Wide receivers coach Mike Groh and wide receiver Alshon Jeffery will battle a familiar foe Thanksgiving weekend.
From 2013-15, Groh served as the Bears' wide receivers coach and Jeffery spent his first five seasons in Chicago after the Bears selected him in the second round back in 2012. Jeffery recorded 96 yards on five catches when the Bears and Eagles faced off last season, but it was the Birds who came away with the 29-14 win. The Bears finished the season with a 3-13 record, missing out on the playoffs for the sixth straight season.
Key Additions: QB Mike Glennon, CB Marcus Cooper, CB Prince Amukamara, S Quintin Demps, WR Markus Wheaton, TE Dion Sims, WR Kendall Wright
Key Losses: WR Alshon Jeffery, QB Jay Cutler, DB Tracy Porter, WR Eddie Royal, DL Cornelius Washington
Top Draft Pick: QB Mitchell Trubisky
Head coach John Fox enters his third season with the Bears aiming to turn around the team's recent postseason slump. Mike Glennon slides into the starting slot at quarterback with the 2017 second overall pick Mitchell Trubisky developing as his backup. The Bears' offense – which finished in the bottom five in scoring – will need to replace Jeffery's production, the team's top reception leader in three of the past four seasons. Second-year running back Jordan Howard stands as one of the Bears' primary offensive catalysts after a stout rookie season carrying the football. Last year's leader in receptions Cameron Meredith suffered an ACL injury in the preseason and will miss all of 2017. The team hopes that wide receiver Kevin White can step fulfill the promise that made him a first-round pick in 2015.
The team saw its biggest makeover in the defensive backs group where cornerbacks Marcus Cooper and Prince Amukamara, and former Eagle Quintin Demps were added to strengthen a defense that was among the top 10 in passing yards allowed.
Will Groh and Jeffery triumph against their former team? Can the Eagles make it three straight wins against the Bears? Find out on November 26 when the two teams clash at Lincoln Financial Field with kickoff scheduled at 1 p.m.
