Colin Cowherd used the Chicago Bears’ 27-7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night to challenge a familiar NFL assumption: that a Super Bowl title automatically makes a head coach great.
“Let’s stop convincing ourselves that every coach that wins a Super Bowl – Nick Sirianni – is a great coach,” Cowherd said Tuesday on “The Herd,” arguing that Bears coach Ben Johnson out-coached Sirianni and the defending NFC East champions.
The Eagles entered the game 2-0 and favored on the road. They left Soldier Field with their first loss of the season after scoring seven points, their fewest since 2021, and committing three turnovers. Chicago, also 2-1, did it without starting quarterback Caleb Williams, who sat with a hamstring injury.
Case Keenum, a 38-year-old third-stringer making his first start since December 2023, completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns. He added a one-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter. Jalen Hurts finished 16 of 25 for 153 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.
Cowherd framed the result as a coaching mismatch more than a quarterback surprise. Johnson, in his second season after leaving the Detroit Lions as offensive coordinator, scripted an opening drive that featured five different ballcarriers and ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Luther Burden III. The Bears later added a 41-yard scoring strike to Kalif Raymond.
Philadelphia’s night unraveled in familiar ways. The Eagles were flagged 10 times for 61 yards. They were outscored 17-0 after halftime and managed three first downs in the second half. Sirianni later called it “a true team loss.”
“I don’t think anybody coached well. I don’t think anyone played well,” Sirianni said. “I have to look at myself first. We weren’t ready to coach, we weren’t ready to play, and that ultimately starts and ends with me.”
One sequence captured the second-guessing. Trailing 20-7 in the third quarter, Philadelphia faced fourth-and-1 at its own 49. Sirianni lined the offense up as if to run the tush push, tried to draw Chicago offside, then took a delay-of-game penalty and punted.
“As I look back at that, I should have went for it there,” Sirianni said. “Didn’t like that decision.”
Cowherd has long argued that Sirianni’s Super Bowl LIX title in the 2024 season reflected roster strength more than schematic edge. Sirianni is 61-27 in the regular season since taking over in 2021, with six playoff wins, two NFC titles and one championship. Cowherd’s point Tuesday was that a ring does not settle the debate when a team with Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and a decorated defense looks unprepared against a backup.
Johnson’s staff drew praise for the other sideline. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s unit forced three turnovers and limited Philadelphia to 248 total yards. Chicago held the ball for nearly 37 minutes.
Cowherd returned to Johnson later in the show with another comparison.
“To win with a 3rd string left tackle and a 3rd string quarterback is like using rental clubs in a major and winning the major. It’s insane.”
The Eagles host the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. Philadelphia has been outscored 40-20 in second halves through three games. That trend, more than one Monday night score, is what Cowherd used to separate winning from coaching.
Sirianni has reached the playoffs in each of his first five full seasons. Johnson already has a playoff win as a first-year head coach and now a nationally televised statement against a Super Bowl-winning staff. The argument Cowherd offered is not that Sirianni cannot win. It is that the standard for “great” should be higher than a single February trophy.
Chicago’s next test is whether Johnson can keep that edge when Williams returns. Philadelphia’s is whether Sirianni can prove the Bears game was an outlier rather than a pattern.
