Brent Celek celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the first quarter of the Eagles 54-11 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
If not for a disappointing and rather embarrassing loss to the Vikings a week ago and a timely fourth-down conversion by the Cowboys earlier Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles may have been playing for a division title.
The Chicago Bears did have a trip to the playoffs and a division title up for grabs.
Based on what happened in the first quarter, you wouldn't have known it.
The Eagles stormed out of the gate and never let up, cruising to a dominating 54-11 win over the Bears on Sunday night in the final regular-season home game at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Bears opened the game with the ball and punted away after three plays. The Eagles drove up field after a short punt and scored on a five-yard touchdown from Nick Foles to Riley Cooper.
On the next possession, after recovering a Devin Hester fumble on the kickoff, the Eagles charged up field again and scored on a one-yard run by LeSean McCoy.
In the closing moments of the quarter, Foles found Brent Celek for the third Eagles touchdown in the first quarter.
The two teams traded field goals in the second quarter to send the game into halftime with the Eagles leading, 24-3.
The Eagles defense, also dominant for much of the game, took over in the second half. First, Cedric Thornton stopped Matt Forte in the end zone for a safety. On the ensuing Eagles possession, McCoy finished off the drive with his second one-yard touchdown run of the game with a spin move away from a tackler into the end zone.
The Bears scored their lone touchdown of the game on the final play of the quarter, with Jay Cutler connecting with Brandon Marshall for a six-yard score. The two-point conversion made it 33-11.
The Eagles finished things off in the fourth quarter. Chris Polk scored a touchdown from 10 yards out early in the quarter. Brandon Boykin intercepted a Cutler pass and returned it 54 yards for a score on the following Bears possession.
After the Bears had to punt on the next possession, the Eagles pulled the starters. With Michael Vick in at quarterback, the offense ran one play. Bryce Brown charged down the field for a 65-yard touchdown to cap the scoring.
A true banner day for the Eagles as a team, they amassed 514 total yards. Foles completed 21 of 25 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles rushed for four touchdowns, two by McCoy. McCoy had 18 carries for 133 yards.
Celek led the Eagles in receiving with 58 yards on three catches. Cooper finished with 53 yards on three catches as well. Both scored touchdowns.
The Eagles scored on all five red zone opportunies, won the time of possession battle and forced two turnovers.
Defensively, the Eagles were just as good. The Bears managed just 257 yards and just 61 on the ground. The Eagles rushed for 289 as a team, more than the entire Bears total offense on the night.
Finally, the win seals a winning season in Chip Kelly's first year as head coach. The division title must wait another week. But a winner-take-all game awaits in Dallas.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. Look for his Monday Review the morning after every Eagles game. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
