When the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears take the field Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, there will be a family reunion of sorts taking place.
Bears guard Kyle Long and Eagles defensive end Chris Long will battle for their teams to advance to the NFC Divisional Round. Pitting brothers against one another can lead to an awkward family dance.
"They tell us to tune out the outside, you know, media, stuff like that, but you can't tune out your family," Kyle Longtold NFL Network's Stacey Dales on Wednesday. "Unfortunately, I'm playing against my family this week. You've got to look at it as just another dude out there. He kind of looks like me, possibly, but on Sunday, we're not related, so I've got to focus on my job."
The dichotomy of brothers facing off adds intrigue when there is a chance of them hitting each other. When brothers play on the same side of the ball -- say, for instance, the Watt bros (J.J. & T.J.), or Manning siblings back in the day -- some of the brotherly competition is diluted.
While they won't line up across from one another on every snap, it's doubtless the Longs will collide at Soldier Field.
Asked what kind of communication he'd have with Chris, Kyle quipped:
"No good communication. I'm sure I'll get questions all week about my brother. But he's on the other team, so I gotta figure out a way to beat him."
It's not just a family reunion on Sunday. Hall of Fame pass rusher Howie Long will also be celebrating his 59th birthday. Kyle admitted it could be difficult on the parents, who will see one son move on in the postseason and another devastated.
"Man, it's probably going to be pretty crazy for them," Kyle said, via the Chicago Sun Times. "It's gonna be a fun birthday for them. I don't think my mom will be able to watch. She'll be there, but she'll probably have her eyes covered the whole time. They love their kids. They're going to be happy to be here. I think everybody's just happy."
