On Pattison Picks: Will Birds bounce back to beat Bears?

It's Week 13, and the Philadelphia Eagles-Chicago Bears alliance ends here.

If you missed it, over the course of this season, Eagles fans and Bears fans formed a pact online. The NFC North and NFC East are playing each other this season, and while the Bears defeated every NFC East team but the Eagles, the Eagles defeated every NFC North team but the Bears. The alliance absolutely served its purpose. But this week is where it stops.

The 8-3 Bears head into Lincoln Financial Field to face the 8-3 Eagles on Black Friday. Despite their matching records, the Eagles are solid 7-point favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook. Here's what our staff thinks will happen.

Anthony SanFilippo (4-7)

Score: Bears 23 - Eagles 20

Game MVP: Tryptophan

With how much anxiety has built up in Philadelphia this week, maybe it's good that we get to fill our bodies with enough of this amino acid that we are all in a bit of a turkey-induced fog for this game so the blood doesn't boil as much.

I may be 4-7 in making these picks, but I'm only a game off what I expected them to be through 11 games. I had the Eagles at 7-4. They are 8-3. They lost three games I thought they'd win and won four games I thought they'd lose. I've stayed committed to my preseason picks to this point, but this is the first time I'm going to divert from that path.

I have zero confidence in the Eagles offense. It's the coaches. It's the quarterback. It's the offensive line. It's Saquon. It's all of them. Now DeVonta Smith may not play. Zero trust. Zero.

Were the Eagles fully healthy on defense, I'd still give them the benefit of the doubt, but the secondary is in flux, also because of injuries, and as such, I feel like they are a little more susceptible to plays downfield than usual. That's the difference for me, and it's why I'm changing my preconceived pick for this game. And if I'm right, then we can cue the Counting Crows, because it's going to be a "Long December" in Philadelphia.

Tim Kelly (6-5)

Score: Eagles 24 - Bears 20

Game MVP: Tank Bigsby

As much as I love Ben Johnson's offense, what the Bears are doing isn't sustainable. They've won four straight games by five points or less. That's on top of having back-to-back 25-24 wins earlier this season. Eventually, if you play close games every week, you're going to lose one.

The Eagles, desperate to rebound from a humiliating loss in Dallas, will do so. It may even be time to mix Tank Bigsby in more consistently to get the running game going, given how poorly Saquon Barkley has performed this year (although he hasn't had much help in front of him).

Caleb Williams is hard to evaluate. He's got incredible tools, but is still learning how to actually play the position on schedule and within an offense. I'm going to bet that Vic Fangio – who once parlayed being Chicago's defensive coordinator into a head coaching job – frustrates a quarterback that's still learning his way.

Grace Del Pizzo (5-6)

Score: Bears 28 - Eagles 20

Game MVP: Rome Odunze

This Bears season is becoming something straight out of a fairytale. It's like a feel-good sitcom where the spunky underdog beats the odds and comes out on top every episode.

In comparison, this Eagles season – ironically – is becoming The Bear. Everyone's running around the kitchen screaming, trying to put out fires and figure out what's wrong. It's categorized as a comedy, so in theory, it should be fun to watch. But in reality, it's just stressful and frustrating.

Ben Johnson's first year as the Bears head coach is going better than most people ever expected it would. At a certain point, those chaotic late-game comebacks stopped looking lucky and started looking skilled. The 2025 Bears, even if they're not the most polished, just find ways to win. This pleasant surprise of a season is a great starting point for Ben Johnson to build on going forward, and against the Eagles, the Bears have a chance to make a huge statement.

I'd love to say that this will be a get-right game for the Birds. But the circumstances are bleak: it's a short week, right after a game where multiple defensive backs went down, and they're potentially playing without DeVonta Smith, the team's leading receiver in nearly every category.

The Bears have magic right now, and the Eagles decidedly do not.