I was reading an article earlier today clearly spelled out the benefits of going 2-0 to start the season in the quest to make the playoffs. According to Odds Shark, of the past 75 teams that started the new season 2-0, 44 went on to qualify for the postseason which equated to over 58 percent of the time. The opposite end of the spectrum paints a pretty bleak picture for any team going 0-2 to start the season. Going back over the last 75 teams to lose their first two games, just seven were able to turn things around and make it into the postseason.
Earlier this year when the new NFL team schedules were first released, I did pencil this game in as a win in anticipation of a loss to Pittsburgh the following week at home. I felt a 2-1 mark heading into a Week 4 bye would actually not be all that bad. However, that was when Sam Bradford was still the starting quarterback for this team. Now that first year head coach Doug Pederson has turned the keys to the offense over to rookie Carson Wentz, we could be in for a wild ride almost every single week.
Wentz looked good last week against Cleveland, but there is a reason why the Browns are widely considered to be the worst team in the league this year. I do not put all that much weight on those kind things considering that the "Any Given Sunday" syndrome appears to be alive and well with both favorites and underdogs hovering right around .500 through the first two weeks of games in head-to-head play.
Chicago did look pretty bad against Houston last week on the road, so the Eagles might catch a break in what has been a pretty tough road venue to play in over the years. I am actually more interested to see how the Eagles' defense plays against Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler, who was intercepted once and sacked five times in the 23-14 loss to the Texans in Week 1. Houston actually trailed 14-10 in that game at the half before outscoring Chicago 13-0 in the second half.
A Few Bold Predictions for Monday Night
-Eagles win 27-16
-Carson Wentz throws for more than 250 yards and he runs for more than 25 yards
-Backup tight end Trey Burton has at least one catch in place of an injured Zach Ertz
-The Eagles' defense comes up with at least one interception and one fumble recovery against the Bears' offense
Enjoy the Game!!!
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