One of the top questions entering this week’s Philadelphia Eagles game was: “Who’s going to start at quarterback for the Chicago Bears?”
With Caleb Williams ruled out and Tyson Bagent reportedly set to be a backup tonight after missing practice time due to his concussion, it sounds like it’s going to be Case Keenum under center.
But how much does it matter in this matchup that the Bears are going to be down to their third quarterback? One would certainly think more than not at all.
That said, it’s not
like Williams played all that well against the Eagles last year. Chicago instead relied on their running game to bully the Eagles’ defense.
If Ben Johnson is similarly able to stay one step ahead of Vic Fangio on Monday night, the Eagles could very well be leaving the Windy City with a loss.
The onus, then, is on this defense to prove they’ve improved since that showing. It’s on them to live up to the preseason expectations that this could be one of the better — if not the best — defenses in the NFL.
So far, we’ve yet to see that from this group. And specifically the defensive line.
In their defense (no pun intended), there have been some extenuating circumstances. The Eagles were clearly focused on limiting Jayden Daniels’ rushing production in Week 1, which they did well. Then they had to deal with unusually hot conditions in Week 2.
No more excuses in Week 3. It’s time for this pass rush, which could be boosted with the potential return of Jonathan Greenard (even if his playing time is limited), to come alive. And they’re only going to get consistent opportunities to get after the Bears’ quarterback if they can stop the run.
That’s the key to this game.
After watching the Eagles narrowly win in each of their first two games, I’m not going to sit here and expect this one to be a cakewalk. Johnson is a good coach and the Bears are probably going to be fired up for a primetime home game coming off a disappointing Week 2 loss.
The Eagles tend to make things stressful. They also tend to win. So, give me an Eagles victory where they fail to cover the spread once again.
Suggested format:
Score prediction:
Bold prediction:
My predictions:
Score prediction: 23 to 20, Eagles win.
Bold prediction: Jake Elliott’s game-winning field goal kick double doinks in for three points.
Your predictions:
Leave your own score predictions in the comments.
