Nakobe Dean, Sydney Brown Among Predictions For Eagles-Bears On Black Friday

PHILADELPHIA – It’s a heavyweight matchup on Black Friday at Lincoln Financial Field between the 8-3 Eagles and 8-3 Chicago Bears at 3 p.m. It’s also time for some game-day predictions, including a final score. Not all of these will be right, but if two hit, there’ll be no living with me.

Nakobe Dean gets another. The linebacker will make it four straight games with a sack with his explosive style that has destroyed running backs in each of the last three weeks, a list that includes Josh Jacobs, David Montgomery, and Javonte Williams. Former Eagles running back D’Andre Swift will be next.

“He's got a good feel for it,” said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. “He can be physical when he needs to be, and he can slip a guy when he needs to slip a guy. So, he's got a good feel for it.”

Turnover battle goes to... The Bears thrive on them, leading the league in the giveaway/takeaway department with plus-16, with 16 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries. Cornerback Nahshon Wright and safety Kevin Byard, who played 10 games with the Eagles in 2023, are tied for the league lead with five interceptions each.

The Eagles are no slouches in the giveaway/takeaway department, either, with a plus-6, thanks mostly to quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has thrown a league-low one interception. They did turn it over twice in last week’s loss to the Cowboys. It’s hard to pick the Eagles to win this battle, but here goes – the Eagles get two, the Bears one.

An Interception And Punishing Ground Game

Sydney Brown pick. The third-year safety has waited patiently to return to the starting lineup and will quiet his legion of doubters by picking off Caleb Williams.

Ground attack shines. Nobody needs to tell you that the Eagles have had a hard time running the ball this season, but on Friday, they will reach at least 150. With Saquon Barkley not 100 percent due to a groin injury, it will be Tank Bigsby who puts up at least 80 yards.

Eagles and penalties. They had 14 of them for 96 yards in the loss to Dallas. It would have been 16 for a bigger number if two hadn’t been declined, and suddenly the Eagles are tied for the seventh-most infractions in the NFL. The coaches bear the brunt of getting it fixed, but don’t let the players off the hook, either. They need better focus, especially on offense, where presnap flags and illegal formations need to be cleaned up.

“We talk about those things at every meeting," said head coach Nick Sirianni. "It’s always amped up, and you're always just looking for ways to fix it. You first have to look at yourself in the mirror, ‘How can we fix it?’ We have some ideas on how to fix it as coaches, and then how the players fix it as players.”

The Eagles will be have six or less flags in the game.

Game prediction: The Eagles have another mini-bye at the end of this game when they head to Los Angeles to play the Chargers on Dec. 8, so they will want to find a way to win a game that is expected to be played in wind and temperatures in the low 20s. The thinking is they do after getting the ground game going and winning the turnover battle. Eagles 24, Bears 19

Season record: 7-4.

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