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	Jerry Lai/US Pressswire
	Kyle Orton threw three touchdown passes Sunday night.

Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert

CHICAGO -- Walking to the Bears' locker room late Sunday night, I passed a tall, goofy and vaguely familiar guy heading the other way. He turned to the striking middle-aged woman on his arm and exclaimed: "Man, I can't believe that goal-line stand! Awesome!"

To which Demi Moore smiled with polite indifference, sagely humoring Ashton Kutcher and no doubt thinking about the flight back to Hollywood.

(Shameless name-dropping, I know. But Ashton and Demi really were at the Bears' 24-20 victory Sunday over Philadelphia, and -- yes -- their interaction illustrates my point).

(Which is...)

I'm with Demi on this one. Yes, the Bears stopped the Eagles on four consecutive running plays inside the 5-yard line, preventing another late collapse as the Bears evened their record at 2-2. But it didn't blow me away -- not when the Eagles were one Donovan McNabb rollout from taking the lead.

(Don't believe me? Here's what Philadelphia coach Andy Reid said: "I have to make sure I get the right plays called so we can punch that in.")

No, I was more intrigued with the way the Bears took early control of the game, an advantage which ended up carrying them through the game.

To the surprise of just about everyone at Soldier Field, the Bears opened in a no-huddle offense and threw on 13 of their first 19 plays. The strategy was aimed at neutralizing the notoriously exotic blitz packages the Eagles use under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.

(Read full post)

Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert

CHICAGO -- Thank you, Philadelphia.

The Chicago Bears defense finally came through Sunday night after consecutive second-half collapses. What isn't quite as clear: Where the Bears' credit should end and the Philadelphia Eagles' blame should begin.

The Eagles were in position to give the Bears another fourth quarter loss but were unable to score on four consecutive plays from inside Chicago's 5-yard line late in the game. Of course, that failure could have been because the Eagles unimaginatively ran the ball four consecutive times up the middle.

A touchdown would have given the Eagles a 27-24 lead with 3:40 remaining. But instead, defensive end Alex Brown stopped tailback Correll Buckhalter on fourth down from the 1-yard line. The Eagles were playing without starting tailback Brian Westbrook, and you would have thought they would try at least one pass play near the goal line.

Instead, the Bears (2-2) are now tied with the Green Bay Packers for first place in the thus-far uninspiring NFC North division race.

CHICAGO -- Here we go again ... or not?

Chicago has a four-point lead - 24-20 - over Philadelphia with 10:28 remaining in the game. We don't need to remind you that the Bears have given up second-half leads in each of their past two games.

So far, the defense has kept the Eagles at bay. Based on my in-game chart, Philadelphia has gained possession of the ball four times in Bears territory and has only six points to show for it.

We'll check in with you shortly after the game and have an extended post a few hours later.

CHICAGO -- We just received word that Bears cornerback Charles Tillman won't return after injuring his shoulder in the third quarter. He's the second Chicago player knocked out of this game; receiver Brandon Lloyd hasn't returned since injuring his knee in the second quarter.

Corey Graham has replaced Tillman in with the Bears' first-team defense.

CHICAGO -- It'll be interesting after the game to ask about the way Philadelphia's defense has stiffened -- or Chicago's offense has relaxed -- here in the third quarter.

With 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Bears quarterback Kyle Orton has more turnovers (three) than completions (one) since halftime. Overall, he has completed one of five passes for four yards after throwing for 174 yards in the first half.

From a very amateur view, it looks like the Eagles are mixing up their coverages. Orton has held the ball much longer in the pocket than he did in the first half, contributing to two of the three turnovers.

CHICAGO -- In the event you're wondering, Kyle Orton's career high in pass attempts is 39, set four years ago. His career high in passing yardage is 268 yards, set earlier this month. And his career high in touchdown passes is three, set Sunday night. In the first half.

Yes, Orton has already thrown more touchdown passes by halftime than he had in any other game during his NFL career. The Bears lead Philadelphia 21-14 on the strength of three downfield strikes from Orton: 19 yards to tight end Greg Olsen, 23 yards to receiver Marty Booker and 20 yards to all-purpose playmaker Devin Hester.

It's obvious the Bears decided to combat the Eagles' strong run defense by opening up their passing game. They've thrown twice as many times (24) as they've run (12) in the first half. While Orton has thrown for 174 yards, tailbacks Matt Forte and Kevin Jones have combined for 35 rushing yards.

Of course, the Bears have been here before. They held second-half leads in each of their previous two games and lost. We will soon know if this game will break that pattern or fall in line with it.

CHICAGO -- For those of you wondering about the strange injury of Bears receiver Brandon Lloyd, it's been announced here he suffered a knee injury and is questionable to return.

Lloyd appeared to be fine after making a 24-yard catch with 3:31 remaining in the second quarter. But as the Bears were substituting personnel, Lloyd flopped on his back -- apparently to make sure officials saw him for the purposes of an injury timeout -- and then hopped up and walked off the field.

Lloyd was walking pretty swiftly back to the locker room the last time we saw him. We'll keep you updated.

UPDATE: The Bears just announced Lloyd will not return to this game. 

CHICAGO -- We had what I thought was a constructive discussion earlier this week about the Bears' defense and its new commitment to the blitz. Some fans and other observers blamed those blitzes for consecutive second-half collapses.

Nothing seems to have changed in the first quarter Sunday night. The Eagles have converted only one of four third-down opportunities. Unless I miscounted, the Bears blitzed on all three of those failures. The only third-down play the Bears didn't blitz in the first quarter ended with DeSean Jackson's 23-yard touchdown reception.

On that play, middle linebacker Brian Urlacher covered the deep middle of the field instead of blitzing. He was a half-step away from intercepting the pass before it settled into Jackson's hands.

CHICAGO -- We got a quick look at how the Bears will attack the Eagles' top-ranked rush defense.

By passing.

The Bears opened the game with their longest pass of the season, a 34-yard strike from Kyle Orton to Rashied Davis, and then went into a modified non-huddle offense. After a 6-yard pass to tailback Matt Forte, Orton hit tight end Greg Olsen for a 19-yard touchdown.

It's nice to see the Bears take an aggressive approach. You just have to hope that Orton is up to the task.

CHICAGO -- A few pre-game thoughts as the Bears and Eagles warm up at Solider Field:

• It's pretty much a picture-perfect night for football. The sun is setting and temperatures are in the low 60's.
• I've watched Bears receiver/kick returner Devin Hester for a few minutes and he really hasn't done much during the early part of warm-ups. But I'm confident his inclusion on the active list is no ploy. There aren't many teams who would use a game-day roster spot for a decoy.
• Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb has an interesting night ahead of him. He's healthy enough to play despite a bruised chest, but he'll be without several important members of the Eagles' offense. In addition to tailback Brian Westbrook, who is inactive because of an ankle injury, the Eagles also will miss tight end L.J. Smith, receiver Kevin Curtis and offensive lineman Shawn Andrews.
• There are three NFC North teams with games Sunday. The first two, Minnesota and Green Bay, finished with their backup quarterbacks in the game. Will karma get Rex Grossman a few snaps in this game?
• No matter what the Bears do, no NFC North team will have a winning record through the first quarter of the season.
• Those of you with young children, make sure you read my colleague Pat Yasinskas' column on Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant. I know I wiped my eyes.