Eagles-Bears: Game time, channel, how to watch and stream

The Eagles (12-1) take on the Chicago Bears (3-10) this afternoon at Soldier Field, but all the chatter heading into the game has been focused on next week’s Christmas Eve matchup against the Dallas Cowboys (10-3).

Cowboys defender Micah Parsons ignited a week-long debate about whether Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is a legitimate MVP candidate (he is). Parsons suggested Hurts is more of a system quarterback, and NBC analyst Chris Simms (who once left Hurts off a list of the NFL’s top 40 quarterbacks) was happy to agree.

“It’s an incredible system that coach has never ran before, but they had to run it because they couldn’t run their system with Jalen Hurts,” Simms said earlier this week on Pro Football Talk Live. “If you put Gardner Minshew in for the Eagles, they’d still be really damn good.”

» READ MORE: NFL playoffs: Clinching scenarios for Week 15

So are the Eagles walking into a classic trap game? Not according to nearly every local and national pundit. Writers at ESPN, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, The Athletic, and here at the Inquirer all predict the Birds will easily handle the lowly Bears, who lave lost six straight games and don’t really have many offensive weapons outside quarterback Justin Fields. Even writers at the Chicago Sun-Times don’t think the Bears have much of a chance.

“The Bears haven’t beaten the Eagles since 2011, their third-longest active drought, and this is the most outmanned they’ve been all season — which is saying something,” wrote Sun-Times Bears beat reporter Jason Lieser. “It won’t be as bad as their 2013 debacle, but it’s an overwhelming mismatch.”

The Birds will have to get it done again without tight end Dallas Goedert, who will miss his fifth straight game after suffering a shoulder injury back in Week 10. The Eagles should be fine, considering they’ve averaged 35 points per game with Goedert on the sideline.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Eagles-Bears matchup:

Eagles-Bears is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. Eastern on Fox.

Calling the game is a familiar crew — play-by-play announcer Joe Davis and analyst Daryl Johnston, who called last week’s win against the New York Giants. Veteran sideline reporter Pam Oliver will also be on hand at Soldier Field.

The game will also air on radio in Philadelphia on 94.1 WIP. Calling the game will be longtime play-by-play announcer Merrill Reese, who offered his voice as a narrator of “The Night Before Christmas” on The Philly Special Christmas album. Joining him for the 25th season is former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick, with 94.1 WIP host Howard Eskin reporting from the sideline.

Spanish-speaking listeners can tune into La Mega 105.7, where the game will be called by WIP host Rickie Ricardo, Oscar Budejen, and Bill Kulik.

Eagles vs. Cardinals will stream on the Fox Sports app, but you’ll need to be a cable subscriber to log in.

The game will also stream on a host of so-called skinny bundles that carry Fox, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.

If you’re looking to stream the game for free, your best option if you live near Philadelphia is to use an over-the-air antenna.

The Bears are 29-16-1 all time against the Eagles, dating back to 1933. But that’s where the good news for Chicago ends.

The Eagles have won four straight against the Bears, who haven’t defeated the Birds since 2011. The Eagles have gone 11-5 against Chicago since 1994, including a 54-11 blowout back in 2013 around Christmas that also set up a NFC East showdown against the Cowboys.

None of these numbers include the “Double Doink” game, the Eagles’ unlikely 2019 wild-card victory, sealed with a missed field goal in the final seconds by former Birds kicker Cody Parkey.

Eagles staff writers Jeff McLane, EJ Smith, and Josh Tolentino will be covering the action live on Gameday Central. Smith and Tolentino will discuss the Eagles-Bears game at 11:30 p.m. prior to kickoff. Notes and observations about the game will be at Inquirer.com/Eagles. Don’t forget to subscribe to our free Sports Daily newsletter.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Bears: Live coverage

Here’s a rundown of the local and national NFL pregame shows offered by the major networks this week: