The Philadelphia Eagles are back at Lincoln Financial Field on Black Friday to take on the Chicago Bears.
In order to preview this Week 13 matchup, I reached out to our enemies over at Windy City Gridrion. The brilliant Bill Zimmerman kindly took the time took the time to answer my questions about this upcoming battle. Let’s take a look at the answers.
[For my answers to Bill’s questions about the Eagles, stay tuned to WCG.]
1) The Bears are 8-3, but they rank 18th in point differential and 22nd in DVOA. To what extent do you think their success thus far is sustainable?
Well, first of all, let’s just stop and say that this season has been wildly entertaining for Chicago Bears fans. And in terms of how the fans are reacting to it, I really don’t think we’ve seen a lot of extreme meatball-like takes one direction or the other. I think the fans just appreciate what’s happening and are enjoying it without pushing this to major expectations.
That being said, I honestly don’t think any NFL experts can tell you one way or the other if this is sustainable. The Bears could go 4-2 down the stretch and win the division. They could go 1-5 and miss the playoffs. I don’t think anyone really knows. Sure, the easy answer is, now that their schedule gets tough (at Philly, Green Bay 2x, Cleveland, at San Fran, Detroit), that they are going to fade down the stretch.
But at the same time, this team is finding ways to win games, and they are making plays in the fourth quarter when it matters. If the Bears are close with their opponent in the fourth quarter, it feels like they’ll make the plays that they need to do. I know that’s a non-answer, but truly, we just need to see how this goes moving into the teeth of the schedule.
Personally, I think the Bears find a way to get to 11-6.
2) How would you grade the job Ben Johnson has done thus far?
First, let’s discuss the culture. The Halas Hall culture was broken, and honestly, it’s been broken for over a decade. Sure, they had a nice year in 2018, but this broken culture dates back probably 15 years. The organization didn’t know how to win, and it constantly felt like it did everything wrong. Whether it was ownership, GM, or coaches.
I can’t speak highly enough about the job he’s done this year. He has been everything that he was expected to be and more. When he was hired, plenty of people questioned if he was a “leader of men.” That has been put to bed. He’s rallied the locker room. They believe in his plan. They believe in him. They believe in the direction this team is headed. His “Good, better, best” has swept the city, and now we see the NFL is starting to push it on their socials as well. He’s had incredible attention to detail, and he’s taught this team what it takes to win.
Offensively, this is the best Bears offense since Walter Payton was running the football in Chicago (and I’m not kidding). Offensively, the Bears are 6th in total yards, 8th in scoring, first in turnover differential, 9th in EPA/Play, the list goes on and on. The Bears have a top ten offense by basically any metric you want to use. That’s not something we are used to in Chicago. A lot of national fans want to give Caleb Williams a hard time. Well, if what others are saying is true about Caleb Williams, that makes Ben Johnson even more of a genius.
If you can’t tell, Bears fans are thrilled Ben Johnson is the team’s coach.
I think Bears fans, overall, are really pleased with where things are with Caleb Williams. It hasn’t always been pretty this year, but we are seeing growth in a lot of different areas that are all promising.
His sack numbers are way down; he’s actually one of the best in the league at avoiding sacks after being one of the worst in the league last year. His numbers operating in the pocket (from structure) have been outstanding. His numbers from the pocket this year (via Danny Parkins of FS1): 210 ypg, 14 TD, 3 INT, 100.2 rating, 23.2 pressure% (4th lowest). His speed through his progressions has been really good, and he seems to be making the right read and decision most of the time. It’s all headed in the right direction. He’s on pace to have one of, if not the best season, in Chicago Bears history (a low bar for sure).
His accuracy is still an issue, but I think a lot of Bears fans do think that will improve because that wasn’t an issue for him in college. It feels like in year two, when he’s more comfortable in Ben Johnson’s system, and things slow down a little bit more, I think we will see the accuracy improve next year.
As for Daniels and Maye. I think 95% of Bears fans would stick with Williams. First of all, I think year two has been a little alarming for Daniels. Sure, he’s been hurt, but when he has played, he hasn’t looked as sharp this year, and I don’t think you can ignore that in two seasons, he’s had 4 different injuries to different body parts. That certainly feels like he’s headed to an “injury-prone” label. As for Maye, Maye is clearly ahead of Williams right now, and maybe he remains a better QB, but it’s way too early to make that determination. Let’s see how things look in 2026 and 2027 before we declare any one particular QB as the best one of the draft class.
Vic Fangio.
The Bears fans are very familiar with Vic after seeing what he did with the Bears’ defense in 2018. I think Vic is a masterful defensive coordinator, and he will definitely be an awesome coaching matchup against Ben Johnson. I think the Eagles offense isn’t clicking this year, the receivers seem to be pretty upset with Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley doesn’t have the burst he had last year, and the offensive line isn’t quite as elite as it’s been, especially with no Lane Johnson. The Bears’ defense is banged up, so maybe the Eagles offense has more success this week, but I certainly think Fangio will have that defense ready to play and give this offense some trouble.
5) Who wins this game and why? With the Eagles currently listed as 7-point home favorites, what’s your score prediction?
I have seen people on one extreme say the Eagles will blow them out. I have seen people on the other extreme say the Bears will win outright. I would love to see Chicago win, and I will say, I think they are catching the Eagles at the right time. They certainly seem vulnerable right now with everything going on around the team. I think it’s interesting that both these teams are 8-3, and the vibes around Philly are terrible, and the vibes around Chicago are awesome.
I think if someone were going to place a bet on this one, I feel like you have to take the Bears with the points. They’ve shown that they can keep games close, and they have that scrappy mentality. But I also don’t think I can confidently say the Bears can win this game, as I said, I think they are catching the Eagles at the right time, so it wouldn’t stun me if they win, but I think the safe bet is to say the Eagles win this one, let’s call it 24 to 20.
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