Two of the most storied franchises in the NFL will face-off Sunday for only the 26th time in their history. The Cowboys have a one game edge in the series holding a 13-12 record vs. the Bears. Since the turn of the century the series has been tied at 4-4 with Chicago winning the latest matchup 31-24 in 2019. Arguably the hottest game of the noon slate – Bears vs. Cowboys will be shown more than any other game in that time slot making it the prime non-primetime game Sunday.
With the Bears coming off a surprise victory over the Patriots on Monday night and the Cowboys chasing their division foes for the top seed in the NFC this game holds a lot more water than NFL schedule makers probably anticipated before the season. Other than this game playing a major role in the landscape of the NFC playoffs, there are three major storylines heading into this game.
Which Version of Dak Will We See Sunday?
Last week against the Lions Dak and the Dallas offense looked a little clunky. That is to be expected after your quarterback misses any extended length of time, but looking that way against the worst defense in the league is always concerning. Despite a couple of impressive throws you could say the Cowboys won in spite of Dak rather than because of anything he did outside of not turning the ball over. He essentially just existed which was good enough because the Lions decided to turn the ball over five times in the second half — hard not to win that game even if you didn’t want to.
The Bears defense will be even more stingy as they’ll be putting their third ranked passing defense on the line. Chicago took advantage of bad quarterback play in Foxborough recording three interceptions and a strip-sack of Bailey Zappe.
I don’t believe Dak was 100% healthy last week on top of being rusty, so I suspect he will look more comfortable on Sunday. The Cowboys will need him to be the Dak of old with Ezekiel Elliott listed as doubtful to play according to Ian Rapoport.
Can Fields/Bears Offense Build on Monday Night’s Performance?
Did Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy finally find the key to unlock his Maserati? Designed quarterback runs and moving the pocket was an incredible success. The Bears only had two drives go for less than ten yards and one of those was the final drive when they kneeled it down on the one yard line. Their time of possession was nearly double that of New England’s, and they capitalized in the redzone scoring two touchdowns and a field goal on their three trips, and converting on 11 of 18 third downs. The Bears gameplan was virtually executed to perfection.
Fields looked as cool as a cucumber all night long even while under pressure. He evaded and made the right plays whether with his arm or his feet. It’s been a long road for the second year quarterback, but the past few weeks have slowly seen incremental growth. His game against the Commanders he made all the right throws, his teammates just couldn’t capitalize. I believe what was shown against the Patriots won’t be his ceiling, but more of the floor of what we should expect moving forward.
Last season we saw the Eagles finally figure out how to properly utilize Jalen Hurts’ talents and that had flipped their entire season around vaulting them to the playoffs. Can the Bears ride that kind of momentum this season? It’s not likely, but every win, especially when it looks like last week’s, is an indicator that the Bears are headed in the right direction.
How Will Both Teams Fare Without Key Players?
Dallas will be without their pro bowl running back after suffering a knee injury in last week’s win against Detroit. Tony Pollard will be RB1 for the Cowboys. Tony is more than a serviceable backup and would likely be the starting running back for about half the teams in the league so there shouldn’t be too much of a disparity in production, if any at all. Getting a spot start against the fourth worst rush defense in the league certainly doesn’t hurt anything either.
Thursday afternoon the Bears traded away defensive end Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles. Just last year, Quinn broke Chicago’s single season sack record with 18.5 sacks.The Bears have a lot of hungry, developing talent on the edge behind him so on the field won’t be missed as bad as the team voted captain’s presence in the locker room. Despite the lack of production this season he is revered in the Bears locker room for his work ethic, talent, and ability to build relationships. So much so that Bears All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith gets emotional at the podium during his weekly presser when he heard the news.