Dhruv Koul shares his in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the Bears-Cowboys game at AT&T Stadium. Follow him on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
ARLINGTON, Tx. — The Chicago Bears had a bit of a whirlwind week. They started by demolishing the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Monday Night Football to improve to 3-4. Usually, beating Bill Belichick that badly in prime time would have a team feeling pretty good. And the Bears sure did feel pretty good.
Locker room was LIT 🕺 pic.twitter.com/wMKVzdJ2lJ
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 25, 2022
A record of 3-4 technically had them in the thick of the Wild Card hunt. In a rebuilding year, one may think a team like the Bears would hold on to any and all hope?
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Nope.
A couple days later, Chicago shipped veteran star DE Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles. Quinn got his opportunity for a ring with the undefeated Eagles, while the Bears netted a valuable 4th-round draft pick in 2023. Getting that much value for Quinn — who had not produced much on the stat sheet after a record-breaking 2022 — was a no-brainer.
I actually applaud Ryan Poles and Ian Cunningham (and Matt Eberflus, for that matter) for not caving to the emotion of a strong primetime win on the road, weak NFC, and opportunity to stay relevant into December.
Long term vision is in place and they're executing. https://t.co/9WLepRTqnt
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 27, 2022
Enter this Sunday’s game. The Bears did not match up well against the Cowboys, with Chicago’s weaknesses playing perfectly into the hands of Dallas’ strengths. Namely, their terrifying pass rush against a mediocre offensive line that was out three starters. This was simply not a game the Bears had much of a chance in.
In the end, while Justin Fields built on his Monday night performance and took another step forward in his development, the defense failed in all three phases as Dallas ran away with a blowout win.
I shared my in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the game below. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Thoughts and Observations
1. (PREGAME) — One of the biggest selling points of this coaching staff was executing on the “HITS” principle — specifically, preparation. The Bears beat Bill Belichick in prime time six days ago, and I was excited to see how they’d respond after tasting overwhelming success in all three phases. Preparation / mental focus is a big thing to monitor in this one, especially early on.
Excited to see how the Bears respond today — against a superior opponent in most phases — from some overwhelming success in prime time.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
2. Well, that was a humbling start. The Cowboys started with the ball and drove 75 yards in 11 plays, converting three third-downs on the drive. The running game was efficient, and the Bears got no pressure or anything on Dak. Prescott kept it himself for a touchdown, reminiscent of the Bears’ struggles against Daniel Jones… and perhaps how the Bears might try to play with Justin Fields again today.
Dak keeper for a TD. Way too easy.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
3. The Bears do not seem prepared to play early on in this one. After the Bears punted following a missed deep throw by Fields on the first play of the game, the Cowboys sliced right through Chicago again, this time scoring on a 21-yard TD from Dak to CeeDee Lamb. The Bears have been completely outmatched early on in this one, on both sides of the ball. Granted, Dallas is a tough matchup for this team, but it’s just a bad look.
Bears' first drive:
– Fields underthrows a deep ball that had St. Brown open.
– OPI
– A 2nd and 20 toss that gains one yard.
– A screen that leads to a punt.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
Can we agree that the Bears play their ugliest football in these uniforms?
Maybe they should retire them tonight.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
4. A positive to report: Justin Fields’ legs are still going strong. A nice drive with Fields leading the way went for a touchdown to get it to 14-7. Good effort from the offensive line, too.
Fields' legs continue to be such a lethal weapon. Very fun to watch. Carried Chicago down the field, along with a pretty sweep to Velus Jones and some tough runs from David Montgomery.
The red zone offense worked. Touchdown. Bears back in it.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
Unfortunately, Dallas answered right back almost immediately. It’s 21-7 and the Bears have absolutely zero answers for the Cowboys’ offense. Literally nothing has worked. It’s a reminder how much talent this team still needs throughout the roster.
Pollard untouched. Dallas is dominating.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
5. I’ll give the Bears this — they continue to fight. After falling behind 28-7, Fields orchestrated an impressive drive to cut the lead to 28-14. This after a Velus Jones Jr. brutal drop on a deep ball would’ve set them up in goal-to-go. Regardless, Fields marched them down and fired a 17-yard TD to N’Keal Harry.
Pretty fun drive before halftime. Velus drop marred it. A roughing call negated a pick.
Fields find N'Keal Harry for his first Bears TD!
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
And then, Eddie Jackson showed up on the next play — picking off Dak Prescott on a throw over the middle while the Cowboys tried to drive for a field goal. He returned it to the 26-yard line, giving the Bears new life. A beautiful read and break on the ball — it was tough to see where he was even coming from on that throw.
Great plays by the Cowboys DBs broke up two sure-fire touchdowns, before Cairo Santos did his thing.
Intriguing turn of events…
EJax pick right after the touchdown to set Chicago up again.
Bears had a couple of chances to get in the end zone — great plays by the Dallas DBs to break them up.
Bears settle for a FG and it's 28-17 at halftime.
It's a game again.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
6. Like I said above, this Bears team fights. After a fumble call on Khalil Herbert was reversed (it WAS a fumble, but he established possession again and his knee came down), the Bears marched down the field, with Darnell Mooney and Khalil Herbert doing the hard work. Justin Fields hit on a couple of throws that he would likely have missed previously. All of a sudden, it’s 28-23!
No one saw this coming at 28-7.
Justin Stafford on the next play.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
Bears go for two!
Fields got walloped. Still 28-23.
Still, awesome response.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
7. Play-acton, boots and roll-outs continue to give Chicago’s defense big problems. Dak has gotten Trevis Gipson repeatedly today. Mike Kafka and the New York Giants put this on tape, and teams have repeatedly taken advantage since. It’s 35-23, Dallas.
8. It was interesting there for a minute, and then David Montgomery coughed up the football and Michah Parsons returned it for a touchdown. No one touched him either. That is HITS jail. It’s 42-23 with 5:00 left in the third, and this one is just about wrapped up.
9. Today has been an overall very strong performance by Fields. He’s looked decisive, much more accurate, and is making the right decisions most of the time. His legs continue to be great, but his arm has certainly made big plays today, too. Two strong performances the last two weeks.
All things considered, Justin Fields has played very well today.
The missed throw on their first play hurt in setting a tone, and the loaf on Parsons' TD can't happen, but otherwise he's been on top of it today. Would love to see it continue.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
10. Bears’ run defense, man. Brutal. Roquan Smith missed a 3rd and 1 tackle in the backfield and Tony Pollard escaped for 54 yards to the end zone to put it away. This Monday film breakdown will be… ugly. What will Miami do to them with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle next Sunday?
11. Final thoughts:
Bears have held the ball for 34 minutes already. They have 371 yards of offense and 29 points.
And they're getting overrun in Arlington.
Rough, rough performance on defense today. DL is simply as big a need as OL/WR.
Step forward for Justin Fields, though.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 30, 2022
12. The Bears host an explosive Dolphins team next Sunday at Soldier Field. They had no answers for Dallas today, and the Dolphins’ playmakers are even better. That one has ugly potential too, just as today’s did.
Early prediction: Dolphins 33, Bears 23.
Where was Roquan Smith? Hardly heard his name called on the television broadcast.
Pollard is a stud! This is a good team we were beat by today. Anyone who didn’t expect this going into the game needs to rethink their ability to be level-headed and fair in their expectations. Look for the positives! We had a few. Of course Fields, Monty and Herbert, and some others. Lots of sloppiness (too much) on both lines and lack of intensity! But, not knowing this would be the case is just being naive. Be honest with expectations and the future looks promising. But, like I say, “progress is not a rocket ride! It is a Roller-coaster!”
Can we flush Velus Jones, the guy has been a disaster.
On the flip side NE handled a 5-2 Jets team today.
Horrid game. Why go for two take the extra point. Fields got LEVELED. Hits like that unnecessary could of lost him for a game or season. Take the Piont After. I just pray Fields makes it to next year. And our New GM can get some most needed talent to help out both sides of the ball. It’s hard watching us loose to elite teams all the time.