After a thrilling win against the Cowboys, Andy Reid now sets his sights to the Chicago Bears next Monday night. The Bears have had the Eagles’ number lately, winning the last two of three games between the two teams.
But did the win over Dallas give Andy Reid more confidence? If there is one thing about professional sports that is a truism, confidence breeds success is one of them. I’m talking about complete and total team confidence. The win against the Cowboys was the most complete game the Eagles have played in as long as I can remember. The offense was great, the defense was great, and Reid’s game plan was undoubtedly one of his best as Eagles head coach. I think Reid can now relax a little bit, because his offensive talent and defensive talent are gelling at the right time, it seems. Now, there is still a lot of work to do on the season, but they’re in a better position now at 3-4 with two straight wins. How can there not be confidence over that?
But now comes another NFC opponent, and not a bad one.
Is this game a must-win, much like the last two games against the Redskins and Cowboys were? Some might say yes, because the Eagles dug themselves, so deep that they have no choice but to go on a run to try to get back into the playoff hunt. I think a bit differently. I don’t think this game against Chicago is a must-win. Yes, it’s a conference game. Yes, the Bears are not a bad team and any win against a good team does that much more for the confidence of Andy Reid and the Eagles and their fans. But the Eagles are 2-1 in the division with three more games left to play. If they can sweep the rest of the division games, that puts them at 5-1 in the division with tiebreakers over the Cowboys and Redskins at the very least.
A win against the Bears would move the Eagles back to .500 and that much closer to first place in the NFC East. But the must-win games right now, at this very moment, are against the Redskins, Cowboys, and Giants. A loss against the Bears doesn’t end the Eagles season.
But the question remains will Andy Reid continue to ride his top running back, LeSean McCoy? The Bears held Michael Vick in check last year by playing their safeties 25 yards deep and not letting him run free as much as he did against other opponents. McCoy was not as trusted last year as he is now, so I look for LeSean McCoy to have a bigger role in this game, improving the Eagles chances to come out with a win. But maybe Reid thinks that’s what Chicago is preparing for, and will now change his game plan and leave the game in the hands of Michael Vick and the passing game. We all know Andy Reid is stubborn and will continue to push the pass down our throat as much as we hate him doing so. But if it gets us a win against the Bears, I won’t question his game plan.
Will the Eagles defense step up? Matt Forte is the Bears’ offense,averaging 5.4 yards a carry this season but with only two touchdowns.
With the Eagles clamping down on the run game against the Cowboys, it shows a bit of promise for the Bears game. However, Matt Forte is a top tier running back in the NFL, something the Eagles have struggled with the last few years.
Will the Bears be able to concentrate on the game, though? Forte, Lance Briggs, and others have spoken out against the team’s
management for letting starting safety Chris Harris go. The Bears have a history of letting players go that want a new contract, and
that could send a strong message to their players. So now, the Bears are playing for themselves to sort of “get back” at management for the treatment they’re receiving. Will this have a role in next Monday night’s game?
The Eagles snapped their 5-game home losing streak last week. Maybe it’s time to go on a new streak. A win against the Bears puts them in a good position moving forward. A loss against the Bears doesn’t help them, but it doesn’t hurt them as much as some would think.
I always thought it was success breeds confidence? Forte was selcted over McCoy as Peter Kings mid year All Pro RB – Birds can fix that Monday night
I think confidence breeds success. If you think you can win, you have a better chance of winning rather than hoping you win then gaining confidence by sheer luck.
Fair enough – a nice article by the way – some good thoughts. Are you going to do a follow up next week?
If they lose they are mathematically in it and still in it from a Jim Carey perspective. “Soooo your saying I have a chance?!”
But a realistic view closes the door. A lose just proves a pattern of inconsistency. Not a good news if you need to win 7 out of 8 games.
navyeaglefan, yeah, I will follow up next week.
I think they need to sweep the division if they lose Monday night. Obviously a hard task, but an Andy Reid-led Eagle team has done it before. I won’t count them out just yet if they lose Monday because they’re in a better position now then they were three weeks ago.
If they play like they did last week they should be fine on both sides of the ball. Offensive line has to come up big again this week. I just hope Shady will be ok. :o(
I think if they lose Monday, their chances of making the playoffs are slim. Let alone making it to 500. But our division is terrible, at best, so anything can happen. We’ll see.
Nick, an andy reid team has not done it before, that is 3-5 midway and still won division, reid was 4-4 in ’06 with garcia, merry christmas philadelphia year, in fact no team has ever won the nfc east with a record of 3-5 midway in the modern (post 1978) sixteen game schedule, so this is the biggest game of the season on monday night, win and playoffs a possibility only (only one other team won at 4-4 midway), lose and go home early, a season on the brink
The NFC East isn’t that good. 3-5 still leaves the door open. 10-6 or 9-7 wins the division, I believe.
Let’s not forget the Giants have a brutal schedule ahead and the Eagles hold tiebreakers at this moment over Dallas and Washington.