Before coach Ben Johnson addressed the Bears late Monday night after their electrifying 27-7 victory over the Eagles, he quickly reviewed the game's top stats in his office next to the locker room.

Quarterback Case Keenum made for an obvious game ball recipient, but Johnson struggled to choose any one defensive player to reward — a problem he would gladly accept each week if it meant watching the Dennis Allen-led unit shut out their opponent in the second half and record three takeaways in a win.

So when Johnson began his speech to the team, he kept his message to the defense simple but powerful.

"Defense! Are you kidding me?" Johnson yelled before calling upon Allen to accept the game ball.

Later, in his postgame press conference, Johnson spoke further on the defense's performance, which included standout performances on all three levels.

"The way our defense played in the second half was extraordinary," Johnson said. "They really came to life. And even though we only gave up seven in the first half, it felt like Philly was able to move the ball on us. So we came away with those three takeaways. It was huge. But to see how they bowed up in the second half was huge for us.

"I thought all of them just really answered the bell. And I thought DA had a great plan. The coaching staff did a great job teaching it. A couple of unique things in there this week that they really took to heart and did a great job with."

Several Bears defenders doubled down on Johnson's assessment of Allen's game plan, as well as his playcalling. Safety Xavier Woods, who recovered a fumble Monday night, told reporters that Allen "called a heck of a game." Cornerback Jaylon Johnson said the defensive staff put players "in position to make plays." Linebacker T.J. Edwards lauded Allen's ability to add "wrinkles" to the game plan each week.

Yet when Allen accepted the game ball from Johnson, he flipped that script.

"It's not about the call, it's about how you guys bring the call to life," Allen said.

From start to finish, the defense certainly looked lively, limiting the Eagles to one score on nine possessions. Allen's group also thrived in key moments under the lights, holding Philadelphia to 2-for-9 on third-down conversions and 0-for-2 on fourth-down attempts.

The dominant performance against an Eagles team that put up 24 points and more than 300 yards in each of its first two contests came from an all-around attack employed by Allen.

Four different players landed hits on the quarterback – ends Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo recorded sacks, and Edwards and rookie defensive back Malik Muhammad II registered pressures. Edwards, Johnson and linebacker Devin Bush all recorded tackles-for-loss. Allen dialed up a variety of packages in the secondary, as Muhammad started at outside corner, Cam Lewis shifted between safety and nickel, Woods played 70% of defensive snaps after seeing limited action in Week 2 and Elijah Hicks rotated in on specific plays.

"Proof is in the pudding when we go out there and execute how we know we can," Johnson said. "Just staying aggressive. I think for us, the mindset and gameplan was to have energy and execute and just go out there and be aggressive."

While Philadelphia was able to move the ball in the first half, generating 11 first downs and 186 yards of offense, the defense still came up clutch in big moments. After forcing a punt on the Eagles' first drive, the Bears took the ball away on the Eagles' next two possessions.

On second-and-20, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts checked the ball down to Tank Bigbsy, but defensive end Austin Booker swarmed to the ball while Bush was holding the running back up and delivered a perfect Peanut Punch. Woods recovered the fumble and ignited an already raucous Soldier Field crowd.

"I was trying to be the first person to get [the ball] before somebody else came and got it," Woods said. "The emphasis this week was definitely — and it's every week — but more so this week was getting the ball, getting turnovers, getting the ball back to our offense, and I think we did a great job today of doing it."

The Eagles drove downfield to the Bears' 1-yard line on their next possession, but the defense didn't flinch. On first-and-goal, linebacker Devin Bush stopped running back Saquon Barkley a yard behind the sticks, and on second down, rookie safety Dillon Thieneman and Odeyingbo stuffed Barkley for no gain.

On third down, the Bears went into single-high safety coverage, with Thieneman positioned in the middle of the end zone. Backup quarterback Andy Dalton, in for Hurts, who was briefly in the medical tent after getting hit by linebacker D'Marco Jackson on the sideline earlier in the drive, dropped back and looked for receiver Dontayvion Wicks.

Thieneman, however, stood his ground in the end zone, stepped in front of Wicks and secured his first NFL interception.

"I was waiting in that second window, and then the ball was just right there," Thieneman said.

The Eagles' only points of the night came in the final second of the first half after Hurts returned to the game and ran in a one-yard touchdown on a Tush Push. Even after an otherwise successful first half for the defense, the last-second score left a bad taste in the unit's mouth as they headed to the locker room, now only up 10-7.

Rather than letting that bad taste linger as the Eagles got the ball to start the second half, the defense immediately employed their halftime adjustments and forced a three-and-out.

Then another.

Then another.

In their first three possessions of the second half, the Eagles ran just nine plays for a total of 12 yards. From linebacker blitzes to pressure from the defensive line to the secondary swarming the line of scrimmage on run plays, the defense did what they set out to do — make the Eagles uncomfortable.

"It felt like a whole unit that second half," Johnson said. "They were flying around and they were playing together as one, which was awesome to see. So, we continue to foster that, and it's how we play football. It's how do we outrun and outhit and rally to the football. That's really what we want to be our calling card."

Even after the offense capitalized on the defense's play, building a 20-7 lead in the third quarter, Allen's group didn't let up. Philadelphia's final two possessions in the second half ended with a third takeaway and a turnover on downs.

Edwards, who dropped a would-be interception earlier in the game, made up for it by picking off Hurts' pass intended for receiver De'Vonta Smith on fourth-and-5 from just over the Bears' side of midfield.

"I think [I was] just reading his eyes and trying to get a good idea for what he was seeing," Edwards said. "Again, I think our rush all night was getting to him, making him uncomfortable and made him force some throws."

Even with the three takeaways Monday night, Edwards and Woods joked they expect some flak from defensive pass game coordinator and defensive back coach Al Harris this week for not reaching his goal of four takeaways.

The Bears lead the NFL with 39 takeaways since the start of the 2025 season, but the team understands it would be difficult to replicate last year's ball-hawking production when they were No. 1 in the league with 33 regular-season takeaways. Yet with Harris continuing to drill the importance of takeaways to the defense, the group's expectations remain high.

"We've got Al, and wherever Al goes, he gets the ball," Woods said. "It's a track record … That's the focus no matter what. If we get that ball, we've got a chance."

Now with back-to-back strong defensive performances under their belt — the Bears held the Vikings to just nine points and 246 yards of offense in Week 2 — the focus is on carrying that momentum into Sunday's matchup with the Jets at Soldier Field.

"We knew, once again, we had to get some takeaways and capitalize on the opportunities they gave us, and we did that, and it was really, really good to see," captain and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. "I'm excited about the effort put forth today.

"And the good thing about it there's so much more growth that we can have with it being so early in the season … we want to build off of it, and get back to work, and get ready for our next one."