Bears Dent the Eagles’ Record : NFC: Chicago defense, led by Richard Dent, sacks Brister seven times and takes advantage of turnovers as Philadelphia loses for the first time this season, 17-6.

When it comes to playing defense, look no further than Richard Dent.

The Bears’ right end set the tone early in Chicago’s 17-6 victory Sunday over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Midway through the first quarter, the 6-foot-5 Dent leaped into the path of a pass by Bubby Brister, snared it and ran 24 yards to set up a field goal.

After that, Brister was ineffective, the Eagles lost for the first time and the Bears found themselves with a three-game winning streak.

“Any time you get to the quarterback early, he kind of gets his mind off what he’s doing,” said Dent, who led a seven-sack attack on Brister with two of his own.

The Eagles played without Randall Cunningham (broken leg) and wide receiver Fred Barnett (knee).

Brister, the former Pittsburgh Steeler, threw two interceptions and fumbled twice as the Veterans Stadium crowd of 63,601 booed him constantly throughout the second half.

“This is a low moment for me,” said Brister, who completed 18 of 33 passes for 209 yards. “But I have wide shoulders. I’m here to handle it and I can handle it.”

Dent wasn’t alone in his pursuit of Brister. Linebacker Dante Jones had nine tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery, and tackle Steve McMichael led the line charge with an interception and sack.

“I’m extremely proud of the way we played, but I never thought I’d be a little disappointed in a win,” Bears Coach Dave Wannstedt said. “We wanted the shutout.”

The Eagles (4-1) scored their touchdown with 23 seconds remaining on Brister’s seven-yard pass to Calvin Williams.

“Bubby has to get adjusted to us and we have to get adjusted to him,” said Eagles center Dave Alexander. “We have to work on our timing.”

After Kevin Butler’s 37-yard field goal opened the scoring, Trace Armstrong forced a Brister fumble on the next series and Jones recovered it. Jim Harbaugh connected with Curtis Conway on a 32-yard touchdown pass play three plays later.

Harbaugh completed 14 of 27 passes for 165 yards.

While the Eagles got only as far as the Bears’ 43-yard line until midway through the fourth quarter, Harbaugh added a one-yard scoring run in the second quarter to give Chicago (3-2) a 17-point halftime lead.

The Bears have now allowed only 59 points in five games, an average of 11.8 per game.