NFL: Preview - Chicago Bears vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Three teams have edged ahead of the rest in the National Football Conference (NFC) and two of them would clash with each other this Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles are going to Chicago to face off against the Bears at Soldier field this 28th. Both teams have a record of 7 wins and 3 losses, but after Sunday one of the teams is going to be bumped down to 7-4 while the other moves up to 8-3.
The two teams have their own distinct style of playing football. Simply put, they are the exact opposite of each other. If you merged Chicago’s defence with Philadelphia’s offence, you would have the perfect team.
The Bears are a side that has relied heavily on defence. They have conceded just 14.6 yards on average over the whole season, which is the lowest points allowed average in the league. They rank 2nd in terms of total yards, 12th in protecting the pass and 2nd in stopping the rush. It is only fitting then that the Eagles are the third best rushing side in the league.
The eagles do not just have a strong rush. With quarterback Michael Vick, the Eagles have passed the ball to perfection. Vick does not throw too many touchdowns in the air. In fact, his 11 touchdowns are one short of Chicago’s quarterback, Jay Cutler. But then again Vick did miss four games including the week’s game in which he was injured after just 7 pass attempts and 5 rushing touchdowns to his credit.
Where Vick truly shines is his accuracy. He has thrown a grand total of zero interceptions this season and lost just one fumbled ball. “We can limit our mistakes, limit our turnovers and be more efficient in the red zone,” Vick said. The lack of mistakes and their powerful rushing offence is what makes the Eagles one of the strongest offences in the league and Vick a quarterback to be feared.
There is just no way to get the ball back from Vick except to stop him with the downs and that is where his other strength rescues him, the ability to make big plays. He showed that against the Washington Redskins in week 10 where he threw 4 touchdown passes in addition to 2 rushing touchdowns and led the Eagles to a 59-24 win over the Redskins. The New York Giants took a lesson from that game and made sure Vick couldn’t make big plays against them. They were able to hold back the Eagles’ explosives offense but still lost the game. Chicago has a tough game coming this Sunday.
Jay Cutler is not ready for it. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes, but has also cost the Bears 10 turnovers to interceptions and 4 to fumbled balls. A mistake like that against the Eagles could cost Chicago the whole game. It is not all down to Cutler. Bears’ coach Lovie Smith admitted as much. He said, Chicago’s front-seven needs to be more disciplined. “Of course, he's a great thrower, but we still feel like for us to have the most success, we need to keep him penned in,” the coach said.
Cutler’s offensive line has failed to protect him so far. He has been sacked 33 times this season. Against the New York Giants in week four, Cutler was sacked 9 times. Even against the Miami Dolphins last week, a game Chicago won 16-0; he was sacked 3 times and intercepted once. Chicago’s defence is the only thing keeping them afloat, not to mention that their past four games have been against below average teams. Against the Eagles offence, the defence alone will not be enough. Unless the Bears protect Cutler and the quarterback puts life back into the offence, Chicago cannot win.
Nonetheless, the Philadelphia Eagles are the favourites for Sunday night’s game.
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