The Philadelphia Eagles were booed by their own fans as the Super Bowl champions suffered a 24-15 defeat to the Chicago Bears in the NFL's Black Friday game at Lincoln Financial Field.Â
Home fans began to flood out with six minutes remaining when Caleb Williams hit Cole Kmet for a 28-yard touchdown to hand Chicago a 24-9 advantage.
Further scathing scrutiny awaits for offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo and his sputtering offense, which failed to punish a Williams interception by losing a fumble during a tush-push attempt in a decisive second-half exchange.
The Bears outgained the Eagles with 425 yards to 317, while running 85 plays to the hosts' 51, recording 28 first downs to 14, rushing for 281 yards to 87 and having possession for 39:18 minutes to 20:42.
Ben Johnson leaned heavily on a rampant ground attack led by Kyle Monongai with 22 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown alongside D'Andre Swift with 18 carries for 125 yards and a first-quarter score.
It marked Chicago's ninth win in their last 10 outings to improve to 9-3 at the top of the NFC North, while the Eagles slip to 8-4 after their second straight loss having blown a 21-point lead against the Dallas Cowboys last weekend.
Stats leaders:
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A long-disgruntled Eagles crowd had wasted little time in voicing their disapproval as boos were frequently heard throughout a turbulent first half.
Through two quarters Chicago had amassed 222 yards to Philadelphia's 83, 16 first downs to two, 142 rushing yards to 26, 21 minutes of possession to nine, 47 plays to the Eagles 17 and, crucially, 10 points to three that might have been mistaken for 30-3 such was the demoralising mood.
The Eagles' offensive stutters resumed after half-time when Hurts was intercepted by a diving Kevin Byard, who flew downhill from safety to under-cut the route of AJ Brown for his league-leading sixth pick of the season.
Vic Fangio's defense would see that it went unpunished before the champions teased their ability to flip any game in a flash when Brown hauled in a 33-yard touchdown catch after Hurts' 23-yard scramble. Jake Elliott, though, missed the ensuing extra point to leave the hosts trailing 10-9.
Momentum threatened to swing moments later as Williams was intercepted by Jaylx Hunt while attempting to set up a screen play that Chicago had been seeking to orchestrate earlier in the game. Hunt wasn't to be fooled on this occasion, leaping to bring down the undercooked pass.
Frustration reigned again as an Eagles tush-push attempt resulted in a forced fumble and turnover, Nahshon Wright ripping the ball from Hurts' hands and muscling his way onto the recovery. It was Wright's fifth straight game with a takeaway, leaving him with five interceptions, three fumble recoveries and a forced fumble this season.
Johnson capitalised in style, reverting to the strength of his second-ranked rushing game as Monongai ran in for a four-yard touchdown for a 17-9 lead at the end of a 12-play 87-yard drive featuring a fourth-and-five conversion from Colston Loveland.
The Bears piled on the misery with six minutes left as Williams' 28-yard touchdown strike to Kmet prompted Eagles fans to begin leaving the ground in ugly scenes for the champions.
Early exiters momentarily feared they would rue their decision to leave when Brown reeled in Hurts' dart for a four-yard touchdown, but the Eagles could not convert the two-point attempt to leave it as a two-score game.
Swift had given the Bears a deserved first-quarter lead when he punched in a three-yard rushing touchdown at the end of an 11-play 78-yard drive in which he and fellow running back Monongai combined for 59 yards on the ground.
Elliott cut the deficit to 7-3 with a 44-yard field goal after Hurts had missed an open DeVonta Smith on third-and-eight, before Cairo Santos restored Chicago's seven-point advantage with a 30-yard field goal.
Eagles fans made their vote to dump offensive coordinator Patullo heard throughout the defeat, but coach Nick Sirianni says Patullo is staying.
"We're not changing the play-caller," Sirianni said. "It's never about just one person. I have confidence in the entire group. I know it will keep coming back to Kevin. If I thought it was one thing, then you make those changes. Obviously, it's a lot of different things. I don't think it is Kevin."
"I don't think something big needs to change," said Saquon Barkley, who was outperformed by former Eagles running back Swift. "The sky's falling outside the locker room, we understand that. But I have nothing but utmost confidence in the men in this locker room, players and coaches included. It's going to take all of us to come together, block out the noise. Can't be pointing fingers."
The Eagles are on the road against the Chargers in Week 14, while the Bears head to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers.
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