No matter how ineffective Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears offense are statistically, somehow they made a game out of this in the second half. This is typical of the Bears right now— competent defense and occasional big plays on offense keep them in games, but leave them open to frustrating losses. The Eagles were just good enough to keep the Bears from staging a comeback after a grim first half for the visitors. The Birds go into their Bye week with a little extra confidence and a few nice healing trends. But it was far from a “statement” win. Questions remain about the wide receiver position going forward. There are still annoying lapses in pass coverage concepts on defense. Overall, however, it’s good to be 5-4 at the Bye.

Carson Wentz threw for 239 yards and one touchdown, Jordan Howard ran for 82 yards and a score and the Eagles held on for a 22-14 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The Bears had just 9 yards in the first half and trailed 19-0 before David Montgomery had a pair of 1-yard TD runs to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter.

But Philadelphia put it away with 16-play, 69-yard drive capped by Jake Elliott‘s 38-yard field goal. Wentz completed all four of his third-down passes on the drive for first downs, and the Eagles held the ball for 8:14.

“We stayed on the field,” Wentz said. “Those third downs were huge for us.”

Dallas Goedert turned a screen on third-and-9 into a 16-yard gain. Miles Sanders had a 15-yard reception on third-and-12 and Alshon Jeffery bounced back from two big drops to make a 13-yard catch on third-and-3.

“That was a heck of a drive,” Goedert said. “We connected when we needed to. It was well-executed.”

The Eagles (5-4) have won two in a row after a pair of lopsided losses. The Bears (3-5) have lost four straight.

Mitchell Trubisky was 10 of 21 for 125 yards and was sacked three times.

The Bears went three-and-out on their first five possessions, gaining minus-10 yards. They didn’t get a first down until the final minute of the first half.

“The score felt a lot worse than it was,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “We just couldn’t get going and it snowballed. One thing after the next.”

Wentz connected with Zach Ertz over the middle for a 25-yard touchdown pass to give the Eagles a 12-0 lead in the second quarter. Elliott missed the extra point wide right.

Howard ran up the middle 13 yards for a TD on the opening drive of the third quarter, extending the lead to 19-0. “I saw a big hole and tried to hit it as fast as I could,” said Howard, who was nearly untouched.

The Bears finally got going when Trubisky connected with Taylor Gabriel on a 53-yard pass to the Eagles 9 and Montgomery ran in from the 1. He leaped in from the 1 early in the fourth quarter.

But Chicago couldn’t complete the comeback.

“Losing sucks and you can tell we don’t like it,” Trubisky said. “On the sideline, you’re trying to find solutions to how to spark this offense to get going. It could just be getting back to the simpler things. Go fast and let our guys roll.”

The Eagles had a first down at the Bears 5 on their opening drive, but settled for a 28-yard field goal by Elliott after Eddie Goldman sacked Wentz. Elliott kicked another 28-yarder on the next drive to make it 6-0.

Wentz has thrown a TD pass in 12 straight games, tied with Seattle’s Russell Wilson for longest active streak. … Eagles have won 11 of last 15 against Chicago. … Bears LB Khalil Mack had four tackles, including two for loss, one quarterback hit and one pass knockdown. … Eagles DT Genard Avery had a half-sack in his debut with his new team.

Howard averaged 4.3 yards per carry in his first game against his former team. Jeffery had four receptions for 36 yards and at least two drops.

“I did a lot more talking than I usually do,” Howard said. “There was a lot more back-and-forth with the guys.”

My personal favorite performance of the game was turned in by left guard Isaac Seumalo. His blocking and movement downfield was extremely effective in helping to spring Howard and Miles Sanders on several big running plays.

INJURIES: Bears: Goldman (thigh) left in the second quarter. … LB Isaiah Irving (quad) was inactive.

Eagles: WR DeSean Jackson lasted just one series after returning to the lineup for the first time since suffering an abdomen injury in Week 2. He drew a pass interference on the first play and had a 5-yard catch. Coach Doug Pederson said Jackson was held out for precautionary reasons and will undergo more testing this week. … LT Jason Peters (knee) and LB Nigel Bradham each missed their third straight game. CB Sidney Jones was a healthy scratch. Alshon Jeffery played but you can tell the big wideout is still suffering from some kind of thigh and/or upper body discomfort.

Now the Bye gives all the guys an extra week of physical recovery. Coaches will self-scout and maybe come up with some decent revisions. They’re probably most thrilled at how well Timmy Jernigan and Avonte Maddox played against Chicago after coming off long layoffs. Things like that plus a W make the Bye week a lot more fun.

Matchup
1st Downs	10	26
Passing 1st downs	3	16
Rushing 1st downs	6	7
1st downs from penalties	1	3
3rd down efficiency	2-10	8-18
4th down efficiency	0-0	1-1
Total Plays	42	78
Total Yards	164	373
Total Drives	10	12
Yards per Play	3.9	4.8
Passing	102	227
Comp-Att	10-21	26-39
Yards per pass	4.3	5.3
Interceptions thrown	0	0
Sacks-Yards Lost	3-23	4-12
Rushing	62	146
Rushing Attempts	18	35
Yards per rush	3.4	4.2
Red Zone (Made-Att)	2-2	2-4
Penalties	9-70	8-75
Turnovers	1	0
Fumbles lost	1	0
Interceptions thrown	0	0
Defensive / Special Teams TDs	0	0
Possession	19:42	40:18