5 key matchups Eagles need to win to beat Bears

Share

The Eagles are coming off a huge win in Dallas last weekend and haven't lost since their Week 2 game against the Chiefs. They're 9-1 for just the fifth time in team history. 

In Chicago, things haven't been going nearly as well. 

The Bears are 3-7 and have lost their last three games in a row. Somewhat impressively, though, their three wins this season have come against the Steelers, Ravens and Panthers, who have a combined 20-10 record. 

So the Eagles aren't taking this game lightly.

"Listen, this is the National Football League and you're seeing it every week. If you don't come ready to play, you'll get your tail beat," Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said. "This is no different this week. This is a good football team we're playing. Their record might be a different way and they have had some injuries, particularly on defense now, but it's still a good football team, and they probably should have won that game last week and they have been in some close games this year.

"So you can't go to sleep on these [guys]. The one thing I've been proud, most proud of with this team, is we stay in the moment, we stay in the week, and we've got the Bears on Sunday and that's our focus."

Here are five matchups to watch Sunday: 

Jordan Howard vs. Eagles' run D
The Bears aren't very good, but Howard is a stud. The second-year running back has seen his yards-per-carry average dip this season, but he still has 841 yards and five touchdowns through 10 games. 

You'll probably remember that Howard was taken in the fifth round of last year's draft out of Indiana during the one year Joe Douglas was in Chicago. Howard went three spots ahead of where the Eagles took Wendell Smallwood. The Eagles have always said publicly Smallwood was the guy they wanted, but it's fair to wonder. While Smallwood is now a forgotten man in Philadelphia, Howard might be on his way to a second-straight Pro Bowl to start his career. 

The Bears can certainly run the ball, but the Eagles' run defense has been great all season. They gave up 112 rushing yards to the Cowboys last week but had been incredibly good against the run before that. 

"There were some things that we can play a little bit better," defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. "I think we set that bar awful high. There's some teams in the league that — what did we give up, 110, 112? I think some people might get a pat on the back for that. I think it's a tribute to the players in the locker room that that's a poor performance for them, and they consider it a poor performance."

Even after last week, the Eagles still have the best rushing defense in the NFL, giving up 71.0 yards per game.

Tarik Cohen vs. Mychal Kendricks 
The Bears' other running back, Cohen, is much more of a dual threat. While he has 64 carries for 273 yards and two touchdowns, he also leads the Bears in receptions with 33 that have gone for 264 yards and one touchdown. 

If he can do some damage against the Eagles, it'll probably come through the air. Kendricks has struggled in the past to cover running backs but has been better this season. 

The Eagles have been around the middle of the pack in defending running backs out of the backfield. They have given up 58 catches for 417 yards and four touchdowns to opposing backs this season. 

Eagles' run game vs. Bears' run D
Chicago has the 12th-best run defense in the league and overall, the Bears' defense isn't bad. The Eagles have shown the ability to run the ball down teams' throats this season, though. 

Averaging 144.6 yards per game on the ground, the Eagles have the second-best rushing offense in the NFL. Sure, a lot of times they've been up big so they run the ball. But plenty of times they've been able to control games from running. 

Somehow, last week, the Eagles were able to find a role for all four active running backs. It's hard to imagine that happening every week, but they might try. If nothing else, expect Jay Ajayi, LeGarrette Blount and even Corey Clement to play a lot Sunday. 

Mitchell Trubisky vs. Jim Schwartz 
The Trubisky-Carson Wentz comparisons were unavoidable this week. They're different players and were even different prospects, but they went No. 2 a year apart, so it's been a talking point this season. Trubisky didn't begin the year as the Bears' starter, but it didn't take a long time for John Fox to move past Mike Glennon. 

Trubisky has put up pretty modest numbers so far. In six games, he has a 2-4 record, has completed 53 percent of his passes for 988 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. The best number there is the two interceptions. If nothing else, at least he's not turning the ball over. 

"Everybody is different, and every offense is different," Schwartz said about his philosophy for facing rookie quarterbacks. "We adjust on a weekly basis."

It would make some sense, though, if Schwartz tried some different things against the rookie to get him off balance. That doesn't mean zero blitzes all game, but a few added wrinkles that Trubisky hasn't seen might go a long way.  

Alshon Jeffery vs. Prince Amukamara
Earlier this week, Jeffery downplayed the matchup against his former team, but it's going to mean something a little extra to him (see story). That's just human nature. 

The interesting part of this matchup against Amukamara is that Jeffery will draw one of the guys on that defense who he never saw. Amukamara joined the Bears this offseason as Jeffery was coming to Philly. There's not much of a history between Amukamara and Jeffery. Jeffery faced the Giants just one time during his career in Chicago in 2013 and didn't see much of Amukamara. 

Jeffery has started to heat up over the last month. In the last three games, he has 12 catches for 213 yards and four touchdowns. 

Contact Us