Philadelphia Eagles: Wild Card Round preview against Chicago Bears
By Jake Starr
Prediction
The Eagles are one of the hottest teams in the NFL, going 5-1 in their last six games. They have turned their season around since being 4-6 back in November. The Eagles may be 9-7 and the No. 6 seed, but they are a very scary team right now.
Chicago heads into the postseason at 12-4 and has been one of the best teams in the NFC this season. They have a defense that is a force to be reckoned along with an offense that has been very efficient.
This is also a battle of two Andy Reid disciples in Pederson and Nagy. Both were offensive coordinators under Reid in Kansas City before becoming head coaches. Pederson has made the playoffs in two of his first three seasons and won a Super Bowl, while Nagy went 12-4 in his first season.
Experience could play a huge factor in this matchup. Foles has the edge over Trubisky when it comes to postseason experience and Pederson has the edge over Nagy in that area as well. With Chicago having home field in this game, the Eagles experience will be important.
On offense, it will be tough, but the Eagles are going to need to find a way to move the ball against Chicago’s strong defense. I believe they will, but it will likely come on long sustained drives. The Eagles will likely need to put up 20-24 points to have a shot at pulling this out.
Defensively, the Eagles will look to slow down Chicago’s rushing attack and fluster Trubisky. The Bears will make some plays throughout the night, but if the Eagles can limit them then they can set up their offense for success. Forcing some turnovers will be big as well.
The Bears might be the slightly better team, but the Eagles are hot right now and that can’t go under the radar. Philadelphia is a talented team and many of their players have a Super Bowl ring. All in all, these two teams appear to be pretty evenly matched,
This will be a close game throughout that may be low scoring. The team that breaks through offensively will likely be the team that walks away victorious. Whichever team makes a big play late, especially defensively, will be the winner of this game.
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On this night, the Eagles experience will take over and the hottest team in the NFL will squeak out a tight victory over one the NFL’s bright, young teams, sending the Eagles to New Orleans.