The Chicago Bears made a statement in front of a national audience on Friday afternoon.

Chicago put together one of its better team performances on Black Friday to beat the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles 24-15. The defense came away with a critical takeaway when it forced a fumble on the controversial tush push. Then the offense used a historic performance from its running backs to put the game away for good.

The win meant a lot for head coach Ben Johnson and his team, even if they didn’t want to put too much weight into one win after. Chicago improved to 9-3 and jumped to the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoff race with five games left in the season. Now the Bears control their own destiny about how much longer they can keep this magical run going.

Here are the five big takeaways from a momentous win.

Running away to history

There was little doubt that the Bears would run the ball Friday afternoon. Winds howled around 23 miles per hour for much of the game, which made kicking and throwing the ball difficult at times.

That was music to Bears running backs D’Andre Swift’s and Kyle Monangai’s and the offensive line’s ears. The Bears running game put on a show Friday. Chicago’s offensive line physically handled the Eagles’ defensive line for much of Friday. Both running backs saw gaping holes and plenty of green space as soon as they received a handoff.

They used that strong blocking to put up historic numbers. Monangai led the team with 130 rushing yards and a touchdown on 22 carries while Swift added 125 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 rushes. Chicago finished with a total of 281 rushing yards, two shy of their season-high, and averaged 6 yards per carry.

The Bears’ duo each made history by crossing the century mark in rushing yards. It was the first time the Bears have had two backs with 100-plus yards in the same game since Nov. 10, 1985, when Walter Payton and Matt Suhey did it.

“That’s amazing,” Swift said. “That’s hats off to the [offensive] line. I can’t say enough of the job that we’re doing up front and continuing to block downfield. They make our jobs so much easier.”

Kevin Byard dives back on top

Bears safety Kevin Byard took back the lead in his interception competition with teammate Nahshon Wright on Friday.

Byard made an impressive interception in the third quarter when he read Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts perfectly. Hurts ran to his right on a scramble and decided to throw down the sideline to wide receiver A.J. Brown. But Byard saw what Hurts wanted to do and sprinted across the field to make a diving interception.

That interception was Byard’s sixth of the season, which is the most in the league. It put Byard ahead of Wright, who has five this year and himself had a critical takeaway when he forced a fumble on a tush-push attempt. The pick marked the most interceptions Byard has had in a season since he picked off eight passes in 2017 with the Tennessee Titans.

Byard wasn’t only motivated by trying to top his teammate. Hurts had only thrown one interception heading into Friday’s game and Byard wanted to make it more.

“We took it as a challenge,” Byard said. “I looked at the stats before [Hurts] only threw one pick this season. So I took it as a challenge to try to go get one. You can even watch the film on mine, I had to really go get it.”

Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon return

The Bears defense got back a pair of playmakers to its secondary Friday when cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon each returned from injury.

Jaylon Johnson played in his second game this season after dealing with groin injuries for much of training camp and since Week 2 against the Detroit Lions. Gordon played in his third game of the season after hamstring and calf injuries held back from play for most of this season.

Ben Johnson used a snap-count limit for both players Friday. Jaylen Johnson started at outside cornerback for most of the first half and at spurts in the second half. He made an impressive diving pass breakup in the second quarter on third down. Gordon also split time at the slot cornerback spot and spent some time outside as well.

Both players said after the game that it felt good to be back out on the field. After missing so many dramatic wins, it felt good to be a part of a statement win.

“I think for me personally, it’s been good to see, but it’s been hard to also be away from as well,” Jaylon Johnson told Shaw Local News Network. “But it’s really just continue to battle and commit. My game days were in my in [physical therapy] and things like that. So I was just trying to stay engaged best I can.”

Efficient defensive scheming

Jaylon Johnson’s and Gordon’s returns came at an optimal time as the Bears defense battle injuries elsewhere.

Chicago played without its top four linebackers Friday. Tremaine Edmunds was placed on injured reserve while T.J. Edwards, Noah Sewell and Ruben Hyppolite each battled various injuries over the past few weeks.

Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen made the most with what he had as he has for most of this season. He moved different players to different spots more than just Jaylon Johnson and Gordon. Allen played dime on third down numerous times where he would send both safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson on blitzes. He also had Gordon get involved as well.

The adjustments worked as the Eagles struggled to move the ball in critical situations. Philadelphia went 4-of-12 on third down and ran 51 plays compared to the Chicago’s 85. The Eagles also picked up 14 first downs while the Bears earned 28 as they couldn’t find answers to Allen’s different defensive fronts.

“You get very excited about it,” Gordon said of the game plan. “You come to us with a great plan every time at the beginning of the week and all we want to do is execute it to full extent and get these results.”

Ozzy Trapilo earns the job

Johnson played coy earlier in the week when he declined to say who his starting left tackle would be if starter Theo Benedet was healthy enough to play. Fans got their answer on Friday.

Bears rookie Ozzy Trapilo earned his second straight start at the spot against the Eagles. The switch came even though Benedet had practiced all week and didn’t have a designation for the game.

“That’s amazing. That’s hats off to the [offensive] line. I can’t say enough of the job that we’re doing up front and continuing to block downfield. They make our jobs so much easier.”

—  D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears running back

The move didn’t come as a big surprise after what Bears coaches had to say about Trapilo during the week. Johnson and the coaching staff had praised this year’s second-round pick on how much Trapilo had improved since he didn’t win the job at the start of the season.

Trapilo held his own against a tough Eagles defense Friday. He was part of a unit that allowed Williams to be sacked twice and created plenty of lanes to run.

“Those guys, they were huge for us,” Ben Johnson said. “So I’m really proud of them.”