The Chicago Bears did everything you need to do to win tough games on the road in the NFL. They made plays in the passing game, they stopped the run, they forced turnovers, and protected the ball on their own drives. All of this helped the Bears defeat the Cowboys 27-20 in Dallas this afternoon.
Two things really stuck out to me in this game. The first was that I thought the offensive line grew up a little bit in this game. They were horrible at the start. Cutler was running for his life and nearly got killed a few times on their first two possessions. They ran 6 plays for 13 yards, and managed a field goal after the defense forced a turnover and left the Bears with great field position. Other than that, the Cowboys looked as if they were going to overwhelm the Bears offensive line. Then Chris Williams went out with an injury, Frank Omiyale moved to Left Tackle and Kevin Schaffer came in at Right Tackle. From that point on, Cutler wasn't sacked once. They still can't run block worth crap, but against one of the best pressure defenses in the NFC, the Bears O-line gave up only one sack, and that happened on the second play of the game. Great step in the right direction for the offensive line. They just need to use this game as a confidence boost, and figure out a way to run block.
The biggest thing that stuck out to me in this game was the maturation of Jay Cutler. The Bears' QB played a fantastic game. 21-29, 277 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions. All of those numbers in a road game in which his team was a 9 point underdog. That's getting the job done. The numbers alone are great, but to me, it was the circumstances surrounding the numbers that make them impressive. He had three touchdown passes, and all of them came in critical situations in the game. His first TD to Greg Olsen came just a minute after the Cowboys had taken a 7-3 lead on a punt return touchdown. The second touchdown came towards the end of the first half, and gave the Bears a 17-14 lead. The third touchdown came after a Cowboys' missed field goal, and basically sealed the game for the Bears. Big time quarterbacks make plays like that, and Jay Cutler showed me that he is capable of being a big time quarterback.
I also thought the defense played well. They gave up over 400 yards, but again, only 36 yards rushing. The defense only gave up 13 points as a unit when they were on the field (the Cowboys' first TD was a 62 yard punt return by Dez Bryant). Lance Briggs played another tremendous game. He is a stud when stopping the run, and he covers the middle of the field in zone coverage just as well as any other linebacker in the league. D.J. Moore also had a nice game, with 2 interceptions on deflected passes, and also a big play on the forced fumble of Roy Williams in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys have all the talent in the world, and should beat the Bears when you look on paper. Again, poor coaching decisions and a lack of execution (which also falls on the coaches) cost them a close game against a team they should probably beat. Perhaps the worst coaching decision came right after the punt return touchdown. Instead of kicking deep and forcing the Bears to move the ball 80 yards for a touchdown, they chose to pooch kick the ball, and gave the Bears the ball at their own 45 yard line. It took the Bears three plays to score a touchdown on that drive, and it totally sucked all of the energy out of the building. Bad coaching by Wade Phillips, which isn't really all that shocking.
Overall, I was very impressed with the Bears this week. I think they took some positive steps toward becoming a very good football team. Cutler and the Martz offense seem to be clicking, and all of the receivers are being utilized, which is a huge plus as it makes it difficult for defenses to game plan against the Bears when all of the receivers are playing effectively. There will be a huge test next week, when the Bears take on the Green Bay Packers in Soldier Field on Monday Night Football. First place in the division will be on the line against a great football team, so the Bears should take advantage of a long week to prepare, as well as homefield. Great win this week! Go Bears!
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