Eagles grades vs Bears: Nick Sirianni, entire defense culpable in blowout loss

CHICAGO — Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 27-7 loss to the Chicago Bears:

Jalen Hurts started slow, rebounded after an odd series of events took him out of the game, and then folded under the weight of an overall terrible performance by the Eagles. Hurts held the ball too long once he was forced to drop to pass in the second half. After two strong outings to open the season, he took a step back.

» READ MORE: Eagles fall 27-7 in Monday night dud; Bears’ third-stringer Case Keenum throws for 247 yards, accounts for 3 TDs

Hurts was nearly picked off by former Eagle T.J. Edwards on a third-down pass to returning former Eagle Zach Ertz to open the second half. But Edwards made sure to hang on the next time the ball came his way, intercepting Hurts on a late third-quarter fourth down when the quarterback only had eyes for DeVonta Smith.

He had to leave the game for a potential concussion after Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson nailed him out of bounds in the second quarter. While Hurts was getting checked out in the medical tent, his replacement Andy Dalton tossed an interception in the end zone.

Like the entire Eagles team, Hurts had a rough start. He committed an intentional grounding penalty on the first series and threw short of an open Saquon Barkley, who had all kinds of green in front of him, on the second series. But he bounced back, especially after the cautionary trip to the medical tent. Hurts wisely snuck in for a touchdown with the clock winding down to 1 second just before the break.

Saquon Barkley had all kinds of space and lanes to burst through on outside zone runs in the first half. He was decisive and rushed for 73 yards on 11 carries. He spun out of a would-be tackle on a 7-yard rush to open the second half, but Barkley was stifled the rest of the way and finished with 82 yards on 15 carries.

Tank Bigsby fumbled after a short catch in the first quarter, but the Bears failed to convert good field position into points. Will Shipley was often on the field on third downs and caught an 11-yard pass out of the backfield.

It’s hard to blame this group for the loss, but they didn’t do enough to offset the mistakes of others. Receiver DeVonta Smith led the Eagles with six catches for 65 yards. He made a breathtaking 30-yard grab over Bears corner Jaylon Johnson in the second quarter. He had a 13-yard catch on third down in the second quarter, and he drew a 21-yard pass interference penalty on the next play.

Makai Lemon caught a 19-yard pass at the second level on a crossing route to open the game and finished with three grabs for 29 yards. Dontayvion Wicks pulled in just 2 of 5 passes for 32 yards. He had a 19-yard reception in the third quarter.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts and the Eagles took a major hit against the Bears. They have to find a way to bounce back.

With tight end Dallas Goedert out with an MCL knee injury for at least the next two weeks, the Eagles brought back Zach Ertz. He was activated off the practice squad despite having just a week of practice and being less than seven months removed from knee surgery.

Ertz was occasionally the receiving tight end in 11 personnel. His first catch back in midnight green went for nine yards just before the half. Ertz missed a block on a bubble screen to Lemon.

Blocking tight end Johnny Mundt led the way on a Barkley 8-yard run in the second quarter. Elijah Moore dressed for his first game as an Eagle with Hollywood Brown out with an ankle injury. He was the motion man on several plays.

The first-half run game will have been a silver lining. The Eagles finally got the ground game going after two miserable performances. But they struggled to counter the Bears’ second-half adjustments. The pass protection was often sound for Hurts, as it was on Hurts’ 19-yard pass to Wicks. But the offense was often out of whack in the second half.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and Chicago Bears quarterback Case Keenum embrace at the end of the game at Soldier Field on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in Chicago, Ill. Chicago won 27-7.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer

Drew Kendall had some nice run blocks in his second start at center. He had a key block on Bears veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett on Barkley’s 12-yard outside zone run. Kendall did well to climb to the second level on Barkley’s 7-yard tote in the second quarter. But he had a few breakdowns, as well. Cam Jurgens looked stronger in his second career start at left guard. It helps to not have to face Jeffery Simmons. But he had errors, too, and gave up a pressure late in the second quarter.

Tackles Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata were once again the best of the unit. But when Hurts was forced to drop on almost every play as the Eagles trailed, it became too difficult to hold up. On a Barkley 17-yard rush off the right in the second quarter, Johnson had a kick-out block.

Right guard Tyler Steen had a key block on Barkley’s 17-yarder, but a holding penalty brought back a Barkley 19-yard scoot in the first quarter. Markel Bell was the sixth O-lineman on a run play that resulted in a loss.

The big storyline coming in was how the Eagles would stop a run attack that stomped all over them a year ago. They did, for the most part, as Bears running backs D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai were held to under a combined 100 yards until late in the fourth quarter. Instead, they got torched through the air by no other than Case Keenum, who hadn’t started at quarterback in nearly three years.

The D-line was solid in run defense, but they failed to get to Keenum enough and didn’t notch a sack. Jalen Carter has yet to show he’s a $152 million defensive tackle. He has a wrist injury, but he’s seemingly always banged up. Carter’s run tackle for loss in the second quarter helped keep the Bears from converting a turnover into points.

Jordan Davis didn’t record his first run tackle until the second half. Moro Ojomo had a couple pressures, but his neutral zone infraction on fourth down in the fourth quarter was an egregious mistake. Byron Young made a run stop for no gain on the Bears’ first possession.

Jonathan Greenard was active for his first game with the Eagles. He was on a pitch count after missing the first two weeks with a pectoral injury. Greenard still made his presence felt with some pressure off the edge. Jalyx Hunt is still without a sack this season. He’s played well, but can’t seem to finish. Hunt appeared to be out of his run gap on a third-down conversion in the fourth quarter. Nolan Smith Jr. was just as quiet as a pass rusher. Greenard’s presence meant that A.J. Epenesa was inactive for the first time this season.

The Eagles just didn’t do enough at the second level. Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell led the Eagles in tackles, but they were often just cleaning up messes or missed tackles. Baun was victimized on a fourth-and-1 play-fake on the Bears’ first drive. He could have done more to bring down Luther Burden on his 8-yard catch when he kept his legs churning and muscled into the end zone later on the possession.

Campbell finished with a joint-team high nine tackles, but he struggled at times to get off blocks. The Eagles had little choice but to let Nakobe Dean walk, but his replacement has been a downgrade so far this season.

Quinyon Mitchell might have been the only Eagles defender who came to play. He deflected a fourth-down pass near the goal line in the second quarter. He later made a tackle for loss on a run play that was strung out. Mitchell broke up a third-down pass in the third quarter.

Riq Woolen had a great first two games, but he can get handsy and it cost him this week. He committed holding and illegal contact penalties in the first half. The second flag, which came on third down, was a little nitpicky. Woolen blitzed several times off the edge in the first half, but Keenum was able to take advantage with one less cornerback in coverage.

Cooper DeJean did well not to bite on a fake reverse end around and made a tackle after a short gain in the first quarter. DeJean snuffed out a screen pass for no gain in the second quarter. He appeared to have busted his coverage when Kalif Raymond was wide open over the middle and ran for a 41-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

DeJean bounced back and broke up back-to-back passes on the next series.

The Eagles safeties had back-to-back poor outings. Marcus Epps was shaky to start, while Andrew Mukuba was mistake-prone at the end. Epps missed two tackles on the Bears’ touchdown drive that opened the game. He missed one in the open field and then another in between the tackle box on a run.

Epps split time with Michael Carter II in nickel personnel. It was unclear if this was always part of the plan or an in-game demotion. Carter looked out of position on tight end Colston Loveland’s catch that was originally ruled a touchdown in the second quarter. But the score was taken off the board and ultimately the Eagles denied the Bears any points.

Mukuba appeared to bite the cheese on a play-fake that resulted in a 25-yard catch in the second quarter. He slipped chasing Raymond on his 41-yard score. Mukuba took a brutal third-down holding penalty in the fourth quarter.

Kicker Jake Elliott didn’t have much to do with the lack of scoring opportunities. Braden Mann shanked his first punt out of bounds for only 30 yards. He was better on his other tries and averaged 38 net yards on four kicks.

A Kelee Ringo holding penalty brought back a Britain Covey 21-yard punt return.

Coach Nick Sirianni is ultimately responsible for the Eagles losing to a Bears team without its top two quarterbacks. He got a dismal effort from his team. Should he have called a timeout to buy time while Hurts was getting looked at for a possible head injury? It’s easy to say in retrospect. But the whole ordeal proved costly for the Eagles.

He had a couple of head-scratching game management moments. The fake Tush Push on a long fourth-and-1 in the third quarter wasn’t fooling anyone. Whether Sirianni should have gone for it or not, his defense forced a punt on the ensuing possession. But Sirianni’s roll of the dice on fourth-and-5 a drive later was confounding and Hurts tossed an interception.

Offensive coordinator Sean Mannion called a questionable screen to Smith with 19 seconds left before the half, but Hurts bailed him out. Whatever the reason, the designs and execution on passes behind the line of scrimmage have mostly been disasters. Another bubble screen to Lemon resulted in a loss.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio got schooled by Ben Johnson. The Bears coach was one step ahead of his esteemed counterpart almost the entire game. A year ago, Chicago killed the Eagles on the ground. This time they did it through the air with no less than a third-string 38-year-old quarterback at the helm. Fangio might have had his worst game since coming to Philly. His defense can’t do the simple things like tackle.