Sports

Actions

Sunday’s NFC Wild Card playoff game will be a ‘Bro Show’ with Virginia ties

Posted at 11:10 PM, Jan 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-02 23:54:45-05

Chris Long of the Philadelphia Eagles. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

CHICAGO, Ill. – One month from Thursday, Super Bowl LIII – the biggest game in the world, will be contested. And one of the smallest schools in Virginia will be playing a prominent role when the NFL postseason, the road to Super Bowl LIII, starts Saturday.

St. Anne’s-Belfield is a private school in Charlottesville. It’s enrollment is roughly 900 students – and that’s kindergarten through 12th grade. However, two of St. Anne’s alumni have gone from the tiny school to football’s biggest stage.

Chris Long is a defensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles. Like his brother, Kyle Long – an offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears, Chris graduated from St. Anne’s.

St. Anne’s-Belfield (Courtesy: St. Anne’s-Belfield/Facebook)

In Sunday’s NFC Wild Card playoff game, Chris’s Eagles will take on Kyle’s Bears. And since one brother (Kyle) plays offense and one brother (Chris) plays defense, they’ll be on the field, on opposing sides of the ball – at the same time.

However, their Mother won’t be able to see it. At least according to Kyle.

“I don’t think my mom will be able to watch,” Long said. “She’ll be there, but she’ll probably have her eyes covered the whole time. Our Mom and Dad love their kids. They’ll be happy to be here.”

Offensive guard Kyle Long of the Chicago Bears. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

Chris won Super Bowl LII with the Eagles last season after winning Super Bowl LI with the Patriots the year before. Sunday will be Kyle’s first ever postseason game.

“I’m sure I’ll get questions all week about my brother,” Kyle said Wednesday. “But he’s on the other team, so I’ll have to figure out a way to beat him.”

The Long brothers are the sons of Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion, Howie Long. Sunday is Howie’s birthday.

Chicago hosts Philadelphia Sunday at 4:40 p.m. The teams will meet in the postseason for the fourth time, with Philadelphia holding a 2-1 edge. In their most recent postseason matchup, the Eagles won 33-19 in Chicago in the 2001 NFC Divisional Playoffs (January 19, 2002). The Bears lead the all-time series 30-13-1, including the postseason.