never let up. The play calling was great to start the game, and early, the Bears wanted to set the tone for how physical they were going to be in this game. The Eagles got that message and backed down. This game not only displayed the Bears' run game as more than legit, but it also showed the Bears now have maybe the best offensive line in football.

Offensive line continues to thrive

To the surprise of many, the Bears handled the likes of Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and Jalen Philips, who has been on a heater since he has been in Philadelphia. The Bears controlled the line of scrimmage. Ben Johnson gave the game ball to the offensive line, and they were the biggest reason the Bears won this game. For the first time since 1985, the Bears had two 100-yard rushers. D'Andre Swift was spectacular against his former team, running for 125 yards on 18 carries, with an average of 6.9 yards per carry, and finishing with a rushing touchdown. Kyle Monangai followed that up with 130 yards rushing, a rushing touchdown of his own, and an average of 5.9 yards per carry. The run game was physical and unstoppable for 60 minutes. It was honestly frustrating when Ben Johnson got away from the run game, because the Bears should have run the ball at least 10-20 more times.

Bears are winning without Caleb Williams' very best

Caleb Williams did not have the best performance, and he had an interception he would want back. It was another game manager performance by Caleb. That is perfectly fine, especially when you are dominating a team in the trenches like the Bears were. Caleb still played his part in moving the chains and making great plays when needed. Caleb also delivered one of his best passes of the season to Cole Kmet that resulted in the game-sealing touchdown. Caleb throwing for 4 touchdowns and taking down Philadelphia would be nice to see, but winning games like this is just as satisfying.

Containing Saquon Barkley

As much as the Bears' offensive line dominated in the trenches, you have to commend the Beard defense for shutting down Saquon Barkley and the Eagles' rushing attack. Minus one or two big runs by Barkley, the rushing attack for Philadelphia was held in check. Jalen Hurts and the Eagles offense could not muster any type of success until the third quarter, and in garbage time once the game got away from them. While A.J. Brown had a nice game, the Bears' secondary getting back Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Johnson made a big difference. Kevin Byard's All-Pro level season continues as he got yet another interception. All around, a great performance by this defense, which was still without all three starting linebackers.

Real NFC contender

The Bears are now looking like a real contender in the NFC, and the door for a potential deep playoff run is opening. No team wants to face the Bears at Soldier Field in January, when the run game for the Bears is playing like this. Caleb Williams is still not fully there where he needs to be yet, but he is clutch, does not flinch, and he makes the plays when he needs to within the game. That gets complemented by a defense that gets a takeaway every game, if not a couple of them, making this team really scary.

Feel-good movie

Vibes are at an all-time high now in Chicago, as the Bears get ready for a game with more than just being a heated rivalry on the line in next Sunday's matchup versus the Packers. This team should be confident for that game, and let's not forget that Caleb Williams is undefeated in his career playing at Lambeau.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Chicago Bears remain in control of NFC North as expectations rise