The Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears clash in a massive game tonight on NFL Monday Night Football. Today's game will conclude an intriguing Week 2 of the NFL 2016 regular season, and this one really could go either way. The game has a scheduled start time of 8.30 p.m. ET and takes place from Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The game can be watched on TV on the ESPN network or online through live stream via the link below.
The Chicago Bears suffered a tough loss in Week 1 on the road against the Houston Texans. After getting things off to a seemingly solid start - finishing the first quarter with a 7-0 lead - they simply had no answer as the Texans moved up through the gears.
Although the Bears still led 14-10 at the half way stage, there was a clear feeling that the tide was turning in the home team's favor, and so it turned out to be. The Texans successfully locked down the Bears offense in the second half, not allowing them to score a single point. That allowed the Houston offense to continuously pick up points and move away from Chicago.
That 23-14 loss will have been a bit demoralizing for the Bears as they were very clearly second best on the day. However, with only one week gone in the season things are far from being lost, and they will be coming up today with renewed hunger to try and get the first win of the season under their belts.
They come up against an Eagles side that certainly has enough to cause Chicago problems, but Chicago will know that if they play to their potential they have what it takes to get the result today.
The Eagles started the season with a home game against the Cleveland Browns, and it was a nice walk-in to the season for Philadelphia. The Browns never really threatened, and the 29-10 win will have given the Eagles confidence to build on this week.
But they will know that the Chicago Bears hold a bigger threat than the Browns, and the Eagles will be keen to move up a few gears today to ensure they can get the result today.
One area the Eagles will be hoping to exploit is the tackle duo of Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie. Both had terrible games last week, and if they cannot stop the pass rush today the Bears could have a tough time.
Chicago gave up five sacks in Week 1, with four of them coming by edge rushers. That will immediately set red flags in the minds of Brandon Graham and Connor Barwin - two excellent edge rushers for the Eagles.
Quarterback Jay Cutler will be desperate for Leno and Massie to step it up today, or he could suffer a painful night.
Cutler will be hoping the Bears' pass attack can show more of what they revealed in the first half of their game against the Texans. Both Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal got touchdowns in the first half and they looked like a solid unit. However, Jeffery went MIA in the second half and did not even get a single reception through the final two quarters of the game. That's simply not good enough, and Chicago know they can, and must do better today through all four quarters.
One ares the Bears will be looking to take advantage of is the weakness in the Eagles' corners. Philadelphia will be without starting cornerback Leodis McKelvin, and only have Nolan Carroll, Ron Brooks and Jalen Mills as fit and available corners. That is a big potential weakness that will not have gone without notice in the Chicago camp.
Today's big NFL Monday Night Football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Bears has a scheduled start time of 8.30 p.m. ET. The game can be watched on TV on the ESPN network or online through live stream by clicking here.
