The Chicago Bears are heavy underdogs to the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday. Most would not only be stunned if the team won, but also if they even put up a tight game. While a blowout may be in store, this game may also end up closer than some fans think.
3. Chicago Bears have familiarity with Philadelphia Eagles coaching staff
Sunday will be an interesting game for Matt Eberflus and Nick Sirianni. The head coach of the Eagles was once the Indianapolis Colts’ offensive coordinator at the same time that Eberflus was the defensive coordinator.
While there could be a healthy rivalry, the way that both coaches have spoken is that there is much more respect than anything else. Beyond that, Jonathan Gannon, the Eagles’ defensive coordinator was an assistant under Eberflus with the Colts. He views Eberflus as a mentor in some ways.
This is not to say that Eberflus knows all of the secrets, and will expose the coaches. However, it does say that there is a fine line of respect between the coaches. Eberflus probably does know enough from his days of practice to hang around, and Sirianni also may not be interested in running up the score.
Sirianni talked about the respect he had for Frank Reich and how that game meant a lot to him because of the way Reich went out. The opposite could be in play here in that Sirianni knows he has the better team, but he will come in with a game plan to slow things down and get his team out healthy. At the very least it seems highly unlikely Sirianni will run up the score, so if the Eagles are only up by seven or so with under five minutes to go, they will likely bleed the clock rather than go for a big lead. Keep this in mind when seeing the Eagles this week, as they may not be coming out with their strongest game plan.