Philadelphia Eagles

Chicago Bears: 3 Keys to Beating the Philadelphia Eagles

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Here’s how the Chicago Bears can defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2 of the NFL Season.

The Chicago Bears didn’t fair too well in the season opener, falling 24-13 to the Houston Texans. Every other NFC North team won, so the Bears quickly find themselves in the division’s cellar early on.

The Philadelphia Eagles, on the other hand, won in Week 1, beating the woeful Cleveland Browns 29-10 with rookie quarterback Carson Wentz leading the charge. Wentz (22-37, 278 yds, 2 TDs, 101.0 rating) showed why the Eagles mortgaged their future to get him, though it seems like his Week 2 matchup against the Bears could be a little tougher. The Bears are healthy (CB Kyle Fuller is the only name on the injury report), and even though the team lost last week, there were some signs of progress.

On paper, this game appears pretty even. However, the Bears have a shot of winning their home opener, and here’s how:

Put Pressure on Wentz

Wentz was able to pick apart the Browns’ defense in large part because he faced very little pressure. The Browns only sacked Wentz twice, and with the exception of center Jason Kelce, all of the Eagles’ starting offensive linemen received positive grades from Pro Football Focus.

The Bears, meanwhile, got to Texans’ quarterback Brock Osweiler twice last week, yet none of their primary pass rushers had a great game. Rookie Leonard Floyd played the most snaps of any pass rusher (60 of the 75 defensive snaps), and while he did record a half sack, he made his biggest contribution in coverage (received a 50.8 pass rush grade and a 72.7 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus). Willie Young did not get on the stat sheet, and it was as if Lamarr Houston never showed up (played only 27 snaps).

The Bears need to use the crowd noise to their advantage and put some hits on Wentz to rattle him in his first NFL start on the road. Pressuring young quarterbacks usually leads to one thing…turnovers.

Win the Time of Possession Battle

In the fast-paced Chip Kelly era, the Eagles always ranked near the bottom of the league in time of possession. However, in rookie head coach Doug Pederson’s first game, the Eagles led the entire league in time of possession with nearly 40 minutes. The Bears, on the other hand, were second-to-last in Week 1, only having the ball for 23 minutes.

This disparity in time of possession led the Bears defense to be on the field for 75 plays, the fourth-most in the league. It became quite apparent in the second half that the Bears’ defenders were out of gas. Meanwhile, the Eagles defense was only on the field for 51 plays and had fresh legs throughout the game.

It’s pretty simple; if the Bears have the ball, Carson Wentz and the potentially dangerous Eagles’ offense is watching from the sideline and cannot score.

Commit to the Run

The Bears’ running game wasn’t awful in Week 1 (20 attempts, 73 yards), but it wasn’t great either. Yes, the Texans have a good run defense, but you would have liked to see the Bears call more than 18 designed running plays (Jay Cutler scrambled twice).

The Eagles allowed 120 yards and a 5.7 average (second-worst in league) in Week 1 to the Browns. The Bears should have success on the ground on Monday Nigt and attempting 25-to-30 runs should not be out of the question. Committing to the run will help the Bears control the clock, and take some pressure off an offensive line that allowed five sacks last week.

Key Player Matchup

Chicago RT Bobby Massie vs. Philadelphia DE Brandon Graham

The Bears’ offensive line took a beating last week, and Bobby Massie was at the front and center of it. While his run blocking was strong (70.4 PFF grade), his pass protection was disastrous (28.7 PFF grade). Brandon Graham is an unheralded pass rusher who had 6.5 sacks last season, and received a high pass rushing grade last week (80.1). If Massie can win this battle, Cutler could have success throwing against a defense that should be without top corner Leodis McKelvin.