Will 2007 Rematch Mean Revenge for the Eagles

     Eagles fans, lets make a painful flashback to October 21 2007 shall we? We remember, the Eagles had a 16-12 lead late in the fourth and Sav Rocca had just pinned the Bears deep at their own three yard-line. Two minutes and 97 yards later, Brian Griese completes the improbable comeback with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Mushin Muhammad with just nine seconds left to shock the Philly faithful. But that was 2007, this is 2008 and as those are two different years, these are two different teams.

     The Eagles(2-1) storm into Soldier Field this Sunday night for a prime time showdown with the Chicago Bears(1-2). The Eagles are coming off of a hard fought victory over the Steelers in which they sacked quarterback Ben Rothlisberger nine times, six times in the first half. The Bears struggled to hold onto a 10 point lead late in the fourth quarter against Tampa Bay and eventually lost the game in overtime.

      Philadelphia enters the Sunday night battle with the NFL's stingiest rush defense, allowing a meager 45.7 yards a game. Those numbers are in no way a fluke or a product of playing poor teams. Through the first three games, the Eagles defense has had to deal with three of the toughest running backs in the game (Willie Parker, Marion Barber, and Steven Jackson). The Eagle offense is one of the leagues most dangerous and unheard of groups in the league. Through the first trio of games players like, Hank Baskett, Greg Lewis, Desean Jackson, and Jason Avant have filled the void left by injured receivers Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis. They come in averaging 373 yards per game and 30 points per game.

     The Bears come into Sunday's meeting with the Eagles, reeling after two consecutive games in which they could not hold onto leads late in the fourth quarter. The defense surprisingly has struggled to stop the pass (ranked 28th in pass D) but they have been very strong against the run (Ranked fourth against the run). But in both of the last two games, the defense has played very well in the first half and taken the second half off. If they do that this on Sunday night, they will easily lose by 30 points. On offense Chicago has gotten a spark from rookie running back sensation Matt Forte. Forte has excelled in his three starts this season rushing for 304 yards with one touchdown, but the rookie isn't just limited to the ground game, he is a threat to break one big in the passing game as well. Kyle Orton does not have great arm strength, he isn't the most accurate quarterback to lace up the cleats, but he does a fine job of keeping his team in the game and managing a game. Orton is very limited at receiver with Devin Hester as his main target and even he has yet to prove much as a receiver other than he's uncatchable.

     Each team is suffering from it's own little battle with the injury bug early on. Eagles fans held their breath on Sunday as star running back Brian Westbrook rolled his right ankle trying to hurdle his own blocker who had fell down during a play early in the second quarter on Sunday. Shawn Andrews is questionable entering Sunday's game due to back spasms, if Andrews is unable to go it will be Max Jean-Gilles starting in his place on the stellar Eagles front line. Donovan McNabb suffered a chest contusion at the end of the first quarter and missed the first drive of the second half, but returned minutes later to action. McNabb will play Sunday though, so Eagles fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Other notable injuries for the Eagles are: LJ Smith, Tony Hunt, Jamaal Jackson and Juqua Parker.

     For the Bears the list isn't as long as the Eagles but there are some key players on there. Defensive players Alex Brown, Tommy Harris, and Nathan Vasher all did not practice today due to injury. Lance Briggs, Mike brown and Brian Urlacher were limited today and all three are expected to be ready for Sunday. On offense, Marty Booker and Devin Hester both sat out today's practice.

     Westbrook and McNabb are expected to be ready to play this week and both will play big factors in the outcome of this game either way. On defense Jim Johnson will surely dial up a lot of different blitz packages to put pressure on Kyle Orton and force Lovie Smiths Hand. This won't be an easy game for the Eagles, but there's no reason they can't shut down Chicago and dominate the game. Here are the Eagles keys to winning on Sunday.

1) Pressure Kyle Orton, make him uncomfortable and force him to make mistakes.

2) The Special Teams will need to bring it's "A" Game if Devin Hester plays, don't let him beat you.

3) Protect McNabb and give him time to find his receivers. You can't let the Bears front seven get to him all day.

4) Get Desean Jackson involved early. In the first two games, Jackson was involved early and that allowed the other receivers to make plays.

5) Shut down Matt Forte. If the rookie gets loose it could be a long night for the Birds.

     The Bears will need to do just about everything right to win this game. Kyle Orton can't make the mistakes that he has made in the last two games. Matt Forte has to get involved and make plays early on. And the defense NEEDS to pressure McNabb. Here are the Bears keys to winning this Sunday:

1) Pressure McNabb. If McNabb gets the protection he's gotten through the first three games, it will be a long night for the Bears secondary.

2) Run the ball with effectiveness. When the Bears choose to run, they have to move the chains. If they don't, they will be forced to throw a lot and that will just bring a smile to Jim Johnson's face.

3) Protect Kyle Orton. The Eagles sacked Rothlisberger nine times last Sunday and you can bet Jim Johnson is licking his chops this Sunday as the Bears offensive line is less than spectacular.

4) Limit the big plays. The Eagles live off of the big play, if you can limit the amount of those plays, Chicago has a shot.

5) Finish. The Bears have failed to finish the last two games, blowing leads late in each game, they need to finish these games if they want to be a contender.

     I don't expect this to be a close game. The Eagles just have too many weapons and their offensive line just dominates. If the Eagles are able to put pressure on Orton and shut down Forte, it could be another nine sack performance for the Eagle defense. Right now my prediction: Eagles 31 Bears 13