Bears and Eagles Capsule Preview

Philadelphia Eagles (12-1) at Chicago Bears (3-10)

Kickoff: Noon, Sunday, Soldier Field, Chicago

TV: Fox (Joe Davis, Daryle Johnston, Pam Oliver)

Streaming: fubo TV (Sign up for free trial)

Radio: WBBM AM-780, FM-105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)

Spanish Radio TUDN AM-1200, Latino Mix FM-93.5 (Omar Ramos, Miguel Esparza)

NFL On SiriusXM: Bears broadcast 132 and 230; Eagles broadcast 121 and 383

Latest Betting Line: Eagles by 8 1/2 (Over/under 48 1/2). Money Line, Bears bet $100 to win $310, Eagles bet $400 to win $100. Most up to date betting info at SI.com sportsbook

The Series: The 43rd regular-season game between these teams and 45th overall. Two of the most famous playoff games ever pitted these teams at Soldier Field, the "fog bowl" in the 1989 season won by the Bears and the "double-doink" game won by the Eagles in January of 2019. The Bears lead the regular-season series 28-13-1. The Bears are 15-5 in Chicago against the Eagles.

The Coaches: Eagles coach Nick Sirianni is 21-9 in his second season. Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 3-10 in his first season and is 7-8 against the Eagles in his career as an assistant coach.

Last Week: The Eagles dominated the New York Giants 48-22 as Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and ran for one. The Eagles had 253 rushing yards on 31 carries, including a 144-yard effort from Miles Sanders. They have won four straight since their only loss, Nov. 14 against the Washington Commanders, 32-21.

The Bears had a bye week and lost 28-19 the week before to the Green Bay Packers despite a season-high 254 passing yards by Justin Fields. They had a 19-17 lead with 14:40 left but Mason Crosby's 32-yard field goal with 4:49 left put the Packers ahead for good and Fields threw an interception on a failed two-minute drill.

This Season: The Eagles carried momentum from a late run to the playoffs last year over to this season as Hurts blossomed as a passer. Hurts has an NFL best 108.4 passer rating and NFL low interception percentage of 0.8. He is 264 of 388 (68%) for 3,157 yards with 22 TDs and three interceptions. Sanders, a free agent after this season, has gone over 1,000 yards rushing with 204 carries for 1,068 yards with 11 TDs. Receiver A.J. Brown has gone over 1,000 yards receiving with 65 receptions for 1,020 yards with 10 TDs. DaVonta Smith has a team-high 66 catches for 775 yards and five TDs. The Eagles are first in sacks coming into Week 15 with 49, including 10 from Haason Reddick, 8 1/2 by Brandon Graham, 7 1/2 by Josh Sweat, eight by Javon Hargrave and six by Fletcher Cox.

The Bears have lost six straight and nine out of 10 five straight and six straight when they were to get the ball in the fourth quarter on a drive for the tie or lead. They stayed relatively free of injury until the last three weeks and now the defense is without safety Eddie Jackson (foot) for the rest of the season while wide receiver Darnell Mooney (ankle) is done for the year, as well.Their defense has only two takeaways since both linebacker Roquan Smith and edge rusher Robert Quinn had been traded (Week 8). They've given up 33.5 points on average over the last six games. Fields is eighth in the NFL in rushing with 905 yards, leaving him 95 short of becoming the third quarterback to register a 1,000-yard season. For the season, he is 156 of 253 passing for 1,896 yards with 13 TDs and 10 interceptions. He has a passer rating of 85.4 and averaged 7.5 yards per attempt. RB David Montgomery has 641 yards on 140 carries (4.0 aveage) with four TDs. TE Cole Kmet has caught 35 passes for 408 yards and five TDs. Safety Jaquan Brisker continues to lead the Bears in sacks with 3.0 and they are last as a team with 16.

Matching Up:

The Eagles are third on offense, 13th passing and second rushing. They are the league's highest-scoring offense. On defense they are second overall, first against the pass and 18th against the run. They are seventh in points allowed.
The Bears are 22nd on offense, 32nd (last) in passing and first in rushing. They are 19th on defense, 27th against the run and 11th against the pass. They are 19th in scoring offense and 30th in scoring defense. ... The Bears currently sit third in the draft order for 2023.

Injury Report:

Eagles: S Reed Blankenship (knee) is out.
Bears: WR Chase Claypool (knee) and TE Trevon Wesco (calf) are out. T Larry Borom (knee) is doubtful. WR N'Keal Harry (back) and CB Kindle Vildor (ankle) are questionable.

Of Note: Hurts has won 17 of his last 19 regular-season starts. ... The Eagles have won five straight in the series, including the double-doink playoff game. ... This is only the second time in franchise history the Eagles are 12-1. ... Fields' three rushing touchdowns of 55 yards or more has never been done before by a quarterback according to known NFL stats. ... Brandon Graham of the Eagles had three sacks last week and at 34 years, 252 days became the oldest player to get three sacks in a game since Dwight Freeney for the Colts at age 35 years, 311 days.

Next Week: The Bears host the Buffalo Bills on Christmas Eve at noon while the Eagles are at the Dallas Cowboys at 3:25 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Key Individual Matchups

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Eagles WR A.J. Brown

Brown's success alone is making Eagles GM Howie Roseman look like a genius. Trading for Brown was exactly what the Eagles needed to open up the attack. The former Titans receiver has 1,020 yards already on 65 catches with 10 TDs. At 6-foot-1, 226 pounds, he's more than a matchup physically for most cornerbacks. Johnson has earned plenty of respect, most recently from Aaron Rodgers. However, Johnson hasn't been perfect against many of the top receivers he's been matched up against. He has a 98.8 passer rating against according to Sportradar. He has allowed a relatively low 62.2% completion rate. While his four pass breakups so far this year are well off last year's total of nine and nowhere near the 15 he had as a rookie, he's also being attacked much less due to the respect he has earned. Still, this is a red hot passing connection he's defending.

Bears CB Kindle Vildor vs. Eagles WR DeVonta Smith

Smith, the former Alabama receiver, has been the ideal complement to Brown with his quickness. He has had seven games of 50 yards receiving or more and four straight. Not physical at all at 6-foot, 170, his game is speed and route running. He has five TD catches this year. Vildor missed the last game with an ankle injury. Earlier in the season he had been playing well but his passer rating against has ticked up to 110.1, still his career best, and his 65.8% completions allowed is also a career best.

Bears S Jaquan Brisker vs. Eagles TE Dallas Goedert

Brisker returns to the lineup after missing two games with a concussion. He was their most impressive young defender in the secondary before the injury against Atlanta. The Eagles were confident enough in Goedert that they felt they no longer needed Zach Ertz last year. He has not failed them. Without the shoulder injury, he'd be approaching career-best numbers. The 6-5, 256-pounder has 43 catches for 54 yards and has the middle of the field and seam routes just like Ertz used to do. While Brisker is every bit what the Bears hoped with their second-round pick, he hasn't really faced a tight end with the combination of receiving and blocking ability Goedert has.

Bears DE Trevis Gipson vs. Eagles RT Lane Johnson

Pro Football Focus grades Johnson as the sixth-best tackle in the league and his marks have been outstanding, an 83.3 being the third-highest overall of a 10-year career. He hasn't allowed a sack this season and has five penalties. Gipson became a starter again when Robert Quinn was traded to the Eagles and hasn't had more than two tackles in a game since Week 2, or a tackle for loss since Week 5. His last sack came in Week 2. It's been a struggle in this new scheme for him, but he remains very active. Gipson is graded 113th out of 121 edge defenders by PFF. Johnson could face three-technique tackle Justin Jones on some snaps because the Bears moved him to the outside last game as Gipson's playing time dipped from the mid-60 percentile of snaps to 50%.

Bears DT Armon Watts vs. Eagles C Jason Kelce

Watts is the only Bears defensive lineman with a sack since Al-Quadin Muhammad had one in Week 6. He's also been very active and normally gets his hands on the center to prevent the double team of Justin Jones. Kelce is the standard for centers in the NFL. The 11-year veteran is a four-time All-Pro and continues to prove that you don't need to be 300 pounds and young to be a successful NFL offensive lineman, at 295. The 35-year-old is rated the No. 1 center in the NFL by Pro Football Focus.

Bears RT Riley Reiff vs. Eagles OLB Haason Reddick

Reddick is a wild card and will line up anywhere, even inside, but is at his best standing up and coming off the edge on the right end of the offense when the Eagles use a five-man pass rush. That's something they love to do. The former Cardinals and Panthers pass rusher leads Philadelphia with 10 sacks and can bull rush or take the outside route. He has seven tackles for loss. According to ESPN, Reddick has the third-best pass rush win rate in the league at 27%. Reiff likely will not be the only right tackle the Bears use as Alex Leatherwood should get plays there, as well. The Bears need to see him. Reiff rates as Pro Football Focus' 36th best pass blocking tackle and this has been his strength. He has allowed two sacks and has one penalty.

Bears LT Braxton Jones vs. Eagles DE Josh Sweat

Jones continues to outperform all expectations, rated the 19th best tackle in the league this year by PFF. He is the eighth-best run blocker according to PFF. His pass blocking against bull rushes needs to improve, according to coach Matt Eberflus. Sweat can provide the practice for him. Sweat has 7 1/2 sacks on the year with 11 tackles for loss. He's riding a hot streak with five sacks in the last five games. The Eagles have so many defensive linemen, Sweat will rotate out at times but his impact will be felt. He's graded 11th best edge player by Pro Football Focus and, by the way, he's not related to Washington's defensive lineman Montez Sweat.

Bears C Sam Mustipher vs. Eagles DT Javon Hargave

Mustipher is having his best year as a center according to PFF, but he'll be attacked by Hargrave, who has eight sacks and is having his best year in the NFL with a big contract looming. He's a player for the Bears to watch in free agency. Hargrave, who is 6-2, 305, has versatility to be one-technique or three-technique and has eight sacks, 12 QB hits and seven tackles for loss. A three-sack game against Houston bolstered his stats. He had two against his former team, the Steelers.

Bears RB David Montgomery vs. Eagles MLB T.J. Edwards

Edwards is rated No. 3 among off-ball linebackers by PFF. The Illinois (Lakes High) native and Wisconsin product has 115 tackles with eight for loss and has been adept in all aspects of the game because he has seven pass defenses. Montgomery gets the tough yards for the league's No. 1 rushing offense and also blocks for Justin Fields. He's likely to test Edwards as a receiver, as well. He has 25 receptions on the year but is just now starting to make an impact this season as a receiver with 10 the last three games. He is a tough runner even the 241-pound Edwards will be challenged tackling.

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