Eagles Take Their Perfect Record to Chicago for Monday Night Football

Philadelphia's first two games have followed a pretty similar script.

Neither has been particularly comfortable.

Neither has been particularly pretty.

Both have ended with an Eagles win.

Last week against Tennessee might have been the best example.

Hurts threw two interceptions, including one in the end zone, and spent a good portion of the afternoon under pressure. The Titans led 20-17 with less than two minutes remaining and had Philadelphia in serious trouble.

Then Hurts did what he's done plenty of times before.

He led the Eagles 65 yards in nine plays and finished the drive with a touchdown pass to Darius Cooper to take the lead.

Game over.

Hurts finished with 264 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with the two interceptions. It wasn't one of his better performances, but when Philadelphia absolutely needed a drive, he delivered.

That has basically been the Eagles through two weeks.

They haven't played their best football yet.

They're still 2-0.

One thing to watch Monday night is the Eagles running game.

Saquon Barkley suffered a stinger on his first carry against Tennessee and was clearly limited after returning. He only carried the ball a handful of times in the second half, which changed what Philadelphia could do offensively.

Barkley has been one of the biggest pieces of this offense since arriving in Philadelphia, and the Eagles are much harder to defend when opponents have to worry about him on every snap.

If he's healthy Monday night, getting him involved early would make a lot of sense.

Chicago just dealt with an ugly, physical game against Minnesota, and the last thing the Bears need is Philadelphia controlling possession and forcing their defense to stay on the field for long drives.

The Eagles did exactly that to Tennessee in the first half last week.

Three Philadelphia drives lasted at least 11 plays and more than six minutes.

Even though the offense struggled later in the game, those drives eventually wore Tennessee down.

That's a pretty good formula to bring to Chicago.

This is obviously the biggest storyline of the game.

Chicago scored 59 points in Week 1.

Then everything came crashing back down against Minnesota.

The Bears managed just three points in a 9-3 loss, turned the ball over twice and allowed four sacks. Then Williams injured his hamstring while scrambling in the fourth quarter.

It was about as bad of an afternoon as Chicago could have had after such an exciting start to the season.

Now Ben Johnson has to build a game plan without his starting quarterback.

Bagent would be the logical choice if he's ready to go. He came into the Minnesota game after Williams was injured and completed five of nine passes for 54 yards, moving Chicago into scoring position before the final drive came up short.

But Bagent has been working his way through concussion protocol himself.

He returned to practice Saturday, which is obviously a good sign, but Chicago has also been preparing veteran Case Keenum in case Bagent can't play.

Either way, the Bears offense is going to look different.

Whether it's Bagent or Keenum, Chicago probably doesn't want Monday night turning into a game where its quarterback has to throw 40 or 50 times.

That puts even more pressure on the running game.

The Bears showed last season that they can have success against Philadelphia on the ground. When these teams met on Black Friday, Chicago rushed for 255 yards in a 24-15 win.

That doesn't guarantee anything this time around, but it gives Ben Johnson something to work with.

If Chicago can establish the run, shorten the game and keep Hurts and the Eagles offense on the sideline, things become much more manageable.

If the Bears fall behind by two touchdowns and have to start chasing the game with a backup quarterback, that's a completely different situation.

Chicago has weapons.

DJ Moore remains dangerous. Rome Odunze can stretch the field. Colston Loveland gives them another option in the middle of the field.

But the entire offense was built around Williams.

Monday night will be the first look at how Johnson adjusts without him.

For Philadelphia, this is the type of matchup where the defense should be aggressive.

The Bears are going to be starting a quarterback who wasn't supposed to be playing this week, and Chicago is coming off a game where Minnesota consistently created pressure.

Vic Fangio doesn't necessarily need to completely change what Philadelphia does.

Make Chicago put together long drives.

Stop the run.

Create obvious passing situations.

Then make Bagent or Keenum beat you.

The Eagles defense has done enough to keep Philadelphia alive during some uneven stretches from the offense through two weeks. That could become even more important on the road Monday night.

The quarterback situation is going to dominate the conversation, and understandably so.

Chicago going from Williams to potentially Bagent or Keenum changes the entire feel of this game.

But there is another storyline I'm interested in.

Can Philadelphia finally put together a complete game?

The Eagles are undefeated, but they haven't exactly looked dominant doing it. They've needed late stops, late drives and some Jalen Hurts magic to get through the first two weeks.

Eventually, you'd like to see the team we expected entering the season show up for four quarters.

Chicago is dealing with injuries and coming off a game where basically nothing went right offensively.

Philadelphia is 2-0 and coming off another dramatic finish.

Monday night gives the Eagles a chance to keep their perfect start going.

For the Bears, it's an opportunity to show they can survive without their starting quarterback.

And with the entire NFL watching, we'll get a much better idea of what both teams actually look like entering Week 4.