Instant Analysis: Bears Beat Cowboys 27-20
The Bears beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-20 on the road in Dallas to shock and surprise me and many other fans. Check out the NFL.com highlights here.
Here are some quick bullet points of my immediate reactions:
- Give HUGE credit to Mike Martz and Mike Tice. Early on, Jay Cutler was getting used and abused by the Dallas defense. Give them credit for making some adjustments to hit a few quick-hitting plays and shuffle the deck chairs on the Titanic of an offensive line to slow down the rush and settle the offense down.
- The Bears’ rushing defense is FOR REAL. They allowed a paltry 36 yards rushing to the Cowboys.
- If you missed the RIDICULOUS Devin Hester TD catch, check it out here. Is Hester growing into a legit NFL receiver?
- Someone please put up an Amber Alert for Devin Aromashodu. Although he was active and played on Special Teams, he was not part of the offense. They seemed to do fine without him, but there were moments in the game where I felt a big target would have helped Jay Cutler.
- Speaking of MIA, the Bears’ running attack is stuck in neutral. They gained 38 yards on the ground.
- At the rate at which he’s getting hit, Jay Cutler will not survive the season. Even when he successfully gets the ball away, he’s getting killed.
- DJ Moore had a nice game with a couple of nice INT’s. He also secured the tackle when Peanut Tillman forced another turnover with a punchout late in the game.
- In case there was any doubt, Lance Briggs has taken over as the #1 linebacker on this team. He was all over the place today. He knifed through for a couple more tackles for loss and had a couple of passes defensed to boot. Urlacher was good; Briggs was great.
- A couple of potentially costly injuries with Chris Williams going down with a hammy early in the first quarter. I thought it was whiplash with how fast DeMarcus Ware got around him, but sideline reports confirmed it was a hamstring. Major Wright had a leg injury of his own. I hope this kid isn’t Mike Brown 2.0.
- Special Teams still remain a slight concern. Dez Bryant got loose for a punt return for touchdown. I can’t remember the last time the Bears gave up a special teams score.
I am not sure if the Bears are really this good or the Cowboys are this bad. It doesn’t matter, all that does is that the Bears are 2-0 and tied atop the NFC North with a Monday Night Football date with the Packers next week with sole possession of first place on the line.
Tune in for plenty more analysis of the Bears’ surprising win and a look ahead to Packers week. Get all your Bears news from Bear Goggles On!