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With the Philadelphia Eagles Week 15 win over the Chicago Bears, the team moved to 13-1 on the season and one step closer to locking up their first-round bye in the playoffs. Walking away with the 25-20 win was the most important thing this week, but the Eagles didn’t look great at times, turning the ball over three times and letting the 3-11 Bears hang around for far too long. So, with that in mind, let’s look at the performances by Eagles stars like AJ Brown, Jalen Hurts, and Miles Sanders to see who were the team’s studs and who were the duds in this Eagles-Bears matchup.
Eagles’ studs
AJ Brown
When you hear the word “stud” when it comes to an NFL receiver, AJ Brown should be one of the first players you picture in your mind. The first-year Eagle has been incredible all season but saved one of his best games of the year for when his team needed him most in this close Eagles-Bears game.
The wideout caught nine balls for 181 yards and was the playmaker quarterback Jalen Hurts turned to whenever he needed a big play.
This season, Brown has 74 catches for 1,201 yards, which are both career highs, and there are still three games to play. No matter what happens with the Eagles moving forward, the draft day AJ Brown pickup will be the best move of the offseason because of how it transformed the Eagles' offense into a juggernaut and changed the narrative around Jalen Hurts.
Haason Reddick
There were several Philly defensive linemen who were studs in the Eagles' Week 15 win. But with apologies to Javon Hargrave and Josh Sweat (who both had 2.0 sacks), it was Haason Reddick and his 2.0 sacks and a fumble recovery that makes the list of studs in the Eagles-Bears game.
After the A.J. Brown trade, signing Haason Reddick is Exhibit B as to why Eagles general manager Howie Roseman should win the NFL Executive of the Year Award this season. Adding a sack-master like Reddick to an already potent Eagles D-line was a fantastic move, and it is paying dividends late in the season.
Jalen Hurts
This was a tough call because after throwing two picks in the first half, it looked like Jalen Hurts was on his way to duds-ville. However, the QB rallied in the second half, making some huge throws, some key runs, and continuing to be completely unstoppable on QB sneaks.
Hurts finished the game 22-of-37 for 315 passing yards with 61 rushing yards on 17 carries and three rushing touchdowns. The two picks weren’t great, but the way Hurts responded afterward is exactly what you want to see from a playoff-caliber signal-caller.
The toughness, determination, and coolness under pressure that Jalen Hurts showed in the Eagles' Week 15 win should make fans feel great about the team’s postseason chances. There will always be adversity, and the way Hurts dealt with that confirmed that he is as legit a franchise quarterback as any in the NFL today.
Eagles’ duds
TJ Edwards
This is a little unfair to TJ Edwards because, without knowing the defensive calls, it is impossible to know whose responsibility it is to keep an eye on Justin Fields’ scrambling. But since we don’t know that, we’re going to say that it is generally the middle linebacker’s job, which is why Edwards is the dud.
Fields ran 15 times for 95 yards and seemed to be able to escape the pocket and pick up crucial yards at any time he liked. In a few years, if Fields becomes the greatest scrambling QB of his generation (which looks possible now), we might look back on this performance by Edwards more favorably.
For now, though, Fields’ legs are what kept the Bears in this game, and — fair or unfair because it absolutely was a team failure — we’re going to put the most blame on Edwards for that.
Miles Sanders
Sometimes, timing is everything. That’s why Miles Sanders’ second-half fumble lands him on the duds list, while Jalen Hurts’ two first-half interceptions don’t preclude him from the studs list.
Sanders didn’t have a great day rushing the ball either. He had 42 yards on 11 carries, and if you throw out his one nice 18-yard run, he’s looking at a 2.4 yards-per-carry average. That’s not good enough, especially against a Bears D that has allowed the fifth-most rushing yards in the league this season (2,014).
Fumbles down the stretch are game-killers, and if there was a better team on the other sideline in this Eagles-Bears game, Sanders’ blunder could have cost his team the game. The Eagles RB needs to do better as the postseason approaches.
