Bears vs. Eagles: Michael Vick and 4 Players Who Will Deliver Monday Night

The bright lights of Monday Night Football will be shining in Philadelphia when the Eagles take on the Chicago Bears.

The Bears will try to stifle Philadelphia's offensive weapons with their star-studded, physical defense.

On the other sideline, Michael Vick and the Eagles are looking to continue the momentum that they generated during last week's drubbing of the Dallas Cowboys.

Love them or hate them, the Eagles always seem to make for a compelling story. This game will be no different.

Both of these teams made the playoffs last year, but find themselves in third place in their respective divisions entering the game. The playoff push has come early in Philadelphia and Chicago.

Here are five players who will deliver during this NFC matchup. 

Michael Vick

Michael Vick's decision-making will be key for the Eagles in this game. In the game against Dallas, this team showed how lethal it can be when they protect the ball.

The Cowboys offered their corners safety help, in order to make sure that DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin didn't burn them with the big play.

That philosophy left a lot of space in the middle of the field for Vick to find slot receiver Jason Avant and tight end Brent Celek.

Vick showed the ability to effectively read a defense and find the proper areas to exploit.

Expect him to do much of the same against Chicago's Cover 2 defense.

LeSean McCoy

This selection is painfully obvious, but the emerging LeSean McCoy has another formidable test in front of him.

McCoy came into the week leading the NFL in yards per carry (among those with at least 50 attempts) and second in total rushing yards. He has also scored at least once in every game this season.

Shady is a big play guy with consistency. A scary thought for opposing defenses.

Against the Bears, he will be running against another strong defensive front.

As good as Urlacher and company are, this year has shown that the only team that can take McCoy out of a game is the Eagles themselves.

As long as Andy Reid leans on his young running back, the yards, big plays and scores will come.

Many of these same things can be said of Chicago's Matt Forte, but it seemed too easy to list both.

Cullen Jenkins

There will be tons of defensive playmakers on both sidelines during this game. One of these defensive stalwarts, who is consistently overlooked, is Cullen Jenkins.

Jenkins is a familiar foe of the Bears from his time in Green Bay. He had relatively quiet games during the Eagles' last two contests, and has since slid back under the radar.

Against the Bears, Jenkins will be key to providing interior pressure to disrupt the timing of Jay Cutler.

Cutler is a completely different quarterback when he has a chance to establish himself in the pocket.

Trent Cole and Jason Babin will be flying off the ends like madmen, but the Bears will toss screens to Matt Forte in order to slow the outside rush.

Jenkins' ability to push the center of the pocket will propel the Eagles' defense.

Julius Peppers

One of the marquee positional matchups will be Chicago's right defensive end, Julius Peppers, squaring off with the Eagles' Jason Peters.

Peppers is a monster, plain and simple.

Peters is a Pro Bowl-caliber tackle, but he is stronger in the running game than he is pass-blocking. Expect Julius Peppers to see a lot of chips from tight ends, but he will still come away with a sack tonight.

In addition to putting pressure on Michael Vick within the pocket, Peppers will be asked to help contain him outside of it. He has shown incredible ability to play in space throughout his career.

Vick loves to roll to his left which is right where Peppers will be waiting for him.

The Chicago Bears' star end will disrupt the entire half of the field with his active hands, pass rush and the ability to track down a moving quarterback. 

Devin Hester

Devin Hester is the epitome of a game-changer. The greatest return man in history could be a huge factor in this matchup.

Start with his work on offense.

Hester has not been able to establish himself as a consistent, top-flight receiver. However, any time the ball is in his hands he has a real chance to score.

Couple that with a Philadelphia defense that missed a myriad of tackles early in the season, and there is serious potential for a long score.

There is also, obviously, his presence in the return game.

The Eagles' rookie punter, Chas Henry, must kick away from Hester all game long. Coverage on kickoffs will also need to be sound since Hester is not afraid to take the ball out from deep within the end zone.

One poor kick could be all it takes for this speedster to break a momentum shifting touchdown.