Bears vs Eagles: 8 Chicago Players Who Need to Step Up vs Philadelphia

Coming out of their bye week, the Bears are healthy and fresh as they roll into Philadelphia to face the Michael Vick and the thus far disappointing Eagles.

While the Eagles have started off the season in rough fashion, they are coming off consecutive wins and are still loaded with talent. The Bears must step up their game to take down Philadelphia and maintain their advantage in the wild card hunt.

Da Bears head into Monday's contest with just one player, rookie tackle Gabe Carimi, on the injury report, and Carimi is listed under full participation. The Eagles are a bit more beat up than the Bears, most notable among the list being tight end Brent Celek, who didn't participate due to a hip injury, and LeSean McCoy who missed practice due to illness. However, the Eagles are in pretty good shape injury-wise.

The Eagles and their deep roster are nothing to sneeze at, and the Bears will have their hands full at Lincoln Financial Field. The Bears will need their best performance from some key players Sunday.

Today we'll look at those key plays who the Bears need to step up and what the team needs from them in order to get past the "Bad Dream" team in Philly.

Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs

The Bears' run defense has been up and down all season. Against the Eagles, it had better be up.

Not only do the Eagles feature a highly under-rated rusher in LeSean McCoy, but Michael Vick is one of, if not the, best rushing quarterback in modern league history.

The Bears run defense starts at the line, but it's the Bears phenomenal linebackers who make it work. And work it must against the Eagles.  

Michael Vick has never beaten the Bears, and Urlacher and the Bears' run defense have been the the primary reason, bottling up Vick and forcing his offense to become one-dimensional.

The Offensive Tackles

The slide is titled without names for a reason. With Gabe Carimi in full participation at practice, the starting lineup is in question at the tackle position.

But regardless of who starts, the tackles will face one of the best defensive end tandems in the NFL. Trent Cole and Jason Babin stand to make Jay Cutler's day long and painful if the Bears tackles are not at the top of their game.

The Bears passing game will hinge on the performance of the tackle position that the Bears implement.

Henry Melton

Melton started out hot in 2011, but cooled off quickly. The Bears pass rush has been broken, and the play of Melton at the 3-tech spot is one of the primary reasons.

Melton a tough task against the Eagles as he will line up across from guard Evan Mathis who is quietly having a fantastic year.

Regardless, Melton must step up his game against the Eagles. The Bears need him to create penetration in the middle of the pocket and take pressure off of Julius Peppers. Otherwise the Eagles will be free to double up on Peppers, and the Bears secondary will be in for a long, long day.

Roy Williams

Williams has finally started to develop a rapport with quarterback Jay Cutler, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

The Eagles' secondary boasts star power, with Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuels and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. But that corner group hasn't seemed to gel since forming, and even Aomugha is having the worst year of his career.

In fact, while the Bears corners haven't given up a touchdown this year, the Eagles have given up three.

With his size and physical ability, Roy Williams could have a breakout game for Chicago against the Eagles. And the Bears need him to have one.  

Williams is the only receiver on the Bears roster with legitimate No. 1 skills, and the Bears need for Williams to use those skills more regularly starting Monday.

Major Wright

Thus far, Major Wright has not lived up to his billing, especially in coverage. Just how bad has he been? Chris Conte is making only his second start for the Bears, and it is Wright who has his own slide.

He is coming back this week to try and save the Bears from Brandon Meriweather.  

But if he doesn't show improvement, who's going to save the Bears from Wright?

Jay Cutler

The Bears may have escaped London with a win, but quarterback Jay Cutler had a lackluster game against the Bucs.

As previously discussed, the Eagles secondary hasn't been the best in the league. If the line can keep Jay upright, he could have a big game.

However, he has to concentrate on his fundamentals and make better decisions for that to happen.

We've all seen how good Cutler can be when he settles down and focuses. What we haven't seen is Cutler do this with any consistency.

Of course, the offensive line issues and the play calling haven't exactly helped him, but Jay has to be accountable for his own mistakes.  

Cutler is a good quarterback with the potential to be great. Against the Eagles, he needs to start down the road to greatness.