Going Against The Family: The last time the Bears were 8-3, it was on the backs of Vic Fangio’s vaunted defense in 2018, led by Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith and Eddie Jackson.

This 8-3 start is a different story for Ben Johnson’s Bears, and to reach 9-3, something the 2018 Bears couldn’t do, they’ll have to weather the storm against another one of Fangio’s revered units.

Johnson on Fangio: “He's like The Godfather in a lot of ways. He's kind of taken the league over in terms of that scheme. It's been to a number of teams. You see all of his disciples running it now. We already faced one in New Orleans this year, Carolina. It's all over the place. The Rams are running it to a degree. And so he's influenced the game significantly.

“And, yeah, it's the shell defense. They want to limit the explosives. And I think when you have the horses up front, like he does, to where they can stop the run game while playing two high, I think it's a powerful combination. And so, no, he does a phenomenal job with it.”

Fangio’s Eagles defense ranks sixth in the league in EPA/play (-0.06), yet the unit ranks in the bottom third of the league in sacks (22) and is average in yards against. It’s a solid group, but not without exploitable shortcomings.

Pushin’ Tushes: You’ve seen it, you’ve been annoyed by its success rate, and it might be on the chopping block when the league votes on rule changes next spring. But the Eagles and quarterback Jalen Hurts have perfected the Tush Push.

It helps when officials don’t call false starts, too. Regardless, if the Eagles have it on third-and-short or fourth-and-1, you can bet they’ll line up in that bunch formation to give their QB a brotherly shove from behind.

How do you stop it? The Bears did it once on fourth-and-1 last Sunday. They also allowed a 55-yard end-around against the same formation.

Safety Kevin Byard on the Tush Push: “I think the way [DC Dennis Allen] preaches it is really good. You see a lot of teams defending it by jumping over the pile. That never works. He kind of looks at it like a rugby play where the guys behind, if you're in man-to-man and your man is behind a guy on offense pushing, then you push your guy, you push the defensive line. I think we did a really good job of stopping it.

“The other part of it is just defending and understanding what the plays come off of it. [The Steelers] were able to get to the edges and we were kind of really bunched up in there. I think this time around, we will have a little more discipline on the edges. I think we did a good job actually defending the actual Tush Push play. But obviously, Philly is the best at doing it. So we will see how we do on Friday.”

Elevated: The Bears will have some reinforcements on the defensive side of the ball, activating cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon from injured reserve.

Johnson hasn’t played since Week 2 when he tore his adductor off his groin, requiring surgery. Gordon has only played twice this season and hasn’t appeared since Week 7 after he suffered a calf strain.

To make room on the roster, the Bears waived running back Brittain Brown and placed offensive lineman Luke Newman on injured reserve with a foot injury.

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