The Philadelphia Eagles couldn't improve their playoff positioning on Sunday. Coach Chip Kelly didn't care. Neither did his players.
"We're from Philadelphia and we fight," Kelly said after his team's convincing 54-11 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday night.
The Bears blew a chance to win the NFC North, setting up a winner-take-all showdown for the division against Green Bay next week. The Eagles will play again next Sunday night against Dallas in the Cowboys' annual NFC East play-in game. They should come into the game with a lot of confidence.
The Eagles have played four NFC playoff hopefuls since the start of November. They have won all four games, and six of seven games overall. Philadelphia racked up 514 yards of offense, with 289 on the ground. The Eagles have to be salivating at the chance to play Dallas' decrepit defense next week. Chip Kelly's offense has over-delivered on all the preseason hype. The Eagles could put up a 70-burger.
Chicago is not a team that deserves to clinch a playoff spot early. The Bears are 5-7 since their 3-0 start, and their defense has given up more than 40 points four times. It's been one of the worst groups overall in the league. The Bears have no toughness on the interior defensive line, and couldn't get to the ball.
There will be increased talk in Chicago this week about why quarterback Jay Cutler is starting over Josh McCown, but coach Marc Trestman indicated after the game that Cutler will remain the starter. Talking about the Bears quarterback seems to miss the point.
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