Wentz, Eagles beat Bears, go to 2-0

CHICAGO - Playing almost in the shadow of the Roosevelt University auditorium where he first donned an Eagles jersey on draft night, 144 days earlier, Carson Wentz wrote another chapter of a story that is moving beyond Philadelphia, toward the top of the national NFL narrative.

Wentz got little help from a wooden-handed receiving corps or an offensive line that showed a knack for ill-timed penalties. He did get help from the Bears, who turned the ball over three times in the second half, fueling a 29-14 Eagles' victory.

"Throughout the week, I realized; I'm going back to where my life changed, so to speak," Wentz said late Monday night, wearing a gray-and-blue windowpane check suit that almost certainly was not purchased in North Dakota.

In the buildup to his first NFL road game, Wentz said that the loudest place he'd played was the University of Montana for last season's North Dakota State road opener. "I think it was louder" at Soldier Field Monday night, Wentz said, but "we had practiced that. We had practiced the communication, and we had really good communication up front."

It got pretty quiet in the fourth quarter, as the Eagles built a 29-7 lead before giving up a late punt return touchdown.

The Eagles and Steelers are both 2-0 heading into Sunday's matchup at Lincoln Financial Field, as we all predicted when the season began.

Jim Schwartz's defense has given up one touchdown in each game thus far. Wentz, the gangly kid from with 23 college starts, has thrown no interceptions and lost no fumbles. On the national MNF stage, he missed maybe two or three throws he could have made, never seemed flustered or confused. His final line was 21-for-34 for 190 yards and a touchdown.

"He took care of the football and stood in there and made some tough throws," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said of Wentz.

"It was a cool stage. Monday Night Football. Everything was sweet," Wentz said. "A lot of things going on, a lot of eyes on us tonight, but it was a football game. You only get so many of these. You've gotta take advantage of your opportunities."

It was an odd game. The Bears moved the ball more consistently for quite a while and there was a point in the third quarter when they seemed ready to take the game by the throat, despite trailing 9-7, but then Destiny intervened. That would be undrafted rookie Eagles defensive lineman Destiny Vaeao, from American Samoa by way of Washington State.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was scrambling, but Vaeao latched onto him and forced a fumble, recovered by Jordan Hicks at the Eagles' 47. It turned out Cutler injured the thumb on his throwing hand on the play, though we didn't find that out for a while.

"They tried to double-team me . . . He stepped up. When we watched film, he always stepped (toward the line)," Vaeao said. "I hit his hand, made the tackle, saw the ball going backward."

"We're an attacking defense, and we're coming for you," said middle linebacker Jordan Hicks, who pounced on the Cutler fumble. "I was coming down to cover the running back, saw the ball out and just jumped on it."

A few series later, Wentz engineered an eight-play, 68-yard drive for the visitors' first touchdown of the night, Ryan Mathews backing out of a plugged hole and slithering into open space to his right, with the Bears' Willie Young desperately clawing at the air where Mathews had been.

Then on the first play after the kickoff, Nigel Bradham leaped high and snagged a pass Cutler thought he'd lofted over the Eagles' linebacker. Bradham rambled to the Bears' 2. Wentz then threw a screen to tight end Trey Burton, the first touchdown from scrimmage of Burton's three-year NFL career, and the Eagles' second TD in 21 seconds, after managing none in the first 44 minutes, 7 seconds.

"He probably thought he got it over me, but I was ready for it," Bradham said. "I pretty much just read his eyes. I ended up having the tight end in man-to-man coverage. I was reading his eyes as the tight end came back to kick out the d-end. He just threw it, I went and got it. I should've scored. I can't believe I didn't score. It was a great play by (Bears rookie center Cody Whitehair). I tried to stay up, tried throwing him off of me, because I wanted that touchdown."

Brian Hoyer entered the game for Cutler. When Vinny Curry forced a Jeremy Langford fumble that Ron Brooks recovered, the Eagles were in business again. Mathews scored their final TD with a fourth-down run around left end.

The much-discussed anthem protest came and went quickly. Defensive end Steven Means, corner Ron Brooks, and defensive end Marcus Smith joined safety Malcolm Jenkins, who announced Friday evening he would make a gesture in solidarity with the protest against racism and inequality begun by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

The story of the first half was that Wentz was ready for prime time, but some of his teammates weren't. Rookie corner Jalen Mills, filling in for Leodis McKelvin (hamstring), ended up somewhere on Lake Shore Drive after losing Alshon Jeffery on a double move that produced a 41-yard completion and set up the Bears' only offensive touchdown.

But a bigger problem were penalties on Jason Peters (holding) and Jason Kelce (holding, facemask) that put Wentz in huge holes. On the Kelce hold, Wentz stood in, took a hit, and zipped a first-down completion to Brent Celek that didn't count.

"Carson is right now, the most consistent guy on the offense, it seems like," Kelce said. "He's putting the ball everywhere, making the right checks, doing everything he's supposed to . . . Once his o-line starts getting things fixed and starts playing better, once his receivers start catching everything, I think this thing's really going to take off."

The Birds' most egregious failure to help their rookie QB came with 13 seconds remaining in the first half, when Jordan Matthews flat-out dropped a perfectly thrown 35-yard touchdown pass to the left pylon. The Eagles settled for a 53-yard Caleb Sturgis field goal, his third of the half, which produced a 9-7 halftime lead.

Earlier, Sturgis hit from 25 on the Eagles' first drive of the evening, after Bryce Callahan made a leaping play to tip a Wentz pass just enough for Celek to miss it.

Wentz was 6-for-6 for 35 yards before the tipped incompletion, running tempo, with an empty backfield. The Birds were throwing quick and short against the Bears' cushion.

Sturgis brought the Eagles within 7-6 with a 29-yarder at the end of an 11-play, 77-yard drive. Wentz zipped a 32-yard completion to Matthews, then hit Burton - playing for Zach Ertz (dislocated rib) - on a nice throw that grew 15 yards longer with roughing the passer added. But a first down at Chicago's 14 didn't produce a TD.

Wentz went into halftime with a 15-for-24, 141-yard line that should have been better. He again made no crucial mistakes.

One reason there were field goals and not touchdowns was the total of 21 first-half Eagles rushing yards on 10 carries. Another was the penalties, and of course, another was that Matthews dropped a TD pass.

"He doesn't get rattled. The game's not too big for him," Matthews said of Wentz. "He plays the game within the game, focuses on the fine details . . . all the other stuff is really secondary."

Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis seemed to be limping in the second half and missed an extra point. Doug Pederson said he was battling cramps . . . Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller was hoping to play four weeks after arthroscopic surgery on a knee but he did not; then the Bears lost corner Bryce Callahan and safety Adrian Amos to concussions . . . Eagles wide receiver Bryce Treggs thought he would be active for the first time since joining the team at the end of the preseason, but he was not.

@LesBowen

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog