Chicago Bears: Cornelius Lucas will be put to the test
If the Chicago Bears want a win against the Dallas Cowboys, Cornelius Lucas will have to have a big say in the game
6-6 is not where the Chicago Bears thought that they would be at this point in the season. However, it is fair to say that they also did not think the right side of their offensive line would look this way.
Their biggest weakness coming into the season was offensive line depth, and it had a team relying on the oft-injured Kyle Long. To the surprise of no one, Long got injured, and without depth, Rashad Coward has been asked to step in.
The transition has had its ups and downs, and Coward has played reasonably well for his expectations. However, the expectations were low. Adding to this issue is Bobby Massie’s missing time with an ankle injury.
This has caused Cornelius Lucas, who has 12 starts in eight years to make his fourth start this season. Lucas has held up in his limited time this season, but will not have faced a task like Demarcus Lawrence.
Lawrence has 24 sacks in the past two years, and five this season. While this year is a bit of a low for his standards, he still has recorded a QB hit in every game since Week 7. Lawrence is a physical specimen and now is in a positive matchup.
The Bears will need to give Lucas help. They will use JP Holtz and Jesper Horsted to chip, as well as Tarik Cohen and David Montgomery. Lining Cohen up on the right side and throwing to him can have Lawrence stop from pinning his ears back, as he has to change direction to chase the back.
Even lining Anthony Miller up in the slot, and having him chip Lawrence before running a short route over the middle of the field can help.
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Rolling out Trubisky and quick passes are expected. The team has to limit one-on-one matchups between Lawrence and Lucas. If they can do this, it could help lead to a win.