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On Thursday Marc Trestman hinted that he could rest players come Sunday depending on the outcome of early games; however it's unlikely to come to that. The Bears will certainly have all or nothing to play for depending on the various scenarios, but the most likely has them playing to win to set up a week 17 showdown with the division crown on the line.
So in the likely event that the Bears and Eagles go full-throttle on each other, the game will feature two of the league's most potent offenses against two of the least-stingy defenses.
On top of that, what each defense does worst the opposition's offense does best.
The Bears have the league's worst rush defense, giving up 152.4 yards per game and allowing 17 rushing touchdowns on the season. The Eagles on the other hand have the league's best rushing offense, averaging 152.9 yards per game and they have rushed for 14 touchdowns on the year.
The Bears have the fifth ranked passing offense in the NFL, while the Eagles come in 31st in pass defense. The Bears average 275.8 passing yards a game while the Eagles allow an average of 291.6.
Going further into the numbers, the Bears' average drive is 2:45 seconds while the Eagles average 2:03 per drive with Chip Kelly's quick-strike blur offense. That is actually very impressive since they are known as a running team (although their pass/rush attempts split is very close to 50/50, 51 percent pass/49 percent rush to be exact).
With the Eagles averaging 25:53 time of possession per game (dead last in the league by nearly two minutes) and the Bears ranking seventh in the league with 31:34, it will be important for the Bears to control the clock and play the game at their pace. If they can string together some longer scoring drives it will keep the Eagles on the sideline and give them less time to gash the Bears' susceptible defense.
Sunday in Philadelphia is calling for near-record high temperatures and rain. If the rain clears out before game time and the field isn't a mud track, the team's two offenses could really put on a fireworks show.
The game could be high scoring and it will be important for the Bears to score early and often. With the mismatches of each offense and defense expect to see lots of scoring Sunday night. The Bears average 29 points per game and the Eagles average 26; you could add 10 to each of those numbers and get an idea of what the final score could look like.
Can the Jay Cutler and the Bears win in a shootout? We'll find out Sunday.
