Eagles should be extra motivated to beat Bears for Darren Sproles

If Darren Sproles still plans to retire after this season, Sunday’s game for the Philadelphia Eagles could be his final one.

For years, the Philadelphia Eagles always knew they had a special player in Darren Sproles, and while it was crushing to hear in the offseason that 2018 would be his final year in the NFL, it was understandable why the timing was right.

A 35-year-old running back like Sproles with his size can only take so many hits like has has throughout his career.

Not to mention, it was already amazing to see Sproles return to action in 2018 the way he did after missing most of last year with a broken arm and torn ACL.

Unfortunately, this season didn’t exactly get off to the best start for Sproles when seeing how the veteran running back returned for the first game before missing the next few months as a result of a hamstring injury.

Even when Sproles returned to the lineup at the beginning of December against the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia didn’t really know what to expect when it came to returning to his old ways.

While it was great to see Sproles find the end zone during that first game back against the Redskins, the running back really deserves a ton of credit for the way he stepped up for the Eagles down the stretch to help secure the final playoff spot in the NFC.

All hope seemed lost for the defending champions when they suffered that devastating overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys about a month ago.

But thanks to Sproles and the rest of his teammates stepping up when needed the most, Philadelphia was able to win their final three games along with receiving some help from the Chicago Bears defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17.

Now, the question becomes whether the Eagles can carry their momentum from the end of the regular season into the playoffs since they’re going to need all of the extra help possible to win on the road against the Bears.

More importantly, if Sproles does in fact still plan on calling it a career once Philadelphia’s season officially comes to an end, this should provide the Eagles with a little extra motivation to win for their beloved running back.

Technically, Sproles did earn a Super Bowl ring from being part of the roster last season, but deep down, everyone knew it was killing him not to be on the field with the rest of his teammates.

There’s nothing Philadelphia would love more than to be in a position to send Sproles out a winner by winning another Super Bowl, which is always easier said than done since the defending champions would have to win three games on the road along with the big game in Atlanta.

Focusing on one game at a time is the best approach Sproles and the Eagles can take, starting with Sunday’s meeting with the Bears. Winning the Super Bowl was already motivating enough, but when seeing how a loss to Chicago could result in Sproles officially being done with football, well let’s hope this takes the motivation to a whole new level for the defending champions.