Philadelphia Eagles debate table: Is Chicago looking past Philly?

Might the Chicago Bears actually be looking past the Philadelphia Eagles? They aren’t looking at this as an easy victory are they?

It’s one of the oldest quotes in football lore. ‘On any given Sunday, anyone can be beaten’. Just ask the Los Angeles Rams how they felt after their loss on Sunday Night Football versus the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now, the Eagles, who carry a three-game winning streak into the postseason and were seen as underdogs in two of those games, are sure to be seen as underdogs when they play in the final game of the Wildcard Round on Sunday.

They face the Chicago Bears at their home abode, Soldier Field this coming Sunday. With that being said, expect there to be a run on ski masks on Amazon.

Are the Bears overlooking Philly?

This past Sunday, two things needed to happen for the Eagles to reach the postseason. Philly had to win. The Minnesota Vikings needed to lose. Most of the talk around the NFL, especially in the Eagles’ fan base, surrounded what the Bears’ plans were.

Suddenly, beating the Washington Redskins had become an afterthought, and all anyone wanted to talk about was whether or not Chicago would play or rest their starters.

Remember, Chicago’s head coach, Matt Nagy, rested his starters throughout the preseason. That included the ‘dress rehearsal’, the third preseason game (a game teams usually play their starters in for three quarters).

Here’s the thing though. Losing to the Vikings would also mean that Chicago would see Minnesota in the first round of the playoffs. That is if the Rams were to lose to the San Francisco 49ers. Had that happened and Chicago won, the Bears would have been given a first-round bye.

The Rams showed early that they had no plans of letting that happen, but something was already being said, both publicly and privately. There was the media. Many were saying they thought the more favorable match up for the Bears was an Eagles team who barely made it into the postseason.

Apparently, seeing the Vikings three times in the same season was viewed as a more difficult task than facing the Eagles at Soldier Field.

Wait a minute. Say what?

Are we to view this as bulletin board material? Are we to take from Chicago’s performance that they wanted Philly? Remember, the Rams had short circuited any thoughts of a Niners win early. Nagy didn’t pull his starters until the last two series, and that alone is strange for him.

Could Chicago be overlooking ‘The Birds’? Are they taking a game against Philly and seeing it as a walk through? Common sense would say that they aren’t. Nagy’s too smart of a coach for that, but it does make one ask the question.

The debate table is officially open.