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Brothers on opposing sides of NFL playoff thriller share emotional postgame moment

Chris Long consoled his younger brother Kyle after his Philadelphia Eagles won a 16-15 thriller that knocked Kyle's Chicago Bears out of the playoffs.
/ Source: TODAY

A euphoric playoff win for Chris Long and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night unfortunately also meant a crushing defeat for his younger brother, Chicago Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long.

Chris, 33, sought out Kyle, 30, for an emotional hug just moments after a potentially game-winning field goal by the Bears was no good as time expired to give the defending Super Bowl champs a 16-15 win.

Image: Kyle Long, Chris Long
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long (56) and his brother, Chicago Bears offensive guard Kyle Long (75), shared an emotional moment after the Eagles edged the Bears 16-15 in the NFL playoffs. Nam Y. Huh / AP

ESPN's Dianna Russini captured Chris trying to console Kyle at Chicago's Soldier Field after the underdog Eagles ended a resurgent 12-win season by the Bears in a thriller.

Rather than razz his younger brother after earning bragging rights, he spoke from the heart.

"You're a hell of a football player,'' Chris told him. "I love you."

The brothers literally went head-to-head as Chris is a defensive end and Kyle is an offensive guard on the other side of the line.

"You gotta look at it like it's just another dude out there who kinda looks like me possibly, but on Sunday we're not related,'' Kyle told NFL.com leading up to the game. "I've got to focus on my job."

Chris and Kyle are two of the three sons of NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long and his wife, Diane. Howie, who is an NFL analyst for Fox Sports, celebrated his 59th birthday at the game on Sunday while watching as a fan with his wife.

This isn't the first time the brothers have been on opposing sides, but it was definitely the most high-stakes game of their three meetings.

Chris' teams are now 3-0 against Kyle's teams in their time in the NFL. The Eagles and Bears also played last season, with Philadelphia rolling to a 31-3 win in the regular season.

Now they can go back to being brothers instead of opponents as Chris chases his third Super Bowl ring and the Eagles try for a repeat.