Early Sunday Night Football Preview: Bears @ Eagles
Last week was a strange week in the NFL. There were a handful of upset victories like the Patriots losing to the Dolphins and the Broncos dropping to the Chargers. Â The Philadelphia Eagles also lost to the Minnesota Vikings, keeping the Dallas Cowboys hopes of an NFC East Championship, despite their own upset loss to a Aaron Rodgers-less Packers team.
Then there is the Chicago Bears. The Bears got lucky last week. Â They weren’t lucky to beat an awful Cleveland Browns squad. They were lucky that the Detroit Lions lost to the Baltimore Ravens. Â This put the Bears in first place of the NFC North division.
On Sunday Night Football this weekend, the Bears and the Eagles will clash. Â This game has major playoff implications. The Bears will need a win to maintain and/or further their lead in the NFC North, while the Eagles need to do the same, especially if the Cowboys manage to beat the Washington Redskins early in the day.
That means the NFC East will be decided in Week 17 in a game between the Eagles and the Cowboys. If the Cowboys lose earlier in the day then the Eagles can clinch the division and the playoff trip that comes with it. But the Eagles cannot look that far ahead and neither can the Bears. They first have to worry about getting this win.
The Eagles showed some weakness in their loss to the Vikings last week, particularly in the secondary where the Vikings receivers were eating them alive. Â It is not a good weakness to have considering Chicago has one of the best receiving duos in the NFL in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. They have combined for 170 receptions, 2,400 yards and have pulled 17 balls out of the air for a touchdown. Â Not to mention, Bears running back Matt Forte is enjoying a career -best year.
The Bears can throw the ball. In fact, they are fifth in the NFL. This is not good news for the Eagles. However, the Bears defense is not good. They ranked 28th in scoring and 27th in yards. This means we can expect a shootout. The over/under is set at 56 points over at Bovada, which is the highest over/under of Week 16.
The odds slightly favor the Eagles with a -3 point spread. Check this game out on Sunday in prime time.
