LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears offense will face one of its most difficult tests of the season Sunday night against a stifling Eagles defense that bruised and battered the Steelers last weekend in Philadelphia.

The Eagles generated nine sacks and three takeaways, limited Pittsburgh’s running game to 33 yards on 19 carries and didn’t allow a touchdown in a 15-6 victory over their in-state rival.

Kyle Orton is expected to face an array of blitzes Sunday night when the Bears host the Eagles.

“They seem to do everything well,” said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “They had nine [sacks] the other night, but it looked like about 50 watching that film.

“They’re very sound in what they do. They do a good job of attacking your formations and protections, so we’re going to have to be very sharp. Their guys play hard, they play fast, they play with confidence, and they’re good players.”

The Eagles defense is led by ends Juqua Parker and Trent Cole, tackle Mike Patterson, safeties Brian Dawkins and Quintin Mikell, and cornerback Asante Samuel.

Bears quarterback Kyle Orton hopes to avoid the same fate suffered by Steelers counterpart Ben Roethlisberger, who was knocked out of last Sunday’s game with a hand injury after being sacked eight times.

“They’ve got great players on that side of the ball,” Orton said. “Anytime you go up against that type of talent, it’s going to be tough. They give you a lot of different looks and they really play hard, so we’ve got to be prepared to see anything and just try to execute from there.”

Orton ranks 18th in the NFL with a 79.0 passer rating, having completed 54 of 87 passes for 567 yards with 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions while being sacked six times in three games. The former Purdue star connected on 12 of 16 passes for 168 yards and 2 TDs in the second half of last Sunday's overtime loss to the Buccaneers.

“It’s always a challenge to protect Kyle,” said left tackle John St. Clair. “We’ve been facing some great defenses the past three weeks and this is going to be just as tough. We have our work cut out for us, [but] we’re up for the challenge. We need to protect him, and that’s what we’ll do.”

The Bears allowed just one sack of Brian Griese last season in a win over the Eagles, who boast an aggressive defense that employs a variety of complex blitzes.

“That’s a big part of their package and that’s what [defensive coordinator] Jim Johnson’s been known for,” said right guard Roberto Garza. “We obviously have got to get ready for it. We saw a big dose this past weekend and I’m sure it’s going to be the same thing this weekend.

“We’ve just got to be ready to do our job on every play. Sometimes they blitz one extra guy and you don’t have enough [blockers] to pick him up, so we have to get the ball out. We have to be on the same page knowing who’s coming and who we need to block at the same time.”

Members of the Bears offense no doubt will spend a few extra hours in the film room this week after the Eagles made the Steelers look lost at times last Sunday.

“They had a great scheme,” Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward said after the game. “We didn’t have all 11 guys on the same page. They had our whole offense confused at times.”

Even after allowing 41 points in a Week 2 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles defense leads the NFL in both sacks with 13 and run defense, allowing a paltry 45 yards per game.

Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker, who finished fourth in the NFL in rushing last season with 1,316 yards, was limited to 20 yards on 13 carries in last weekend’s game. Coincidentally, Bears rookie Matt Forte will enter Sunday’s contest as the league’s fourth leading rusher with 304 yards on a league-leading 73 carries.

“They’re very tough,” Turner said. “They’re committed to stopping the run and they can do it with a seven-man front. They do a good job with some of their run blitzes as well.”

“It’s definitely a big challenge,” St. Clair said. “It’s always a challenge every week, but we look forward to the challenge. We believe in each other.”