Will the “revenge game” narrative help Alshon Jeffery against the Chicago Bears?
By Matt Giraldi
Alshon Jeffery is looking to show the Chicago Bears what they missed out on.
Alshon Jeffery came to the Philadelphia Eagles looking for a chance to start over. His last three games have shown that the grass can be greener on the other side. This afternoon, the Chicago Bears, Jeffery’s former team, come to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. Of course, this means that we can expect Jeffery to perform well in his “revenge game”, right?
Statistically, there might not be much data that points towards that. Emotionally however, Jeffery will likely be prepping for this game differently. Ten games into his Eagles career, Jeffery has performed as well as he ever did with the Bears. The difference between the two teams has been the results on the field as a collective unit.
"“I don’t have any hard feelings towards the Bears — it’s all love,” Jeffery said. “Whatever the next chapter is, I’m ready for it. I’m looking at the teams that obviously need a wide receiver, but also put me in the best situation to win a championship right now. I also want to see what other free agents may be attracted to the same teams I’ll be looking at. That can help that goal.”"
With the Eagles sitting at 9-1 in the standings, Jeffery has certainly made good on his desire to play for a contender. His contributions to the Eagles offense have been a key reason for their success too. Over the last three games, Jeffery has caught 12 passes for 213 yards and four touchdowns. While Jeffery has failed to eclipse 100 yards in a game, a feat he accomplished 13 times in Chicago, his offensive numbers are right in line with some of his best years with the Bears.
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The Bears enter today’s game with little to play for in 2017. Sitting at 3-7 in the standings, the Bears are essentially eliminated from postseason contention even if they run the table. Pride can be a powerful ally in the NFL though. The players in the Bears locker room didn’t determine Jeffery’s fate in the Windy City. They’d like to seal his fate today however.
The Bears are allowing the 11th fewest passing yards per game this season. They are also tied with the Eagles with the 5th most sacks in the NFL (29).
As Carson Wentz has shown repeatedly this season though, he doesn’t need 300 passing yards to shred opposing defenses. Wentz is also protecting the football. Entering today’s game, Wentz would be only the fourth quarterback in NFL history to finish the season with 25 or more touchdown passes and less than 6 interceptions. Of course, there’s a lot of football remaining. However, the Bears defense has only forced four interceptions (29th) thus far, so it might not happen today.
Unfortunately for the Bears, there’s more bad news. Their defense will likely be without linebacker Danny Trevathan soon after losing Leonard Floyd for the rest of the season. That news might not help Jeffery as much as it will help the Eagles running game.
It won’t be surprising though if Eagles head coach Doug Pederson makes a valiant effort to involve Jeffery early and often. While the Bears defense is performing well in the red zone, a player like Jeffery can make good defenses look silly. Thus far in 2017, the decision to move on from Jeffery has already made the Bears look silly. Later this afternoon, expect Jeffery to make them look even more foolish.