Hall of Fame Football Player and Fox television analyst Howie Long will get to do something this Sunday that he never has before. Unfortunately, for the the former defensive end, it may be one of the most agonizing and amazing afternoons of his life. Both of his sons will take the field on opposing sides of the football at 1:00 pm eastern in St. Louis. Yes, we know Archie Manning has had his share of agony and pride while watching Eli and Peyton square off. But this is different. Eli never had to actually tackle Peyton.
You see Chris Long is a defensive end for the St. Louis Rams and his younger brother Kyle is an offensive lineman for the Chicago Bears. That means that the two can actually butt heads during the game. And because of the brother’s four year age difference, outside of their backyard, they’ve never squared off against each other. Chris is currently in the middle of his sixth year as an NFL pro while Kyle is just a rookie.
Long’s third son, Howie Jr., who is a high school quarterback describes the battle between the brother’s positions. “Offensive and defensive linemen going at each other is the most brutal one-on-one matchup throughout a game. I just hope the two of them don’t lose their cool toward each other because I know it is going to be very heated.”
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Howie Long will join his wife Diane, who as a mother is probably feeling a whole different level of anxiety, and several family members in a suite at the Edward Jones Dome. Long spoke about what the game means to him, “I’m sure there will be some range of emotions. I’m not sure what that will be, we’ll have to see when we cross that bridge. It’s exciting. It’s scary. It’s a lot of different emotions.’’
The Bears are currently 6 – 4 in the NFC North and battling for a Wild Card berth. While, the Rams are in last place in the NFC West. However, the Rams play tough at home and are actually a 1.5 point Vegas favorite to beat the Bears. Both teams are playing without their starting quarterbacks who are currently out with injury.