The NFL will play Black Friday football for a third year in a row in Week 13, as the Eagles are set to welcome the Bears to Philadelphia for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
After an 0–2 start to the season, Chicago has won eight of their last nine games and not only sits at 8–3, but also in first place in the NFC North. Coach Ben Johnson has entirely shifted the Bears' culture following four consecutive losing campaigns, and has his team primed for a playoff appearance for the first time since 2020.
On the home sideline on Friday will be the Eagles who, even amid a drama-filled 2025 season, lead the NFC East through 11 games with an 8–3 record. Philly comes into Friday afternoon having blown a 21-point lead to the Cowboys last Sunday in what was eventually a 24–21 loss, but still holds a comfortable lead over Dallas in the division standings.
We’re in for a good one on Friday from the Linc. Here are three bold predictions for Bears vs. Eagles.
Saquon Barkley will bounce back with 100-plus yards and a touchdown
After his historic campaign in 2024, Saquon Barkley hasn’t been the same dominant running back in 2025. During the Eagles’ loss to the Cowboys last week, Barkley had a season-low 22 rushing yards. It was the fifth time he’s been held under 50 rushing yards this season after missing that mark just once in the entirety of the 2024 campaign.
Barkley has now gone three weeks without a rushing touchdown, but he will have a favorable matchup against a lackluster Bears run defense. Chicago has surrendered the fifth-most rushing yards per game this season (138.1) and allowed the Steelers to rush for 186 yards last week.
I’m expecting Barkley to have one of his best games of the season on Friday night. He will rush for 100-plus yards for just the second time this season and will add a touchdown, too.
Caleb Williams will have first 300-plus yard performance of the season
Williams has been playing some of the best football of his career of late. He’s not thrown an interception in any of his last four games, all of which were wins, and he has seven touchdown passes in that span.
The Eagles are coming off a tough loss to the Cowboys in which they surrendered 348 passing yards to Dak Prescott. Over the last three weeks, Philadelphia has surrendered 249.3 passing yards per game, which ranks as the sixth-most across that stretch. I’m expecting Williams to have a big game on the road at the Linc.
Williams will throw for 300-plus yards for the first time this season, something he did four times as a rookie, while also turning in another clean performance without an interception.
Bears defense will record rare interception off Jalen Hurts
For all the criticisms about the Eagles’ passing attack, Hurts being careless with the football is not one of them. He has just one interception this season, leading the NFL with a 0.3% interception rate. In fact, in Hurts’s last 26 games in the regular season, he’s thrown a total of 35 touchdowns and just six picks.
Hurts’s lone interception this year came during Philadelphia’s loss to the Giants. He’s since gone five straight games without an interception. Awaiting the Eagles on Friday is a Bears defense that leads the NFL with 16 interceptions and 24 total takeaways. Chicago has recorded three interceptions in its last two games, and the secondary will be looking to poach a rare interception off Hurts.
I’m expecting the Bears to pick off Hurts at least once on Friday for what would just be his second interception of the season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bears vs. Eagles: Three Bold Predictions for NFL’s Black Friday Game.
