Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie Long turns 59 on Sunday and he’ll celebrate by watching a couple of his kids square off in a playoff game.
Bears guard Kyle Long returned from injured reserve at the end of the regular season and will be charged with keeping his older brother Chris and the rest of the Eagles defensive line from making too many plays at Soldier Field. Kyle said, via the Chicago Sun-Times, that the brothers will have “no good communication” heading into the game.
“They tell us to tune out the outside media, stuff like that, but you can’t tune out your family and unfortunately I’m playing against my family this week,” Kyle Long said on NFL Network. “You’ve got to look at it as just another dude out there. He kind of looks like me, possibly, but on Sunday, we’re not related, so I’ve got to focus on my job.”
The Long brothers have played each other in two other games. Chris was on the winning side with both the 2013 Rams and in last year’s regular season game between the Bears and Eagles.