After the New York Giants torched the Dallas defense last weekend, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the problems in the secondary could be easily fixed.
Needless to say, they still have plenty of work to do as quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears dismantled the Cowboys defense in a 31-14 victory. The loss dropped Dallas to 1-2 on the young season.
Adding injury to insult, the Cowboys also lost starting wide receiver CeeDee Lamb in the first quarter due to an ankle injury. He attempted to come back in the second quarter, but left after one play, his day done. And he wasn’t the only one banged up. Trevon Diggs (shoulder) and Kenny Clark (ankle), both key members of the defense, were also sidelined in the fourth quarter.
Even with those two, however, the Cowboys simply had no answer for Williams as he threw for 298 yards and tied his career high with four touchdown passes. He also wasn’t sacked once and had no interceptions for a 142.6 passer rating, a personal best. Eight different players hauled in passes for the Bears, although Luther Burden led the way with three catches for 101 yards.
On the other side of the ball, quarterback Dak Prescott completed 77.5 percent of his passes for 251 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for an 80.3 passer rating. Jake Ferguson was the primary target on the receiving end, totaling a career-high 13 catches, which is the most by a tight end in the NFL this season. He had 82 receiving yards while George Pickens, stepping into the No. 1 wideout role for Lamb, finished with 68 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The Cowboys did see success on the ground as Javonte Williams averaged 7.6 yards per carry on his way to 76 rushing yards overall. Of course, once the deficit became too large, Dallas basically had to abandon the run.
How quickly the momentum can turn. The Cowboys forced a three-and-out on Chicago’s opening offensive possession, and then on their first try quickly worked out to the 50-yard line. Things really looked good when Williams took off around the left end for 22 yards to the Bears’ 28-yard line.
But that’s when Chicago cornerback Tyrique Stevenson came up behind Williams and ripped the ball away for essentially a fumble recovery. With that, the Bears only needed five plays to reach the end zone. Caleb Williams connected with a wide-open Rome Odunze, who had gotten behind the defense after Diggs slipped. The receiver raced untouched 35 yards to get the home team on the board first, 7-0.
Perhaps even worse, on the fourth play of Dallas’ next series, Lamb had to leave the game when his left ankle and leg was rolled up on during a tackle. But at least the Cowboys finished the drive with some positive vibes as Brandon Aubrey picked up right where he left off from last week’s heroic performance by kicking a 53-yard field goal.
Unfortunately, the Dallas secondary picked up right where it left off last week as well. After the Giant’s Russell Wilson threw several deep passes for scores against the Cowboys, Williams got his second of the game with a flea-flicker that saw him connect with Burden for a 65-yard touchdown to increase Chicago’s lead to 14-3.
Looking to right the ship, the Cowboys offense found itself on the Bears’ 13-yard line when the second frame got underway. But Dallas couldn’t finish off the 10-play drive in the end zone so settled for another Aubrey field goal, this one from 33 yards out.
It was something to build on, though, and Prescott kept the momentum going on his team’s next possession as he was good on all four of his pass attempts, including a 21-yarder to Pickens. That pair also capped the 57-yard drive with a 2-yard completion that saw the wideout make a one-handed catch for the score. Going for two, Prescott then zipped a pass to Jalen Tolbert in the middle of the end zone to tie the game, 14-14.
Of course, things didn’t get any easier for the Dallas defense as Chicago finished the first half by adding 10 more points. Coordinator Matt Eberflus’ group looked in good shape with the Bears facing third-and-9 at their own 36-yard line, but a screen pass to D’Andre Swift gained 41 yards and an end-around run by receiver Olamide Zaccheaus added another 12 to suddenly put Chicago on the Dallas 11-yard line. There the defense stood its ground, limiting the damage by forcing the Bears to kick a 30-yard field goal.
But the Cowboys couldn’t stop Williams and his offense on their next series. Starting at its own 29-yard line, Chicago went the distance in seven plays with the quarterback completing passes of 13 and 29 yards before finishing things off with a 10-yard completion to tight end Cole Kmet for the touchdown. With that, the Bears went into the break with a 24-14 advantage.
It was more of the same as the second half got underway. After the Cowboys had to punt, the Bears went on a methodical march down the field, eating up nearly 10 minutes off the clock while driving 76 yards in an incredible 19 plays. At one point, Chicago reeled off 11 consecutive run plays as Dallas began to wear down.
The drive eventually ended with Chicago going for it on fourth-and-4 at the Cowboys’ 4-yard line, and Williams found D.J. Moore standing alone in the back of the end zone for the touchdown and an insurmountable 31-14 lead.
And just like the Dallas offense sustained a crucial injury, now the team’s defense was hurting. Both Diggs, who was questionable to play in the game, and Clark were sidelined during the series.
Things just went from bad to worse. On the Cowboys’ ensuing series, Prescott again had the offense on the move, reaching the Bears’ 36-yard line. But a pass to Pickens went off the receiver’s hands and into the diving arms of Chicago linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, the threat coming to an end.
The Cowboys, at least, kept fighting on offense. Prescott led his troops all the way down to the Bears’ 1-yard line, a 37-yard pass to KaVontae Turpin the big gain. But on fourth-and-goal, Prescott’s pass under pressure was picked off in the end zone by Edmunds, Dallas unable to make the final score more reasonable.
With that, Prescott’s day was done as Joe Milton came on for his first action with the Cowboys. He rifled darts to Pickens for 24 yards, wideout Ryan Flournoy for another 11 and what would have been a 38-yarder to tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford, although the latter was negated due to a penalty.
Of course, it was all for naught as Dallas again got inside the red zone but couldn’t get across the goal line. In a fitting end, Milton threw an interception himself to close out a tough day for the Cowboys.
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