Lovie Smith and his Chicago Bears followed the “how to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles” blueprint to a tee.

They got out to the early lead. Matt Forte provided a strong ground game. Jay Cutler didn’t get careless with his pass attempts. Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers didn’t allow Michael Vick to run wild.

But Chicago almost let go of this one, relinquishing the lead to Philadelphia in the third quarter. Cutler rallied his troops and comfortably marched down the field to resume the advantage.

What were the keys to the victory?

Matt Forte’s elusiveness.

Forte, who currently has the most yards from scrimmage in the NFL, gave Philly’s defense fits tonight. Forte rushed for 133 yards on 24 carries, and probably collected two-thirds of them after breaking a tackle or absorbing contact. Forte wore out the Eagles’ defense, and helped neutralize a usually aggressive Philly pass rush.

Linebacker containment and pursuit.

Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher roamed sideline-to-sideline to ensure that Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy didn’t get any clean runs on the perimeter. Even defensive end Julius Peppers snuffed out a couple of potential Vick scrambles.

Julius Peppers worked hard to keep Michael Vick under wraps on Monday night.

Cutler’s cool demeanor.

For the entire contest, Jay Cutler was very well-protected and made just about all of the right decisions. Cutler did not get rattled by the Philly pressure, and repressed his urge to take unnecessary chances. Cutler did not get sacked tonight – a fact that contributed to Jay’s relaxed performance.

Eagles playmakers held in check.

Desean Jackson (2 catches, 16 yards), LeSean McCoy (16 rushes, 72 yards) and Michael Vick (213 yards passing, 1 INT, 34 yards rushing) were limited by the veteran Chicago defense. Philadelphia is a home run hitting team, and the Bears were clearly content to give Philly the small stuff and focus on the preventing the big plays.

The Chicago win kept them one game behind the Lions – their NFL North competitors – and in full striking distance for the upcoming playoff stretch.

As for the Eagles – well, they fall to three games behind the division-leading Giants. And those playoff hopes are, indeed, fading away.