Eddie Jackson appears set to play vs Philadelphia Eagles

It appears the Chicago Bears will get a key piece of their defense back against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Chicago Bears defense has been dominant over the last couple games, especially in week 17 when they absolutely shut down the Minnesota Vikings.

The Bears were able to do all that without the help of their first team All-Pro safety, Eddie Jackson.

Jackson injured his ankle returning an interception against the Green Bay Packers in week 15 and that forced him out of the last two games. Jackson has been limited in practice this week and the Chicago Bears list him at questionable for the game.

On a side note, based on that report, it does certainly look like Aaron Lynch will miss the game against the Eagles. While that’s not a devastating blow, Lynch has had a great year subbing in at the edge spot for the Bears so his defensive snaps will be missed.

Of the three questionable players, DeAndre Houston-Carson and Bilal Nichols will absolutely see the field and Jackson is the one that the Bears wouldn’t commit to playing.

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This is almost certainly gamesmanship. Jackson didn’t address the media on Friday, and this was most likely because the Bears didn’t want him to be put in a position where he tells the media that he’s going to play.

The Bears are trying to keep the Eagles in the dark on Jackson so they can’t prepare for him on the offensive side of the ball, but odds are that Doug Pederson is preparing for Jackson to play and the Eagles won’t be caught off guard.

Jackson being listed at questionable is not a good thing, it’s a great thing. Jackson has had a phenomenal year for the Bears and while statistically the defense may not appear to have missed Jackson, there is certainly one area where they have missed him and that’s causing turnovers.

The Bears caused 35 turnovers in 14 games, which is 2.5 per game. Without Jackson on the field, that number dropped to 0.5 turnovers forced per game. So while the numbers were great, the turnovers weren’t, and the 36 turnovers this team forced throughout the year is what separates the Bears’ defense from the rest of the league.

All signs point to Jackson being on the field on Sunday, and that is a very good thing.