NFL Black Friday Game Preview: After a strong start to the season, Chicago must earn their keep in a high-stakes matchup with the reigning Super Bowl champions

With the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles both at 8-3, Friday’s contest between the two teams will surely have a playoff feel to it. Can the Bears, who are in a position to fight for a playoff berth down the stretch for the first time in several years, find a way to get it done once again, this time against the defending Super Bowl champions? Or will the Eagles bounce back after a gut-wrenching loss and put themselves in position to clinch their second consecutive division title in the coming weeks?

(Image Credit to Yahoo! Sports)

Safe to say that Ben Johnson is off to a dream start with the Chicago Bears. 

While they aren’t winning fancy, neither did the Detroit Lions, with whom Ben Johnson worked with as the offensive coordinator for three seasons. 

At 8-3, the Chicago Bears aren’t just in position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020, but they also find themselves right in the thick (and the lead as of the end of Week 12) of the NFC North race. A division title for Chicago would be the team’s first since 2018. 

With the Bears currently a game ahead of Detroit for a playoff spot and two ahead of the Carolina Panthers, who sit eighth in the NFC, they will have a chance to cement their hold on a playoff spot when they head to Philadelphia to do battle with the Eagles. 

The Bears got to the 8-3 mark courtesy of a big Week 12 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite trailing at multiple points, Chicago was able to gain the upper hand in the fourth quarter, eventually winning 31-28.

Like the Bears, the Eagles find themselves with an 8-3 record heading into this contest. Despite leading by twenty-one points midway through the second quarter of their Week 12 contest against the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas offence was slowly but surely able to chip away at the deficit; with the help of a beleaguered defence that was able to force several key stops throughout the second half, the Cowboys were able to secure a 24-21 walkoff win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

That win brought back some major concerns that have been surrounding the team for much of the season. While the Eagles’ defence has been a bright spot for the team, consistently stepping up and keeping teams at bay when required, the offence has struggled to lock up wins late in games. Two of the Eagles’ three losses, including last week’s loss to Dallas, came as a result of late-game comebacks from the opposing team. In Week 5 against Denver, the Eagles’ surrendered a two-score lead in the fourth quarter to lose 21-17, while the Eagles gave up a two-score halftime lead to lose 24-21 to the Cowboys in Week 12. 

Sure, the Eagles are still 8-3, but preventing rallies has been a major issue for this Philadelphia team. In Week 4 against Tampa Bay, the Eagles saw a 24-6 halftime lead whittled down to a 31-25 result. The Minnesota Vikings would also win the second half of their Week 7 contest with Philadelphia 16-14. 

To add onto that, the Eagles outscored their opponents in the second half in each of the first three games of the season; one was a nineteen-point comeback against the Los Angeles Rams. Since then, the Eagles have outscored opponents in the second half of football games on just two of the following eight occasions. 

On the other hand, Chicago has found a way to right many second-half wrongs. After getting outscored 21-14 and 24-7 in the second half of each of their first two games against Minnesota and Detroit respectively, the Bears would win the second half in five of their following nine games. In addition, two of the last three wins have seen the Bears overturn a halftime deficit, though these came against the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In short, the Bears haven’t been winning pretty, but neither have the Eagles. 

I could see this becoming a game where Philadelphia wins the first half and Chicago wins the second half. In that case, if the Bears can weather the first half storm by establishing the run and putting points up in some fashion, then a strong second half could put them in position to win this football game. 

In terms of a prediction for this game, a lot of the signs point towards the Eagles winning. Key third-down conversions and strong defensive play played a role in giving Philadelphia a 21-0 lead over Dallas in the first place. Forcing needless penalties also helped the Eagles; against a Bears team whose starters are still learning how to win in the NFL, the Eagles could find a way to gain the advantage at the line of scrimmage and in a wide range of down-distance scenarios. This could also play to their disadvantage; as the Dallas defence toughened up throughout the final half of the game, the momentum slowly shifted to the Cowboys and the Eagles simply couldn’t recover. Therefore, the Eagles will have to ensure they play a complete 60-minute game in all aspects, something they haven’t necessarily been able to do to great effect over the past handful of games. 

On the other hand, Chicago’s improved offensive play, particularly in some of the biggest moments of the game, could prove useful against an Eagles team that tends to struggle at important points of the game; this was evident against Dallas and other opponents like Tampa Bay and Denver. Despite his own struggles, quarterback Caleb Williams has been at the forefront of this offensive improvement, coming up with big plays late in games to give his team the win; this was on display against Cincinnati, New York, and more recently against the Minnesota Vikings. 

With all of the above in mind, I am going to give the slight edge to Chicago. At 8-3, the Bears are looking for a signature win to truly establish themselves in the NFC playoff picture, especially with current wild-card teams like San Francisco and Green Bay continuing to put up wins alongside other playoff contenders like Dallas and Carolina. 

While Philadelphia will surely be looking to shake off a funk of their own when it comes to closing out teams, Chicago is looking to do more of the same. Behind a strong and methodical offensive performance, Chicago will find a way to earn what will be their ninth victory of the season, guaranteeing themselves a winning record on the season for the first time since 2020. 

The pick: Bears over Eagles, 22-20

---------------------------------------------------------------

Article written by Noah Guttman © Noah Guttman 2025