The Chicago Bears (3-7) play the Eagles (9-1) at Philadelphia this Sunday at Noon Central time. Philly is favored by 13.5 points as of Wednesday’s Chicago Tribune. ESPN’s FPI (Football Power Index) says the Eagles have a 91.5% chance of winning. In all likelihood, Chicago will lose by 13 or 14 points. So you’re saying there’s a chance? As the “Dutch Lion” likes to say, “Possible, but not probable”.
The funny thing is the Bears have only three wins on the season, but they are against Pittsburgh (8-2), Carolina (7-3), and a hot Baltimore Ravens team (5-5). So again, the Bears have a chance but it would be really odd to go into Philly and beat the best team in the league on their home-field. Stranger things have happened. Remember the Fog Bowl playoff game on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 1988? The Bears won 20-12, although nobody actually saw it.
Bears offense vs Eagles defense
According to the NFL yardage stats, the Bears offense is 26th in total offense, 31st in passing, 5th in rushing, and 27th in scoring at 17.4 ppg. Aikman’s Efficiency Ratings (AER) has the Bears rated as the 23rd best offense.
The Eagles defense is 7th in total defense, 19th against the pass, 1st against the run, and 7th in scoring defense at 18.8 ppg allowed. AER has the Eagles defense rated as the 3rd best defense in the NFL. That’s a dominant unit.
The best thing about the Bears offense is the running game. The Eagles have the best run defense in the NFL. CLEARLY BIG EDGE: Philadelphia defense
Bears defense vs Eagles offense
Bears defense is 11th overall in the NFL yardage rankings, 12th against the pass, 12th against the run, and 15th in points allowed at 22.1 ppg. AER has Chicago’s D at 9th.
Led by sophomore superstar QB Carson Wentz, the Eagles offense is 3rd overall, 15th in passing, 2nd in rushing, and 1st in scoring at 32.0 ppg. AER has the Eagles as the best offense in the NFL…..#1! Wentz has clearly taken his game up a notch in his 2nd year in the league. He’s got Philadelphia extremely excited…..you know, the “Is this the year” kind of excited for Phila fans. They are justified in their thinking. This COULD be their year.
Even though the Bears defense has had a solid year, they are only between 9th and 15th in all of the rankings. The Eagles offense is one of the top 3 offenses in the NFL. EDGE: Philadelphia offense
Watch Out For……….(Besides the inevitable Fog)
OLB #47 Isaiah Irving – With Leonard Floyd having a somewhat severe knee injury last week (MCL sprain that will likely end his season), the Bears are now down 2 of their top 3 pass rushers from the OLB position. How can DC Vic Fangio replace both Floyd and Willie Young? Obviously #92 Pernell McPhee will have to play more snaps and be productive while he’s out there. #93 Sam Acho will probably start on the other side. Also, watch out for this young free agent signee that the Bears management seems to like. His name is Isaiah Irving. He’s a rookie from San Jose St. He’s 6’2″ 254 and explosive on special teams and in practice, according to the “experts” that watch practice. Last year at San Jose, he had 45 tackles, 4 TFL’s, 3 QB hurries, and 7 sacks! How will he do this week against Wentz? The “Dutch Lion” isn’t sure but he’s excited to find out and you can count on his keen eye observing Irving at every turn on Sunday. Let’s hope he gets plenty of snaps.
Predictions:
As many of you know, The Dutch Lion thinks the Bears are a decent team, probably better than their 3-7 record indicates. However, there’s very little chance Chicago gets a win this Sunday. The Eagles are just too good. They might be the best team in the league. This might be the hardest game on the Bears schedule. The Aikman Ratings have the Eagles as their #1 overall team with the #1 offense and #3 defense. That sounds dominant. Meanwhile, the Bears are 19th overall with the 23rd best offense and the 11th best defense. This Bears team is young and injured and growing, with a rookie QB. Last year, Philadelphia had a young and injured and growing team with a rookie QB and they finished 7-9. Look where they are now. At 9-1, they are the current favorites to get to Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis.
Philadelphia Eagles 33 Chicago Bears 13
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