In Week 13, the Chicago Bears defeated the Super Bowl LIX winner, the Philadelphia Eagles, by 24-15. Yet, head coach Ben Johnson is unsatisfied. He recognizes the team’s potential and believes there is still more talent to unlock.

“We’re not at what we’re capable of being yet as an entire team,” Johnson told reporters during the post-game conference.

There are two major reasons Johnson made this huge claim. First, they were not playing at full capacity today, as their starting linebackers were out. Second, the weather was not favorable.

Linebacker Noah Sewell has played 9 games for the Bears, recording 55 tackles (31 solo). But he was out with an elbow injury. On the other hand, defensive back Tyrique Stevenson was also out with a hip injury. In 10 games, he has 46 tackles (33 solo), nine passes defended, and one interception.

Similarly, defensive end Dominique Robinson has 13 tackles (10 solo) and 1.5 sacks in nine games. He missed the game because of a concussion. The Bears still did a good job stopping the Eagles on their tush push plays. Imagine the dominance if all the starters played.

The second reason is the 20 mph winds with gusts up to 40 mph from the open northwest end of the Lincoln Financial Field. It was one of the reasons that the Bears quarterback, Caleb Williams, completed only 11 of 24 passes for 90 yards with no scores in the first half. Notably, the Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts also struggled, completing only 5 of 10 passes for 57 yards with no touchdowns in the first two quarters.

However, the running backs were the stars of the game, and even the head coach gave them full credit.

Ben Johnson praises the running game for the victory

Due to their wonderful run game (47 rushes for 281 yards and two touchdowns), the Bears outpaced the Birds (17 carries for 87 rushing yards).

“Can’t say enough about that running game. I don’t think we win that game if we’re not able to run the ball like we were. Both the backs, over 100 yards, were just outstanding,” the head coach said while praising his running backs. “You could feel decisiveness, you could feel them hitting it downhill. They turned on the gas and were lowering their shoulders too.”

Most fans of Philly expected running back Saquon Barkley to make big plays in Week 13. He is having a season below his usual standards. In eleven games, he has 185 carries (7th in the league), 684 rushing yards (16th), and four touchdowns (25th). Instead, it was the former Eagles and current Bears running back Kyle Monangai who took his revenge.

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He had 22 carries for 130 yards and one touchdown. His teammate and running back D’Andre Swift fully supported him with 18 carries for 125 yards and one score. The duo worked in tandem, running the ball down the field at will. In the end, they won their ninth game of the season.

Both quarterbacks threw interceptions, so the passing and receiving game was not what it usually is. It came down to their run attack to carry the ball. That’s where the Bears won. With this, they moved to the second seed in the current NFC playoff picture. This turnaround became possible because of Ben Johnson’s offensive strategies. He’s having a great start to his rookie head coaching season with the team.