Eagles-Bears: Updated playoff picture, Richard Sherman blasts Birds play design, and more

Thanks for nothing, Kansas City.

The Eagles face the Chicago Bears on Black Friday still in the driver’s seat in the NFC East, but their magic number to clinch the division remains four games following the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving win against the Chiefs.

It remains unlikely the Cowboys will be able to overtake the Eagles — even after Thursday’s victory, the New York Times gives Dallas a 3% chance to win the NFC East — but the division is suddenly a lot closer than it appeared just a few weeks ago.

Of course, the Eagles are playing for higher stakes than simply winning the division. Entering Friday’s game, the Birds hold the No. 2 spot in the NFC, with head-to-head wins against most of the conference’s top teams, including the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, and Detroit Lions.

The Birds can add the surprising Bears to that list today with a win, while a loss would knock the Eagles down to third place in the NFC with just five more games to go before the playoffs.

The Lions put themselves in a bad position with their loss against the Packers on Thanksgiving. At 7-5, Detroit is suddenly on the outside of the playoffs looking in with a tough schedule that includes games against the Cowboys, Rams, and Bears.

It shouldn’t be hard to watch or stream Friday’s game. In addition to simulcasting on Fox 29 in and around Philadelphia, Amazon is streaming the game for free globally on its Prime Video platform.

Last week, Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles called out the Eagles’ predictable offense, pointing to “simplistic” route designs that don’t create enough opportunities for wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

“[Eagles offensive coordinator] Kevin Patullo is probably a great dude, a great coach, but there’s an art to play-calling that not everyone has and it’s not showing up this year,” Foles said.

Richard Sherman agrees.

The five-time Pro Bowl defender turned Thursday Night Football analyst said during a conference call earlier this week the design of many Eagles plays are “pretty pedestrian,” allowing defensive backs to “determine route combinations and route concepts” based on how the Birds line up.

The Eagles have the 24th ranked offense in the NFL entering Friday’s game, among a handful of teams averaging less than 200 passing yards per game. Plus, Saquon Barkley isn’t coming close to repeating last year’s dominant 2,000-yard performance.

“Do I think they can repair their offense? No, I don’t,” Sherman said. “I think Kevin Patullo’s the issue, and unless they replace him, nothing’s going to change. They’re going to go home” early in the playoffs.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Sherman’s colleague at Amazon who spent 17 seasons as an NFL quarterback, played with Eagles offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo during his time in Buffalo. Fitzpatrick said it’s up to Patullo and head coach Nick Sirianni to fix “some missteps,” with their receivers, including getting A.J. Brown ”on a few more out cuts” and “in the slot a little bit more.”

“They’ve got to start in the second half of the season here, breaking some of those bad tendencies,” Fitzpatrick said. “Because you do fall in love with certain routes, with certain guys, because they’re such good players.”

» READ MORE: They got paid. They got Super Bowl rings. And now, the Eagles’ offense is unmotivated.

Staff writers Jeff McLane, Olivia Reiner, and Jeff Neiburg will be covering the action live on Inquirer.com.

Notes and observations about the game can be found at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t forget to subscribe to our free Sports Daily newsletter.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Bears: Live updates