EAGLES-BEARS REVIEW

- Sure, the Eagles were lucky when Bears' kicker Cody Parke double-doinked the final potentially game-winning field goal. But the birds made their own luck. In a game with so many twists and turns, the football Gods smiled down on Philly, maybe a payback for the gut-wrenching Fog Bowl loss 30 years ago? Buddy Ryan had to be smiling somewhere when the Eagles won on Sunday.

- I liked the Eagles coming out in a no-huddle offense to start the game. I think they should use the no-huddle a little more often. They kicked an early field goal to take the lead yesterday.

- WR Alshon Jeffery had a big game in his return to Chicago. Included in his big afternoon was a key catch on the final drive to get the Eagles a first down- and a new set of downs- at the Chicago 2-yard-line to set up the winning pass.

- Penalties and turnovers again played a big part in the game. Eagle rival referee Tony Correnti again attempted to screw the Birds, as it seemed like every call went against the Birds. Things evened out in the second half. And even though Philadelphia  was a -2 in turnovers, they held on to win, defying the odds.

- So many big plays down the stretch. Nick Foles had a shaky game- until it counted. St. Nick rose to the occasion when it counted the most. That final drive added to his legend.

- I feel bad for Parke, who will never forgot how he blew it for Chicago. What are the odds of the kick being tipped 9 by Hester), hitting the upright, then also bouncing off the cross-bar? The ball still could've easily hopped over the cross-bar, but it didn't.

- How were the Eagles a 6 1/2 point underdog? Vegas is getting torched yet again. I had the Eagles winning 23-20. Getting the points was the easy part. The defending champs weren't going to fold or surrender their crown without a fight. The Eagles are 9 point underdogs next week in New Orleans.

- Credit the Eagles for trying to run the ball and control the clock. Once again Foles took what the defense gave him. When he tries to force the issue trouble begins,

- Speaking of kickers, Eagles' Jake Elliot almost became the scapegoat. His kickoffs are mostly booming touch backs. Instead, on the final Chicago drive, the kickoff was  short and the bears returned the ball close to midfield.

- The Eagles' failed two-point conversion try almost became a huge discussion item. Wendell Smallwood leaped over the pile at the goal line, extending the ball for a score, breaking the plane, but the refs didn't see it that way (or, there was enough concrete evidence that he scored. A successful conversion would have put the score at 18-15 so that any Bear field goal would only tie the game and force overtime, not win it.

As it turned out, the miss added to the drama in the end. If Parke's kick would've split the uprights we would've been breaking down that replay of the two-point try all off-season.

- I didn't think that Bear  quarterback Mitch Tribisky  played that well. He managed the game, not turning the ball over, but did he do anything special? After he was nicked -up a bit the threat of him running and scrambling was limited. He may turn out to be a good QB down the road but ,in his first playoff game,he was just OK.

- Bears fans were pretty smug all week, especially so-called experts picking Chicago to easily dispatch the Eagles. Yes, the bears were 12-4, going form worst to first in NFC North. But they did have one of the easiest schedules in the NFL. They have a great defense but up 15-10 with only a few minutes remaining, that so-called "great" defense couldn't keep the Birds out of the end zone.

Speaking of which, Foles made an outstanding, sidearm throw to Golden Tate on that last play. Tate made an awesome, stretching catch. The pressure was intense, 4th down, do-or-die. A lot had to go right for the Eagles to score there, then the Parke miss. A lot had to go right the week before, with Philly beating Washington and the bears defeating Minnesota ( do you think da Bears regret letting the Birds into the playoffs now?).

The Eagles have that magic again. Maybe its Foles. Maybe its destiny. A win in New Orleans next Sunday and we can really believe that it's not a dream, that our Eagles have a legitimate shot of repeating as Super Bowl champs.

- My perfect scenario is for the Eagles to exact revenge over the Saints next week ( remember how New Orleans ran up the score the first time they played, winning 48-7?). As scary as it sounds I would rather Dallas goes to Los Angeles next week and beats the Rams. That sets up a showdown with the dreaded Cowboys, winner-take-all game in Dallas for the NFC Championship and the right to go to Super Bowl LIII. Tough for one team, especially in the division, to be a rival three times in a season. That would be the Cowboys' daunting task, as the Eagles relish in their underdog status once more. How sweet would that be, to cut the head off the snake called Jerry Jones, in Dallas, to go back to the Super Bowl?

Then, the ultimate: beating the Kansas City Chiefs and Coach Andy Reid for the repeat championship. Another season to remember! Ray Didinger would have to re-write his Eagles Encyclopedia again.

- So, what does it all mean? The Birds travel to the Big Easy and play the Saints at 4:40 pm next Sunday. Revenge! Can't allow New Orleans QB  Drew Brees to sit in the pocket and pick the secondary apart as he did earlier this season. Defensive Coordinator Schwartz needs to blitz more and make Brees move.  The offense needs to get off to a quick start. Turnovers and penalties will again be big. The Birds need to run the ball and control the clock, keeping the ball away from Brees.  A little more luck wouldn't hurt, either.

I'll have my prediction for the big playoff game on Thursday.

- As predictions go, I ended up 3-1 in the Wild Card weekend, my only loss being the Colts win in Houston. Otherwise, I had the Eagles, Cowboys and Chargers all winning and moving on.

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