No timeouts, 97 yards to go, and no touchdowns on 9 previous drives. Admit it, just like me you thought this game was over just as the Bears playoff chances were with a 2-5 record. I didn’t make the same mistake as last week by leaving with four minutes left, but I never in a million years thought the Bears would string along an “Elway” like drive and win the game. I don’t remember when the Bears have ever been able to acheive such an outcome. Here’s what I saw:

Offense: What does an experienced quarterback give you? Composure and poise. Just think if Rex Grossman was in for that late fourth quarter drive. The drive stalls somewhere on the Bears side of the field, most likely from an interception, and the Bears lose. Not the case with Griese. As impressive as it was, we later find out that Griese had no communication from Ron Turner and Pep Hamilton as his headset went out. Numbers were fabulous…27/41 for 322 yards and one huge touchdown and no interceptions. As grotesque as the Bears have often looked on drives this year, I give a lot of credit to Ron Turner in terms of schemes and formations against Philly’s defense. It seemed as if every formation was used and I was happy to see Adrian Peterson brought in when Benson became his usual useless self and couldn’t do anything on the ground. At least Peterson gives you an option on a check down or screen. The Bears used a double tight end formation and then would spread things out, which kept defensive coordinator Jim Johnson and his blitz packages at bay for the most part (only 1 sack). Many have complained about Hester’s utilization on offense and it didnt help keep the critics at bay after his 81 yard touchdown reception last week. You can see Hester’s confusion at times on offense, especially today when Muhammad was forced to call a timeout due to a formation problem. Hester may not get the ball or opportunities to do so, but what he does is create problems in coverage which allows Griese to find an open Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark. Both tight ends were kept to under 100 yards (80 yards and no touchdowns), but they are more than able to get open in the middle of the defense and keep third downs to a minimum and get key first downs. Cedric Benson once again does nothing with a 2.7 average and the running game was non-existent. I was also very impressed with the protection from the offensive line in this game. Only one sack allowed and in most cases, they let Griese set up on pass plays with enough time to get rid of the ball.

Key Play of the Game: There were two in this game. Obviously, Muhammad’s touchdown with 9 seconds left. Nicely thrown ball by Griese knowing the defensive back had his back turned. The other play was the bad snap between Griese’s legs. I didn’t know that rule, but regardless, had the Eagles gotten the ball the game was over. In essence, it was only a 5 yard loss.

Grade: B+

Defense: The Bears defense continued to struggle, but then again they were facing Brian Westbrook. Still, they gave up 334 total yards and seemed to continue to overpurse on angles in the open field. Keeping Westbrook to 119 total yards and no touchdowns was a huge factor and they avoided the big play, something that they couldn’t do against Minnesota. The focus during this week was Brian Urlacher and if he was injured or unable to make plays. He came out and had 12 tackles and was a huge reason why the Bears were able to keep Westbrook at bay. The Eagles still struggled in the red zone getting one touchdown and 3 field goals with a drop by Reggie Brown in the end zone. The Bears secondary did a great job downfield in coverage for most of the game, but some of the biggest pass plays were due to poor pressure from the defensive line. Archuleta seemed to be the worst of the defense today and something needs to be done quickly. He’s slow, overpursues, and cannot do anything in coverage. Even with the Bears poor defensive line pressure, they were able to generate 3 sacks in the game. The biggest problem for the Bears is that they were unable to force a defensive turnover for the second game in a row. That’s a big difference after getting turnovers in 26 games before facing Minnesota.

Key Play of the Game: The Bears defense wasn’t anything spectacular or anything like its old self, but when they need the ball back, Tommie Harris got 2 sacks on McNabb during the same drive.

Grade: C…they didn’t win the game, but didn’t allow the Bears to lose it either.

Special Teams: Its hard to imagine Hester without one return yard, but the Eagles didn’t want to even give him a chance to change the game. The problem was that the Bears got great field position throughout the game with Akers pooching the ball on kickoffs and Rocca kicking it out of bounds on punts. Robbie Gould had a key miss on a field goal, but got lucky on another one that hit the post and went in. The Bears special teams did a good job keeping the return game from the Eagles well inside their own territory.

Grade: B-….with Gould’s missed field goal.

Overall: I feel bad about picking against the Bears, but being on the road and against a quarterback and coach who have never lost to the Bears, I figured they would lay yet another egg. I thought the Green Bay game would be the biggest win of the year, but the Bears were further against the wall against the Eagles in a game that appeared that no one wanted to score a touchdown. The 97 yard drive is something we’ll all remember no matter how the Bears finish and something they’ll build confidence upon going forward. Once again, this game is only a huge win if they win the next one. I’ll be interested to see how good Detroit is at Soldier Field.

Technorati Tags: Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Donovan McNabb, Brian Griese, Brian Westbrook, Brian Urlacher, Tommie Harris, Cedric Benson, Robbie Gould, Devin Hester, Greg Olsen