Eagles-Bears predictions: Our beat writers make their picks for Week 15

The Eagles will visit the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Here are the game predictions from our Eagles beat writers for Week 15.

The Bears’ chances of upsetting the Eagles essentially lay on the shoulders of Justin Fields. Maybe that’s hyperbole considering the number of players involved in any game, but Chicago has basically one shot at tipping the scales in their favor and that’s the second-year quarterback going off.

Fields can flip the field with one burst into the secondary. He has three 50-plus-yard runs in his last four games. The Eagles’ defense did well to contain the mobile Daniel Jones last week, but Fields is on another level. He’s still developing as a passer, but he’s improved over the second half of the season once the Bears new coaching staff implemented more of what the Eagles have done with Jalen Hurts.

» READ MORE: Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts are inseparable as NFL Coach of the Year and MVP

The Bears don’t have quite the same caliber of running back to pair with Fields — read: Miles Sanders — with Khalil Herbert on injured reserve. They still have David Montgomery in the backfield, but Herbert was averaging 2 more yards per carry. The Eagles have done well to contain some explosive running attacks over the last two weeks. They went heavy with five-man fronts and sometimes an extra man in the box to contain Derrick Henry two weeks ago. Coordinator Jonathan Gannon will likely follow that template with the Bears non-threatening through the air. Chase Claypool is a decent receiver, but he’s essentially all they have – but Claypool was ruled out on the team’s final injury report. The Eagles lead the NFL in sacks, but the last two weeks have been particularly plentiful with 13 sacks. The Bears’ suspect offensive line could be under siege.

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The Eagles are averaging 41 points over their last three games. They’ve steamrolled some halfway decent defenses, but the Bears rank last in Football Outsiders’ DVOA rankings. With tight end Dallas Goedert expected to return after a four-game layoff, it’s possible the Eagles light up the scoreboard again. It’s expected to be cold in Chicago, so maybe the conditions will keep scoring down. Maybe the Eagles’ special teams, which has a new punter in Brett Kern after Arryn Siposs’ ankle injury, struggle in the Windy City. But a lot would have to happen for any possible mistakes to offset the Eagles’ advantages on offense and defense.

A showdown with the Cowboys and for potentially the NFC East and the No. 1 seed in the postseason looms on Christmas Eve. Could the Eagles look past Chicago? Anything’s possible, although “trap games” rarely exist in the NFL, despite outside narratives. But I doubt Nick Sirianni’s squad will take the Bears lightly. This is a team built for greater competition, but they don’t act like it.

Prediction: Eagles 38, Bears 18

Fields leads all NFL quarterbacks with 908 rushing yards. Elsewhere, the Bears don’t have any potent offensive threats. The Eagles boast three pass catchers with 500-plus receiving yards in receivers A.J. Brown (1,020) and DeVonta Smith (775), and tight end Dallas Goedert (544), while the Bears have yet to have any player eclipse the 500-yard mark.

» READ MORE: Eagles and Bears have familiarity, from Nick Sirianni and Matt Eberflus to Justin Fields and Trey Sermon

Gannon’s top assignment will be containing Fields in open spaces. The Eagles will need to prioritize sure tackling, and Gannon might need to regularly deploy a QB spy in order to limit Field’s explosiveness. Claypool, who is expected to miss Sunday’s game, and tight end Cole Kmet lead the Bears in receiving, but the Eagles possess the personnel to keep both of them quiet. Darius Slay, James Bradberry, and Avonte Maddox form one of the NFL’s best cornerback trios — Slay and Bradberry are the only outside cornerback duo with 12-plus passes defensed and three interceptions — and linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White have proven to be willing and capable in pass coverage.

Offensively, there are mismatches across the board, and Sirianni would be wise to make quick work of a depleted Bears defense. With Goedert on the mend, the Eagles are seemingly going to become even more explosive over the final month of the regular season. In the past four games that Goedert was sidelined, the Eagles averaged a whopping 35 points per contest, including two games in which they eclipsed 40. If Hurts has another clean slate in the turnover department, he’ll inch that much closer toward the league’s Most Valuable Player award.

Prediction: Eagles 35, Bears 17