Eagles vs. Bears predictions: Rounding up the experts’ picks for a Week 3 ‘Monday Night Football’ clash
Will the Eagles improve to 3-0 this week? This is what the experts think.
The Eagles will look to start the season 3-0 when they head to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Bears on Monday (8:15 p.m., 6abc, ESPN).
The Eagles enter Week 3 at 2-0 after two narrow wins over the Commanders and Titans. The Bears are 1-1 and could be without starting quarterback Caleb Williams after he injured his hamstring in Chicago’s loss to Minnesota. QB2 Tyson Bagent entered concussion protocol on Tuesday, which means Case Keenum could potentially get his first start and NFL action since 2023.
Although the Eagles have areas to improve, many experts believe Chicago’s quarterback situation could give the Eagles enough of an advantage to leave the Windy City with a victory. Let’s take a closer look at who the local and national media are picking:
» READ MORE: What national media is saying about the Eagles heading into their ‘Monday Night Football’ matchup with the Bears
Inquirer predictions
The Inquirer’s beat reporters were worried about this game against the Bears a week ago. But with the 9-3 loss to the Vikings during Week 2 and Williams’ injury, our writers don’t believe the Bears can beat the Eagles with Bagent or Keenum at quarterback.
Jeff Neiburg predicts the Eagles will win, 24-11, but says the Birds have plenty to clean up.
When Olivia Reiner first saw the schedule, she marked this game as a loss. However, with Williams’ status uncertain for Monday night, she picked the Eagles to win, 24-17.
Check out our writers’ full predictions here.
National media predictions
NFL.com: Analyst Jeremy Bergman is the only expert at NFL.com to choose the Bears to win the Monday night matchup. Dan Parr noted that the Eagles have the lowest point differential (plus-6) of any 2-0 team and struggled to close the game against the Titans. “So, while they might not be firing on all cylinders, it will take an even larger letdown than the team’s performance on Black Friday last year — when the Bears ran wild over Philly — to open the door for Keenum to pull off the upset,” Parr said.
ESPN.com: 10 of the 11 ESPN experts are backing the Birds.
The Athletic: NFL reporter Vic Tafur predicts that the Bears will pull off a win against the Eagles. He pointed out that Keenum is 3-0 against Vic Fangio defenses.
» READ MORE: Eagles odds against the Bears; plus player props for DeVonta Smith and more
CBS Sports: The seven person panel at CBS picked the Eagles.
USA Today: USA Today heavily favored the Eagles to win, but Nate Davis expects more defensive struggles and a 24-20 Bears victory. “I know the Bears appear to be in quarterback purgatory, but let’s not discount the longtime pro Case Keenum is — nor the fact that Ben Johnson will have a full week to devise a plan tailored to his talents. Meanwhile, the Eagles are still adjusting to a new offensive playbook which must also accommodate a new-look receiving corps — which now includes tight end following Dallas Goedert’s injury — and reshuffled offensive line,” he wrote.
Sports Illustrated: All eight analysts at SI picked the Eagles to defeat the Bears.
Bleacher Report: The seven experts at B/R are split four picks for the Eagles and three for the Bears. Analyst Ian Hanford said, “With Williams playing, I’d have given the Chicago Bears a shot here. But I can’t see Keenum or Bagent scoring enough points to make up for a porous Bears defense. I think the Eagles offense has a big game on the road, and the Eagles win by at least a touchdown.”
Pro Football Talk: Mike Florio picked the Eagles for Monday’s matchup. “The Eagles catch a break, if they end up facing Case Keenum. Who last threw a regular-season pass in 2023,” he wrote.
Sporting News: Bill Bender chose the Birds to win by three against the Bears.
Local media predictions
Philly Voice: Staff writers at Philly Voice are unanimously backing the Eagles.
Bleeding Green Nation: The Bleeding Green Nation writers also are picking the Eagles to win on Monday.
Delaware Online: 10 of the 11 pickers at Delaware Online believe the Eagles will be 3-0 after Monday night’s game. Tom Haines said “ … but Jalen Hurts has been putting on a clinic of his own through the air. That should be enough to pull off the road win.”
Windy City Gridiron: Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. thinks the Bears will unite around Keenum and depend on the running game to defeat the Eagles on Monday night.
The Eagles survived -- again. This time, instead of holding on for dear life as they did in their opener against Washington, the Eagles came from behind in the final minutes to pull out a gutsy win at Tennessee, with their quarterback leading the way. With the Eagles 2-0, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Mike Sielski examine Jalen Hurts’ promising performance through two games, and dig into the uneven play of the defense. Listen here.
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