NFL
By: Kristy Love
The Chicago Bears shocked a lot of people with an impressive win in Foxborough against the New England Patriots. The Bears had their best game of the season by far. They passed the ball, they were 10/11 on third down conversations, and 5 of the 10 third downs were converted by Justin Fields rushing to get the first down. While everything went well on Monday night, they will face a team who has the number one defense in the league.
Chicago Bears offense
The Chicago Bears have an identity with the run game. They run the ball effectively through RB David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert. They also have a triple threat with QB Justin Fields and how he uses his legs to get a first down. Montgomery and Herbert combined for 27 carries and 124 rushing yards in Monday’s night win. Fields added 14 rushing attempts for 82 yards which confirm that the Bears have the best running game in the NFL. The Bears also rank 1st in rushing offense in the league.
The Bears coaching staff has finally gone off script Monday and had drawn up designed plays for Fields and it worked out effortlessly. Fields was able to connect with his receivers, and they were able to get the ball in the red zone. That was something the Bears were struggling with in the past couple of games.
With that being said, the Bears offensive line HAS to protect Fields in the pocket as Dallas has one of the best end pass rushing in the league. Through 7 weeks, we have seen Fields taking hit after hit and that continued into Monday game, unfortunately. With minor changes to the line, hopefully, the offense can protect fields a little better.
Dallas Offense
Dak Prescott is continuing to get his rhythm back after missing 5 weeks with a fractured thumb injury. With Prescott returning, one thing he is able to do is move in and out of the pocket well. Prescott has the agility to get out of the pocket quickly and connect with his receivers such as CeeDee Lamb. Lamb is in his third year in his career and he is Dallas top receiver. Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott is dealing with a knee injury and he was limited at practice this week. However, with him missing practices he is still able to suit up on Sunday. So with that, Tony Pollard may have his second career start in his 4 years of being in the NFL.
Dallas Defense
As stated above, Dallas is leading the league in defense which ranks 6th in yards allowed with 305.3 yards per game. This also includes sacks as Dallas defense has a total of 29 sacks with a percentage of 12.4% sacks per pass attempt. As the Bears passing game has been struggling all year, this is something the Bears will have capitalized on come Sunday.
Speaking of sacks, Micah Parsons is tired for 2nd in the NFL with 7 sacks and 3rd with 8 tackles for loss. Even though the Cowboys almost lost to a now 1-5 Detroit Lions team, the defense is what helps them seal a win against their opponent.
Chicago Defense
The Chicago Bears defense currently ranks 7th in points allowed (18.9 ppg), are third in passing defense, and rank 12th overall in defense. So with the offensive inconsistencies, the Bears defense is pretty solid as they come. They’re 5th in takeaways and leading the pack in takeaways is Roquan smith. Alongside him is safety Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker. If they can have a big effective game as they had on Monday, they can definitely slow down Dallas offensive.
Overall if the Bears can carry that momentum from Monday’s win over the Patriots into Sunday’s matchup against Dallas, they have a fair shot at winning. The Cowboys are clearly everyone’s top pick to win but do not underestimate the Bears run game and defense.
The Game will be at AT&T Stadium and kickoff is set for 12 PM CST on Fox.
