False hope continues to be a common theme for the Chicago Bears. With momentum gaining from the second quarter continuing to the third, an unfortunate fumble from RB David Montgomery paired with failure to down the opponent led to the downfall of the Bears today.
The Dallas Cowboys’ offense looked unstoppable in the first half, scoring four touchdowns on each of their four possessions. The Bears were getting both torched through the air and gashed through the ground, allowing Dallas to get up big. However at the end of the first half, S Eddie Jackson continued his resurgence with a big lurking interception that led to a Bears score.
QB Justin Fields looked outstanding yet again. It can’t be overstated his ability to escape defenders in the pocket, scrambling free time and time again. He used his legs to rush for many first downs as well, and looked very sharp throwing it on the run. He connected with TE Cole Kmet with a touchdown, Kmet’s first of the season. However, on the Montgomery fumble, Fields leaped over the defender on the ground with the fumble instead of downing him, which led to a defensive touchdown. Simply a small error due to inexperience, this mistake put the nail in the coffin.
Overall Reaction: Bears fall to Cowboys 29-49
Justin Fields continued his impressive play, throwing for 151 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 60 additional yards and a touchdown. He extended many plays with his agility in the pocket, despite being sacked four times. Interestingly enough, RB Khalil Herbert garnered 16 compared to starting running back Montgomery with 15. Herbert was also much more efficient with his carries, averaging 6.2 yards per carry while Montgomery averaged 3.5 yards per carry. A combination of Herbert’s efficiency and Montgomery’s fumble could have potentially caused this equal split in carries.
The defense was mediocre tonight, allowing Dallas to score far too many touchdowns. They struggled in coverage early and failed to create pressure up front, which also allowed the Cowboys to be effective with their run game. With their starting RB Ezekiel Elliott out, the Bears allowed backup RB Tony Pollard to expose their defense for 131 yards on an extremely efficient 14 carries, while adding three touchdowns on the ground. The Bears’ defense needs to improve at basically every aspect of the game, although Eddie Jackson continued his resurrection season with another interception and led the team in tackles.
Kicker Cairo Santos should be in contention for best kicker in the league. Yet to miss a field goal this season, he stayed perfect with his lone field goal and added two extra points on top.
