CHICAGO — The Philadelphia Eagles needed help to get into the playoffs, and Chicago provided it.

Look how the defending Super Bowl champions repaid the Bears.

Alshon Jeffery, left, and his Eagles teammates celebrate after a potential winning field goal by Bears kicker Cody Parkey clanged off both the left upright and the crossbar.

Nick Foles hit Golden Tate for a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth down against the NFL’s stingiest defense with 56 seconds remaining, lifting the Eagles to a 16-15 win Sunday in an NFC wild-card game.

Former Eagles kicker Cody Parkey hit the left upright and then the crossbar with a field-goal attempt from 43 yards with 10 seconds remaining, silencing the raucous crowd.

The key, of course, was how the Eagles, even when they are messing up, never give up. On Parkey’s kick, several Eagles said defensive tackle Treyvon Hester touched the ball.

“I think the big thing is, we saw some adversity tonight in the first half (and) I had a couple of turnovers,” Foles said. “I think the big thing is that no one loses faith, no one stops believing, everyone just keeps talking, keeps believing in one another, and we just rallied. Our defense really kept us in this game.”

The Eagles (10-7) squeezed into the playoffs by beating Washington in the season finale while the Bears (12-5) help them by knocking off Minnesota. Philadelphia overcame a 15-10 deficit with a 12-play, 60-yard drive on which Foles, the Super Bowl MVP last February, hit six passes.

Tate made a reaching grab in the right side of the end zone near the goal line.

“We found a way,” Tate said. “That’s playoff football right there for you. That’s why we play this game, for times like now once you get to January and February.”

Philadelphia will play at New Orleans (13-3) next Sunday. Chicago’s sensational turnaround season from last place to the NFC North title is over.

“We wanted to write our story and start it off,” Bears second-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said. “But it does not always go the way you want it to, and that’s life, that’s football.”

It was a sizzling ending to a game marked by superior defense and several critical mistakes by the Eagles. They had to survive after Tarik Cohen, an All-Pro punt returner, set up the Bears with excellent field position after Philly’s go-ahead score, returning the kickoff past the Chicago 40. Mitchell Trubisky completed two passes to get the Bears close enough for Parkey. But his kick took a double deflection and fell harmlessly into the end zone.

Parkey was 11 of 12 in the fourth quarter this season before missing the biggest kick of his career.

“Obviously, we’re just hoping for a miss,” Foles said. “This was a hard-fought game. That’s an amazing team we just played against and it came down to the wire.”

The Bears are 1-15 in the playoffs when trailing after three quarters. They fell behind when Foles connected with rookie Dallas Goedert for a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter that was set up by a 33-yard pass interference call on cornerback Prince Amukamara.

Although the Eagles outplayed the Bears in the first half, errors left them behind 6-3. A 15-yard personal foul penalty on Michael Bennett aided Chicago’s drive to a 36-yard field goal, and a dropped potential interception in the end zone by Tre Sullivan allowed Parkey to make a 29-yarder as the half concluded.

Philadelphia also had an interception by Avonte Maddox deep in Chicago territory overturned by video replay.

Philly did score on its opening series – a 50-yard drive to Jake Elliott’s 43-yard field goal – and again on its first possession in the third quarter as Goedert got wide open on a short post pattern behind Adrian Amos.

Parkey made 34-yarder early in the final quarter.

“We had a lot of fun and I love our guys to death,” Bears Coach Matt Nagy said.

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