Eagles@ Bears- Tale of the Tape

The Eagles travel to Chicago to play the Bears in a nationally televised game on Sunday night. Philadelphia comes into this game with a 5-4 record and have lost two straight games and Chicago is currently 4-5 and have lost two straight as well.

This game is basically a must win for both teams as the loser will seriously jeopardize their chance to make the postseason. The following is a statistical look at how these two teams match up.

Philadelphia                                  Chicago

OFFENSE

Points per Game- 26.9 (5th)              20.7 (20th)

Total Yards - 352 (12th)                     334 (19th)

Passing Yards- 250 (9th)                   249.1 (10th)

Rushing Yards- 102 (23rd)                 85.2  (30th)

The Eagles have the advantage in points per game and rushing yards while the total yards are basically the same. The big difference in these two team's passing game that isn't reflected in these numbers is the number of touchdowns verse interceptions that have been thrown by the starting QB's. Donovan McNabb has thrown 12 TD's and 4 interceptions while Jay Cutler has thrown 14 TD's and 17 interceptions.

DEFFENSE

Points Allowed            20.4 (14th)            22.3 (19th)

Total Yards Allowed     307.4 (9th)           313 (10th)

Passing Yards Allowed 205.6 (10th)         195 (8th)

Rushing Yards Allowed 101.8 (9th)          118.4 (21st)

With the exception of the rushing yards allowed the numbers suggest that these two team's defenses are evenly matched, but once again what they do not show is how opportunistic they are. The Eagles' defense has created 22 turnovers (15 interceptions and 7 recovered fumbles) and scored 2 TD's while the Bear's defense has created 15 turnovers (9 interceptions and 6 recovered fumbles) and scored 1 TD. In closely matched games like this it is usually the team that creates the most turnovers that comes away with the win.

Another big intangible is Special Teams. The Eagles are averaging 20.1 yards a return on kickoffs and 12 yards on punts while the Bears are slightly better averaging 23.9 yards a return on kickoffs and 11 yards on punts. The two players to watch in this category are DeSean Jackson for the Eagles who returns the punts and Devin Hester with the Bears who returns the kickoffs.

The betting line has the Eagles has three point favorites on the road negating the Bear's home field advantage and tipping the scales slightly in favor of the Birds in this one.

Another factor could be Jay Cutler's performance this season in primetime games. In three appearences so far he has thrown 11 interceptions. Let's hope that once again he fades under the bright lights of a national audience, a stage that the Eagles usually seem to shine on.