Soldier Field – Chicago, IL
Kickoff: Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET
Line: Chicago -3, Total: 43

Jay Cutler looks to get back on his feet as the Bears host Philly in their home opener on Monday night.

The Eagles and the Bears entered Week 1 coming off of 7-9 and 6-10 seasons, respectively, and with hopes of righting their ships after eventful offseasons. Philadelphia moved on from Chip Kelly by hiring Doug Pederson for his first ever head coaching gig. They moved on from Kelly’s acquisitions, as well, dumping Byron Maxwell, Kiko Alonso, DeMarco Murray and Sam Bradford for draft picks. The Bears continued to bolster their slowly improving defense by bringing in players like linebackers Danny Trevathan and Jerrell Freeman. Opening at home against the Browns proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the Eagles, as they scored a touchdown on their opening drive and led the rest of the way to beat Cleveland 29-10 (PHI -4). Philly outgained its opponent 403-288, picked up 23 first downs to the Browns’ 14 and more than doubled Cleveland’s time of possession. Facing stiffer competition, Chicago was not as fortunate in a 23-14 loss at Houston (HOU -6). The Bears held a 14-10 lead going into halftime but were held scoreless in the final two quarters. They were outgained in the air and on the ground, and the Texans controlled possession for over 36 minutes of game time. They theoretically return to friendlier confines in Soldier Field for this week’s Monday night game against Philadelphia, but the Bears are 3-14 in their last 17 home games and 5-12 against the spread in those games. They are, however, 4-2 in their last six against the Eagles (4-2 ATS). In September games over the past 10 seasons, home teams coming off of road losses are 43-28 ATS when the line is +3 to -3. Bears head coach John Fox is 30-14 ATS in his career when his team rushed for 75 or fewer rushing yards in the preceding game—the Bears picked up 73 yards on the ground last week. Those betting Chicago will be hoping for a low-scoring game, considering that the Bears are 1-8 ATS at home when both teams scored 20 or more points, over the last three seasons. The Eagles may be without TE Zach Ertz (6 catches, 58 yards) and CB Leodis McKelvin.

In an opening weekend where No. 1 overall draft pick Jared Goff was inactive for the Rams and first-round choice Paxton Lynch sat behind seventh-rounder Trevor Siemian in Denver, expectations weren’t necessarily high for rookie QB Carson Wentz in his first career start. But Wentz, who was named the starter in Philadelphia only after Bradford was traded a week before the season, played excellently in his debut. He finished 22-of-37 for 278 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. The performance was made especially impressive by the fact that he missed the final three games of the preseason with a hairline fracture to his ribs, meaning he had barely taken any NFL snaps prior to Sunday (and was possibly still hurting from the injury). WR Jordan Matthews (7 catches, 114 yards, TD) was the Eagles’ leading receiver last season, and his large 6’3” frame is an attractive target for a young signal caller. He caught Wentz’s first touchdown pass of the day, while the second went to the speedy Nelson Agholor. Both were perfectly placed over-the-shoulder passes. Ryan Mathews (22 carries, 77 yards, TD) led the way on the ground, and Kenjon Barner (4 carries, 42 yards) showed explosiveness. Wentz will be negatively affected if Ertz is out, as the veteran tight end helped him establish a rhythm early on in the game. A McKelvin DNP might be even more impactful, as the Eagles are already thin in their secondary after trading CB Eric Rowe to the Patriots right before the season. Seventh-round rookie CB Jalen Mills did an excellent job filling in for McKelvin after he left the Browns game, but he’ll be an obvious target for mismatches against enormous Bears wideout Alshon Jeffery. DT Fletcher Cox took the first step to living up to his enormous new contract with a sack on Robert Griffin III.

Bears QB Jay Cutler (16/29, 216 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) was sacked five times and took 13 hits from the Texans defense, conditions under which no quarterback could reasonably be expected to succeed. Right tackle Bobby Massie was a large part of the problem, and his job won’t get much easier against Eagles DE Brandon Graham, who joined Cox in sacking RGIII. Cutler looked primed to improve this season, as first-round WR Kevin White (3 catches, 34 yards) missed all of his rookie season to injury, and star wideout Alshon Jeffery (4 catches, 105 yards) missed half of the year. But Cutler was sacked a total of 29 times last year, so a regression in pass-blocking performance along the offensive line will make it difficult for him to get better—especially when you consider his history with concussions and other injuries. WR Eddie Royal’s performance was encouraging, though, coming off a disappointing season in which he put up only 238 yards and one touchdown for the Bears. RB Jeremy Langford (17 carries, 57 yards, TD) put together a performance that was similarly mediocre to Cutler’s. While the Bears defense couldn’t do enough to make up for the offense’s poor performance, there were several positives to take away. Foremost were excellent showings by Trevathan and Freeman, who immediately looked like the best players on the defense. Freeman led the team with 17 total tackles, and Trevathan was second with 11 and also added a sack. CB Kyle Fuller missed the game with a knee injury—and is questionable for the Eagles—but CB Jacoby Glenn was solid in his absence with two passes defended.