Follow Ben Johnson into the football desert, as thirsty as you are, Bears fans. Parched and hallucinating for competent quarterback play, Bears faithful found their oasis at a sun-kissed Soldier Field in a 31-14 winner against the Dallas Cowboys, notching their first victory of the season and sticking it to ex-coach Matt Eberflus in the process.
Spare the caveats of how bad the Cowboys’ defense is. Is that a true assessment? Yes. But you can only play the team the league put on your schedule. The Bears handled their business showing improvement in all three phases of the game. They won the turnover battle, generated more explosive plays (defined as passes of 20-plus and runs of 10-plus), didn’t give up a sack, while brining Dak Prescott down twice.
Before we get into the breakdown of my favorite offensive play of the game, here are some performances and observations I took away from my film review.
- Redemption game for Tyrique Stephenson. Given his performance just a week ago against the Lions, he was physical in run support, more effective with his press and kept Prescott looking away from his side of the field. The butterfly effect from his forced fumble against Javonte Williams on the Cowboys is an interesting thought exercise about how the game could have turned out if he didn’t make that incredible play along the sideline. With Jaylon Johnson shelved, Stephenson needs to keep stacking performances like this one.
- Tremaine Edmunds was everywhere against the Cowboys. The interior of the defensive line did a good job of keeping him clean, which allowed him to get his eyes in the backfield to diagnose run or pass. He quickly filled the gap on run plays from the second quarter on and came up with two crucial interceptions in Bears territory, with the second icing the game with just under five minutes left. He now has seven interceptions since joining the team in 2023, the most of any linebacker in the league over that span.
- Cole Kmet is a true “lunch pail” guy on this team. He does a lot of dirty work in the blocking game that largely goes unnoticed. Through three games, he’s been asked to man up against defensive ends and cross the formation as a “sniffer” to seal end of the line in pass protection and he’s been very effective. The Bears went to max protection in 12- and 13-personnel packages to take some shots in the passing game and his ability to hold up in these situations kept the pocket strong for Williams as he waited for longer-developing routes to pry open. It was good to see him rewarded with a touchdown reception on a “nod”route.
- Welcome to the NFL, Luther Burden. Just a week ago, I was curious about what the plan was for him on offense. Johnson found multiple ways to get the ball in his hands. The highlight was the flea flicker in which Burden feigned like he was blocking with a slow release off the ball to lull the cornerback, only to turn on the jets for a 65-yard bomb. He was used on a reverse, a screen and caught a deep dig on my favorite play of the game which I’ll break down below. He flashed good hands, speed, open-field vision and a willingness to drop his weight to drive for extra yardage.
- Caleb Williams was the best player on the field when the Bears had the ball, which is exactly what you wanted and needed to see. There were three throws he would likely want back on which his touch was just slightly off. But with each drop back, the game seems to be slowing down for him. The huddle operation was cleaner, they were at the line quickly to survey and adjust to the pre-snap looks. Despite being pressured on nearly 30% of his drop backs, he wasn’t sacked, only scrambled once and he threatened every blade of grass as shown by his passing chart. If Rome Odunze squeezes that ball at the goal line, we could be talking about a 300-plus yard and five touchdown performance. But, his efforts rightly earned him NFC Offensive Player of the week and put “glizzies” in the bellies of Chicagoans courtesy of the Wiener Circle.
Let’s look at my favorite throw of the game from Williams to Burden and illustrate what made it so special. The Bears were in a two-minute drill to end the first half leading 17-14. Dallas was set to receive in the second half, so points on this drive were crucial.
The situation was first-and-10 from the Cowboys 39-yard line with 43 seconds remaining in the half. The Bears broke the huddle in 11-personnel (one back, one tight end, three wide receivers) in a tight trips left empty set.
Burden is the No. 1 receiver on the trips side of the formation stacked under D.J. Moore. The route concept for Burden and Moore is a “high-low” over the middle, with Moore running a deep curl to settle underneath, while Burden runs a deep dig.
D’Andre Swift and Cole Kmet run mirrored flat routes, while Odunze runs a “cop” (corner post) route over the top. The Cowboys show two-deep defenders, but drop a safety underneath as they rotate into a Cover-3 zone with four underneath defenders.
This design effectively becomes a three-level “layered” concept for Williams to read the ladder up the middle of the field from low (Moore), to intermediate (Burden), to high (Odunze), with two checkdowns to each flat.
Moore’s route occupies two underneath defenders, while Odunze’s threatens the top, making the intermediate window the best — albeit a still challenging — option for Williams.
At the top of his seven-step drop, Williams hitches once and launches a 30-yard frozen rope (from the 49- to the 19-yardline) over the hands of two defenders and threads it perfectly to Burden, who plowed his way for eight hard yards.
This play set the Bears up at the 10-yard line with 25 seconds remaining. They found Kmet for a touchdown on the next play to take a commanding 24-14 lead into the half.
Savor this win and hope it is yet another step forward and more proof that despite their challenges, the Bears may have the two most important pieces to sustained success in the building. On to Vegas, baby.
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