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Eagles-Bears playoff special: Key stats that matter | Paul Domowitch

Some valuable statistics that will help provide clarity to today's Eagles-Bears first-round playoff game.

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) warms up at the start of practice at the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. The Eagles play the Chicago Bears in a first-round playoff game Sunday.
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) warms up at the start of practice at the NovaCare Complex in South Philadelphia on Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. The Eagles play the Chicago Bears in a first-round playoff game Sunday.Read moreTIM TAI / Staff Photographer,

Some numbers to help get you ready for today’s Eagles-Bears playoff game:

Ground challenge

— The Bears won’t be easy to run against. They are first in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (80.0) and fourth in opponent rush average (3.8). They’ve allowed more than 100 rushing yards in a game four times all season and just twice in their last 10 games.

— Opponents have averaged just 21.2 rushing attempts per game against the Bears. That’s the second lowest average in the league. Only the Eagles have been run on less (20.7).

— The Eagles finished 30th in rush average in the regular-season (3.9 yards per carry). It’s only the second time since 2006 that they’ve averaged less than 4.0 yards per carry.

They finished 25th in first-down rush average (4.14). The Bears defense had the league’s 12th best opponent rush average on first down (4.3).

— Josh Adams rushed for 50 yards on 11 carries last week against the Redskins. In the previous two games against the Rams and Texans, he had 49 yards on 26 rushing attempts (1.9 yards per carry). Adams, an undrafted rookie, is averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Take out the Rams and Texans games and that average jumps to 4.9.

— The Bears allowed just 28 runs of 10 yards or more. That’s the fewest in the NFL.

— The Eagles had 10 rushing first downs against the Redskins last week. That equaled their season high. The most rushing first downs the Bears allowed in a game this season was seven. They’ve allowed just 26 in the last seven games.

The scoop on Nick

— Nick Foles has a 108.3 passer rating in his three starts against the Rams, Texans and Redskins. That includes a 77.0 completion percentage and an 8.5 yards-per-attempt average.

— Foles has thrown an interception in four of his five starts this season, including each of the last three games.

— Foles is getting the ball out quickly. In his last three starts, he has averaged 2.20 seconds from snap to release. In last week’s 24-0 win over the Redskins he averaged 2.00 seconds per dropback.

— The Eagles have run a higher percentage of their plays out of shotgun in Foles’ last three starts than they did in Carson Wentz’s 11 starts. They’ve run 80.0 percent of their plays (164 of 205) out of shotgun the last three games. In Wentz’s 11 starts, they used shotgun 76.5 percent of the time (530 of 693 plays). For the season, the Eagles have used shotgun 77.8 percent. That’s considerably higher than last year, when they used it 69.7 percent.

— Foles has a 128.5 passer rating with 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TE) the last three games. He’s completed 39 of 45 passes for 348 yards, four of his six touchdowns and no interceptions with 12 personnel.

— Against the Redskins last week, just six of Foles’ 33 pass attempts traveled more than five yards beyond the line of scrimmage. He didn’t throw a pass longer than 16 yards.

— In his last three starts, Foles has completed 58 of 70 passes that have traveled 10 yards or less from the line of scrimmage, including 16-for-19 on throws behind the line of scrimmage. Five of his six touchdown passes have come on throws of 10 yards or less.

— Foles has completed 27 of his 32 pass attempts on third down in his last three starts. He is averaging 9.6 yards per attempt on third down in those three starts. An impressive 16 of those 32 third-down attempts produced first downs.

— Foles has completed 10 of 17 passes with three touchdowns and one interception in the red zone in the last three games. Foles and Carson Wentz have thrown just two red-zone interceptions in the last two years.

Tale of the turnovers

— The Bears were third in turnover differential in the regular season with a league-high 36 takeaways and 24 giveaways (plus-12). The Eagles finished 25th (minus-6). That’s the lowest turnover differential of any team in the playoffs. The only other playoff teams with a negative turnover differential are the Ravens (minus-3) and the Titans (minus-1). The seven teams with the league’s best turnover differentials all are in the postseason.

— The Eagles’ 17 takeaways — 10 interceptions and seven fumbles — are tied for the sixth fewest in the league. But 10 of those 17, including six interceptions, have come in the last six games. The Eagles won five of those six games.

— Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky has thrown 12 interceptions and is 24th in the league in interception percentage. But he doesn’t have any picks in the Bears’ last three games.

— The Bears defense had a league-high 27 interceptions, including 16 in their last nine games. Cornerback Kyle Fuller finished tied for first in the NFL in interceptions with seven. Safety Eddie Jackson was fourth with six.

— Just one of the Eagles 10 interceptions this season came on third down. Last season, the Eagles defense finished second in third-down interceptions with nine.

Third down story

— Washington didn’t have a third-down conversion against the Eagles last week. They were 0-for-9 on third-down opportunities. Redskins quarterback Josh Johnson completed just one of seven third-down passes for seven yards.

— The Eagles defense finished sixth in third-down percentage, holding opponents to a 35.6 success rate. Last year, opponents had a 32.2 third-down success rate against the Eagles.

— The Eagles’ opponent passer rating on third down this season was 91.2, which is considerably higher than last year’s 58.2. The difference primarily had to do with the interception totals; one this year on third down and nine last year. Their third-down opponent completion percentage is actually better this year (60.4 compared to 66.4 last year) and they’ve given up one less touchdown pass on third down (6).

— The Eagles have converted 17 of 30 third-down opportunities in their last two games (56.7 percent).

— In the last three games, Foles has a 114.6 passer rating on third down, including an 84.4 completion percentage and a 9.6 yards-per-attempt average. He hasn’t been sacked on third down in the last three games.

— The Bears are fourth in third-down defense. They have held opponents to a 34.2 success rate. The Vikings were 1-for-11 on third down against the Bears last week. But the 49ers converted seven of 14 third-down opportunities against them the week before that. The Niners converted third downs of 13, 10 and eight yards in that game.

— Tight end Zach Ertz has seven third-down receptions in the last three games. Six of them came in the Week 16 win over Houston. Alshon Jeffery and Golden Tate each have five third-down receptions in the last three games. Nelson Agholor has four.

This and that

— The Eagles finished the regular season dead last in first-quarter scoring with just 41 points. They’ll be facing a Bears defense Sunday that gave up the second fewest first-quarter points (38).

— Zach Ertz broke Jason Witten’s single-season record for receptions by a tight end this season. Ertz had 116 catches. A breakdown of those 116 catches by quarter: 1Q - 20, 2Q - 41, 3Q - 34, 4Q - 21, OT - 0.

— Running back Tarik Cohen led the Bears in receptions this season with 71. He averaged 10.2 yards per catch. His yards-per-catch average was the third highest in the league among running backs, behind only 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk (10.8) and the Chargers’ Austin Ekeler (10.4).

— Running backs have caught 111 passes against the Eagles this season. They’ve averaged 7.6 yards per attempt. In the last six games, running backs have caught 48 passes, but have averaged just 6.4 yards per catch.