When I first saw the 2002 Philadelphia Eagles schedule with this game in the city of Chicago, I thought it might be the perfect revenge game after what happened last year in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the two teams took different paths at the start of this season. The Eagles are taking the path towards Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego, while the Chicago Bears are taking the path for a high first round draft pick. Part of the Bears problems is due to host of injuries that has ravaged the team. Secondly, the Bears are basically playing all their games this year on the road. For all their home games, they must travel 150 miles south to Champaign, the home of the University of Illinois. Soldier Field in downtown Chicago is being renovated and the construction will not be completed until September 28, game #4 of the 2003 season. On a cold, blustery rainy day in Illinois, the Eagles offense did not totally click or look sharp. The Birds can thank the foot of David Akers, their Pro-Bowl kicker. He scored 13 of the 19 Philadelphia points in the game, including 4 field goals. Donovan McNabb, who returned for the first time home as a starter last season in the playoffs, completed only 18-of-33 passes for 209 yards and zero TD passes. He also had one pick. The only touchdown on the day for the Birds came with 4:42 left in the first half. Thanks to some untimely penalties by the Bears, the Eagles drive was allowed to continue. The TD drive ended with a Donovan McNabb 5-yard sneak which gave the Birds a 7-3 lead at the time.

The Bears fought back with Jim Miller, who led Chicago on a 7-play 69-yard drive, thanks to some nice runs by Anthony Thomas. Thomas finished the day though with only 52 rushing yards on 16 carries and scored the Bears only touchdown in the game. The Bears kicker, Paul Edinger added a long 53-yard FG with no time left in the half. The Chicago Bears led 13-7 at the half over the Eagles. In the 3rd quarter, the Eagles defense completely took over the game, pressuring Jim Miller as they did last year in the playoffs. They forced Miller into an 8-for-19 second half and held Thomas to 1 lousy yard on 5 carries. The Philadelphia Eagles moved the ball a little better in the second half, with Donovan McNabb completing 13-of-19 passes, but could not get the team into the endzone and had to settle for 4 David Akers' field goals. On the first FG scoring drive, McNabb scrambled for 14 yards for first-and-goal at the Bears 6-yard line. The drive stalled with David Akers kicking a 23-yard FG to cut the deficit to 13-10. A short punt after the next Chicago possession and good return by Brian Mitchell gave the Eagles a first down on the Bears 37-yard line. The drive stalled again and Akers sucessfully tied the game with a 36-yard FG. Chicago went 3-and-out once again as the defense for the Birds forced another incomplete pass on third down. The Eagles again, moved the ball into field goal position. McNabb overthrew a pass intended for Cecil Martin from the Bears 9-yard line on third-and-short. The result? Another FG by Akers, which gave the Birds the lead again at 16-13. The Eagles defense came up big again and forced a fumble, which was recovered by Brandon Whiting on the Bears 18-yard line. The play should of setup the Birds to take advantage and put the game away once and for all. Instead, the Eagles settled for another FG of 18 yards from David Akers.

The Eagles defense on the otherhand were at their best stopping the Bears in their tracks. They held the Chicago offense to 260 total yards all game long, including only 74 yards on the ground. They sacked Jim Miller 3 times. They hurried him into many incompletions, especially in the second half. The Eagles as a team, rushed for 114 yards with McNabb leading the way with 46 yards on 9 runs. Duce Staley was held in check, rushing 19 times for 39 yards. The weather was horrendous most of the game, with rain and sleet covering the field and making the ball slick to throw. Good thing, all of Akers FG's were short. David Akers managed to make every field goal at the old Memorial Stadium, built in 1923, one year before Soldier Field was constructed. The stadium was dedicated to all the American veterans' of war from World War I. Donovan McNabb also felt the pressure of the Bears defense as they blitzed just about on every other play. Brian Urlacher led the way with 8 tackles a one sack of McNabb. The Eagles finished their scoring with only 3:42 left in the game. Donovan McNabb completed a nice pass to Todd Pinkston, who ran it 39 yards down to the Bears 7-yard line. They failed again in scoring from the redzone. The Eagles led 19-13. The Bears needed a touchdown to win the game and only had 1 timeout left. The Eagles defense went into that easy zone defense, giving up first downs, but keeping the gains to short ones. At the same time, time was running out on the Bears. The Birds cornerback Al Harris completed the victory for the Birds as he had tight coverage on the fourth down play. The pass went harmlessly out-of-bounds. The Eagles improved to 6-2 and remained in first place. The Eagles will host the Colts next week with homeboy Marvin Harrison making his first trip back to play in Philadelphia in 5 years.