Bears and Cowboys Live Blog

Reporting and analysis as the Bears try to win consecutive games for the first time under coach Matt Eberflus by beating the Dallas Cowboys.

Second Half

• Cowboys kill off the clock.  Final score: Cowboys 49, Bears 29
• Mooney 5 catches for 70 yards. Harry two catches 24 yards and a TD. Kmet has two catches for 11 yards and a 10-yard TD.
• Fields went 17 of 23 for 151 yards with two TDs and no interceptions.
• Herbert finished with 99 yards on 16 runs. Montgomery had 53 on 15 runs. Fields 60 yards on eight carries and Jones 33 yards on two runs. 
• This is a great move by Matt Eberflus. Get Fields out of the game. It might seem like a small thing but there have been too many times in recent years when they left starting players on the field late in games already decided and left them prone to injury needlessly. Matt Nagy and John Fox were both good at doing this. Marc Trestman too. Lovie Smith always did it.
• Holy cats, an 83-yard punt into the end zone. The Bears start from the 20. Bears put QB Trevor Siemian in and wave the white flag. Also have Trestan Ebner in at running back. 
• Cowboys finally have to punt after Brisker blitzes and gets a sack. The real question is why they are passing it? They're up 20 with about three minutes left.
• Davis picks up a first down on third down run around the left side. Again, Roquan not near that one.
• All of those great defensive stats the Bears had built up over the last three games have disappeared with this one. 
• A positive: Although they lost, the Bears managed to get in a lot of offensive play reps. The defense gave up so many big gains and touchdowns that the offense was back on the field quickly and running plays. If that's a plus. The Bears have 14 more minutes of possession time than the Cowboys. Too bad you can't trade that in for points.
• Pettis wrestles away a catch but it's short of the sticks and Dallas takes over the ball. That one does it, as if there was a doubt.
• A third-and-11 screen is batted down and Bears face fourth-and-11.
• Kind of surprising, Parsons played the shovel pass perfectly to Kmet. There has been so much bad defense in this game on both sides that when something is done right it really stands out. 
• This time the direct snap works for a first down to Montgomery but Dallas doesn't care because it keeps the clock running.
• Smart play. Fields throws one at sideline to Pettis short of sticks just to set up a fourth down and short, fourth-and-3. If Fields forced it downfield incomplete, or eve an interception.
• Lawrence sacks Fields back at the 34.
• Bears on first down and Fields does something every Bears fan must hope he has finally learned ... how to throw the ball away after scrambling behind the line with no one open and the rush coming. He just dumped it off to no one because he was out of the pocket. Great decision.
• Harry interferred with. A terrible call. The ball was overthrown and Brown barely touched him inconsequentially. 
• Herbert held to 5 yards on his next two runs and Bears face third-and-5.
• Herbert breaks off a 35-yard run to the 40.
• Bears gamble and blitz off the right side. Wrong place to blitz. The run was going around left end and Pollard runs all the way for a touchdown. Cowboys 49, Bears 29
• Smith tackles Davis but he gets all the way within a yard of the sticks. Third-and-1.
• They'll turn in a stat sheet at the end with 15 tackles or something ridiculous for Roquan Smith but he's had no impact, in fact, negative impact.
• Pollard cuts back and no one is home on run to the 37.
• Bears at a point where they need to be reaching for that football.
• Trestan Ebner with a vicious tackle on the kick return near the 21. Hit like a linebacker on that one.
• Pass to Mooney on the roll fails. Cowboys 42, Bears 29
• Second-and-4 at the 10. Cole Kmet ends the drought. His first TD catch since 2020. Play-action to the side and Fields put it in nice and soft. They'll go for two to get within two scores. 
• Jayron Kearse now injured again, this time trying to stop Herbert on a 6-yard run around the left side.
• Bears first down at the 16. Wilson out of the game for Dallas, pulled something it appeared while running Fields out of bounds for a 12-yard gain.
• Bears with 192 yards rushing. Fields with 60. 
• Jones is so good with those end arounds, they should start using him like Deebo Samuel in the backfield, as well.
• Fields keeps it on the RPO and this time is smart about it and runs out of bounds after he gets the first down. Broke DeMarcus Lawrence's tackle and then went upfield and OB
• Third-and-8 after Herbert gets stuck on a run blitz.
• The play by Fields still is rather hard to believe, that he could let Parsons just sit there on his knees untouched and leap over him, allowing him to run it back for a TD.
•  Game has degenerated into a free-for-all. 
• RPO and Fields gives it to Kearse, who blasts for 13. Second-and-7 and the Bears are at the 27 of Dallas as quarter ends.
• Montgomery bounces an inside run to the outside but they catch Braxton Jones holding. Not a good call. Parsons did the holding.
• Getsy goes run up the middle on third down and catches Dallas personnel by surprise for the first down. Kearse leaving injured. Teven Jenkins has returned for the Bears and replaced Eiselen.
• Toss left to Montgomery is a TFL by Kearse. That's a useless play now down 19.  
• Fields nearly picked, dangerous pass to Mooney beating the blitz by Kearse for a second time with a sidearm throw for 8 yards.
• On third-and-8 after Diggs nearly picks one off, Fields hits Mooney in Dallas territory at the sidelines for a gain of 17.
• Nice end around from Jones again and a first down. He has a knack for that play. It's at the Bears 36.
• Dieter Eiselen now on for Teven Jenkins.
• The spot foul makes it first-and-11 for the Bears at the 36.
• Offense back on field at their 25 after touchback and Fields breaks an RPO run but a holding call on Cole Kmet brings it back. Pretty suspect call. Not much happened. 
• Fields must think he's still in college and the play is dead when a player hits the ground untouched. Looked like Eddie Jackson letting players lay untouched on the ground. Cowboys 42, Bears 23
• Offense with a play they will be getting flak for from coaches. Fumbled reception by Montgomery and Parsons picked it up. No one touched him down and he ran it all the way back for a touchdown. Fields jumped over Parsons to avoid the contact, in fact.
• Wesco isn't split out enough and the Bears get a false start from him. Third-and-17.
• Montgomery gets back some of the sack yardage and it's third-and-12.
• Bears with boot action and it blows up with a sack. That's not going to work when you're down 12. It's pocket or rollout.
• Pollard breaks up the middle for a TD. No Roquan Smith tackle as he had his arms around Pollard. Not exactly seeing the big game you'd expect from a linebacker who thinks he should be the game's highest paid. Season high points allowed by the Bears. Cowboys 35, Bears 23
• Another bootleg off a hard toss fake and Lamb catches it at the 8 for a first down. Fields should watch how Prescott runs the bootleg. His faking and when he throws it are fare superior to what Fields does. 
• They haven't been able to get Turpin going on returns but he takes an end-around toss for a first down at the 19 around left end. 
• Schultz with a 30-yard catch and then 16 more on a bootleg pass as they answer the Bears drive.
• Cowboys face third-and-9
• DeMarcus Lawrence untouched for the sack on the two-point try. How does that guy go untouched? Cowboys 28, Bears 23
• Herbert cuts it back up the middle and 12 yards surge to the end zone to get the Bears back within 28-23. They'll go for two.
• Some great blast blocking up front for a first down by Herbert at the 12.
• A Mahomes style throw from Fields sidearm to get it to Mooney going OB at the 17 against the blitz.
• Darnell Mooney a big gain on play-action. A 36-yard gain to the 25
• Replay overturns it and the Bears get the ball back. He did retain possession but it really wasn't a good view of the ball.
• McCarthy trying to point at the replay and convince the side judge it's their ball. It might be but the side judge isn't giving it to him.
• First down fumble by Khalil Herbert and Vander Esch recovers. Play being reviewed. I doubt they can see much from that to overturn the call on the field of a fumble.
• So far special teams has been about even or slightly in the favor of the Bears in what special teams coordinator Richard Hightower thought might be their biggest test of the year.
• Great punt for Dallas and the Bears are set back at their own 38 to start the drive. Punting from in the end zone the Bears could have expected something near midfield. 
• Jaylon Johnson breaks up the slant. They targeted the wrong cornerback.
• Bears come out fired up on defense and Brisker with a TFL for a yard loss at the 5. Then he makes the tackle on a short timing pass leaving Dallas third-and-4
• By all rights this should be a sack fest by now but Fields' speed and some good play by the line so far has kept it going. 
• Not the best play-calling series for Luke Getsy coming out of the locker room. You would have expected something a little more creative on third-and-2 1/2 than that run by Montgomery, even if it was a direct snap with Fields next to him. Any play that doesn't first touch Fields' hands is a wasted play, unless he's not in the game and they're going pure wildcat.
• Turpin botched up the punt return, let it hit the ground and the Bears down it at the 5. They actually could have let it roll a few more yards to the 2 or 3 but didn't.
• On third-and-3, Montgomery takes a direct snap and Dallas has a three-and-out. That's fine if the Bears defense is going to show up in the second half.
• They gave him a nice slpot for 4 and then Herbert takes a toss outside for 6.
• Bears start at their 25 and Montgomery cuts a toss inside for a couple.

Halftime

So much for the under. That tied the most points in a half this season in the league.

Fields 8 of 11 for 46 yards and 42 yards rushing on six attempts. He had one deep ball for the taking and didn't get it there and another Velus Jones should have been able to hold as he went to the turf. Considering they've been outgained 278 yards to 141, the Bears are fortunate to be within 11. Their defense has been better in the second half of games but they could be better in this game's second half and it still wouldn't be good enough. They'll have to be a LOT better. 

Second Quarter 

• Fields scramble nets just 3 and then Cowboys force a field goal try of 36 yards. It's 18 in a row. Cowboys 28, Bears 17

• Fields takes two shots at the end zone and Cowboys knock away both but an offsides makes it seocnd-and-5 with 15 seconds left.

• Bojack! Eddie Jackson with the pick as Dak Prescott gets greedy and tries to go deep over the middle yet again. Bears ball at the Dallas 23 after the return.

• These are a big 40 seconds for this game. The Bears are getting the ball to start the second half. If they can prevent a score, go into the locker room and regroup on defense, they might make a game of it. If they can't stop Dallas here, second half could be a total joke.

• I have to give some credit here to Chris Morgan for getting this offensive line ready. There are three subs playing, or really two plus Sam Mustipher, who has been starting but was supposed to be a sub. They are managing to provide time and some running room even with Dallas teeing off on defense.

• Fields to N'Keal Harry coming across the field and has a TD. But they left Prescott 40 seconds to dice up their defense some more. Cowboys 28, Bears 14

• I wouldn't call that a penalty but the officials are calling all of those penalties now.

• Fields picked by Diggs as he was hit while throwing but Gholston hit him too high on the play and the Cowboys get a roughing penalty. Hit him up near the neck.

• False start on Pettis as they try to throw another wide receiver screen to the left so they're back at the Dallas 32.

• Montgomery gets the first down on second-and-3 and the Bears are inside of one minute at the Dallas 27.

• Fields with a wide receiver screen to N'Keal Harry for 7. Fields'throw was behind Harry or it could have gone for a first down. He had to stop and reach back for it.

• If Quinn ever gets some really good defensive tackles, and I'm not talking about Hankins or some second-hand player but a draft pick, that Dallas defense will entirely tough to stop.

• Fields hits EQ, who apparently is OK. He gets 6 going OB. Then Fields makes a beautiful fake as if to pass on a scramble and buys himself time in the open field to gain the yards for the first down. This is something new from him. Previously, it was spinning and cutting to avoid the rush, but being headsy enough to fake on the run has not been seen to date. Hopefully he keeps that in his game. It works all the time for Aaron Rodgers.

• Perfect deep ball off play action and Velus Jones has a step or so but can't hang on as he is going to the turf on a dive.

• Gambling from their own 45, they run a toss left to Montgomery and he breaks in behind Braxton Jones and gives a good second effort for the first down.

• Bears stubbornly stick to the ground on third-and-4 and get 3. Will they punt?

• Bears face third-and-4.

• Mooney was blocking Trevon Diggs on a Herbert run and let off him after a 1-yard gain. If he blocks that another second then maybe it goes for 5 yards or more.

• Student body blocking left, the wide zone plus a fullback. Gains 5.

• Bears at their own 36.

• Cowboys line up offsides on third down incompletion for a first down.

• Toss left to Herbert nets 7 and Bears face third-and-3.

• Khalil Herbert stacked up on first down. So far he hasn't gotten the chance to break out.

• Velus Jones back on kick return but it goes out of the end zone.

• One-yard play-action pass to Jake Ferfuson for a TD. Cowboys 28, Bears 7

• Cowboys have first-and-goal inches away after replay overturn.

• Justin Fields can't tackle Cowboys too.

• You could see this coming a mile away. Short work week. Trade of a beloved player in the locker room. And they're playing a good opponent on the road.

• After a 4-yard Prescott run, Prescott hits Davis flaring out of the backfield and he dives to the pylon for a TD before Jaylon Johnson can stop him. Play being reviewed at the goal line. Looks like he was inches short.

• Nice pass to CeeDee Lamb as he steps into the throw without a hand in his face and it's a first down at the Bears 15.

• Officials with another mistake. Prescott should have been flagged for grounding but got away with it for an incompletion.

• Jones gets a good tackle in on second down and leaves Cowboys facing third-and-8. They pick up the blitz and Lamb catches it for the sixth third-down conversion in six trie at the Cowboys 43.

• Cowboys had receiver going in motion toward the line on an incompletion and no penalty called. Officials never call that anymore. It's a sign of their utter and general incometence.

• Dallas going for its fourth TD in four possessions.

• Gunners do a poor job overrunning KaVontae on the kick but the rest of the coverage gets there to shut it down.

• Not sure what the Bears were doing but they tried a double pass that was totally botched and St. Brown suffered an injury trying to do it. To top it off, they were penalized on the play for an illegal forward pass. So they'll punt.

• Fields sacked as Teven Jenkins is beaten. PFF has been refusing to give Jenkins credit for a sack allowed this year but if they don't give him that one then they need to shut that operation down.

• Apparently Eddie Jackson inflicted some pain on that QB sneak. He stepped on Prescott's left hand on the sidelines. But it was the right hand Prescott had injured earlier this season. Prescott appears fine.

• Maybe Williams should let Eberflus call the defenses?

• Alan Williams' ability to come up with schemes against decent quarterbacks has to be questioned at this point.

• Pollard has holes off the right side of the Bears line and goes all the way 18 yards for the TD. That didn't take long. Cowboys 21, Bears 7

• Prescott runs a simple QB sneak and the Bears forget to tackle the QB. He runs it all the way to the 18 for 25 yards.

• Lamb beat Vildor on the slant for 7 and it's third-and-1.

• Nothing has changed as Gallup beats Vildor for big gain of 17 on second-and-4 before Jackson gets there. Dallas at its 48.

• Fields runs in around left end for the TD, much like last week. Good way to slow the Cowboys' momentum. Fields looked pretty sneaky as he peeked around before taking the snap to run in. A 12-play, 75-yard drive and only 7 through the air. Cowboys 14, Bears 7.

• Montgomery powers to within inches then the help arrives in the form of Teven Jenkins and Sam Mustipher pushing the pile for a first down.

First Quarter

• Now they need the defense to respond the same way. So far, it's been automatic for Prescott in that no-huddle or up-tempo attack. Quick read, quick step and throw. It doesn't leave time for the Bears to get there, and they didn't show much ability to do it anyway. They did blitz a few times the first two series but didn't get close to Prescott, who isn't like the two immobile Patriots passers or Carson Wentz. He can actually elude the rush like Fields.
• Hole opened briefly off the left side for Montgomery and he gets 4 but Dallas did a good job of closing quickly. Quarter ends.
• Fields scrambles for the first down to the 18 on another third-down pickup. Then Montgomery breaks tackles to gain 4 to the 14.
• Teven Jenkins' helmet gets ripped right off on a QB run up the middle that didn't happen. Hankins, who just came there from the Raiders, yanked it off of him.  Yeah, I'm not running that quarterback run up the middle with 340-pound Hankins there.
• Montgomery cuts it back on stretch right and gains 6 to keep ahead of the chains.
• Fields with a dumb play. He scrambles for the first down, then stays in bounds and tries for another 5 and takes a hit from behind when he could have been hurt or fumbled. He got lucky. Bears at the Dallas 38.
• Misdirection on fake toss and Dallas plays it really well. That play would have broken wide open Monday night. Bears get a 5-yard completion out of it to Pettis.
• Velus Jones with the first big Bears play. They run the end-around and he gets some tight end blocking for a first down to the 43.
• TD catch looks like Brisker's fault for not recognizing what Lamb was doing.
• So far it looks like 7-on-7 for Prescott, who has only one incompletion when he was near the goal line on the first drive. 
• Plenty of time to throw and Prescott finds Lamb on the post open for the TD with 5:19 left, right between Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker.  Cowboys 14, Bears 0
• Running CeeDee Lamb out of the backfield and it gains just a 1, a rather stupid use of a good receiver.  Then the Bears run defense becomes stout as Al-Quadin Muhammad stops Davis for no gain to force third-and-9.
• Bears defense not adapting well to the no-huddle, just like against the Vikings. Back-to-back 8-yard Schultz catches and then a skinny post to Gallup at the Bears 22.
• Tight end Dalton Schultz with the 8-yard catch as they quickly go no-huddle again.
• Bears tackling on a wide receiver screen leaves much to be desired as they had the play stacked up but gave up a first down anyway.
• Cowboys at their 31 after a fair catch.
• That punt is on Fields. He had EQ a couple of steps beyond coverage and didn't throw it soon enough. By waiting, the coverage caught up and then Fields underthrew it anyway. But a missed opportunity.
• The penalty kills the drive by putting the Bears in a third-and-19 situation from their own 16 and they manage to get a screen off to Montgomery that gains some yards back from the penalty but they are forced to punt. Micah Parsons with a good rush on the play.
• Dante Pettis gets open on the scramble drill kind of questionable on the play but he was blocking prior to the pass so it was easy to see why they would call it.
• Fields underthrows Equanimeous St. Brown on the deep ball. EQ was open.
• The key play on that drive was the run for 17 yards right where Robert Quinn usually played. Robinson didn't get blown off the ball, but was caught lurching inside and then walled off so the hole was huge.  Quinn has been caught on a similar play this year.
• On third down Dak Prescott runs in from the 7 on a play that looked like some of those the Bears have been using and it's Cowboys 7, Bears 0
• Prescott didn't have patience to wait for Gallup on second down as he rolled out to throw and he threw incomplete.
• Malik Davis to the 8 on a run up the middle. Bears defense looks like it did early against Vikings.
• Prescott with a very simple play, waited Bears to drop off in coverage and he hits Pollard underneath for catch-and-run to the 15. 
• Eddie Jackson saves a TD after Dominique Robinson is blocked out of DE position for a big hole. A 17-yard run to the Bears 31.
• Then the Cowboys come out and get delay of game after the first down.
• Good diving catch on a low slant by Dak Prescott to Michael Gallup. That Gallup situation has been slow to activate after his injury but he looked good on that third down.
• Dallas left in third-and-6 after TFL by Nick Morrow on second down.
• Two solid low tackles force Cowboys into third-and-2, one by Kindle Vildor on Michael Gallup and the other by Armon Watts on Tony Pollard, but then Pollard gains the yards needed for the first down to extend first drive. Dallas going no-huddle to limit Bears substituting. 
• Bears kicking off and that's the best way to combat KaVontae Turpin. Don't let him return it. Cairo Santos kicks it out of the end zone.

Pregame

• All sorts of speculation the Bears would trade Roquan Smith. Don't see it happening. The Quinn trade made sense. Unless you had someone with the ability to finish the season as a good weakside linebacker, then it makes no sense. They don't have that person. They did have people who could be edge players and do it as well as what Quinn was doing. They were even more productive than Quinn had been. Then again, if someone offered them a first-rounder and another pick for him, that would be another matter entirely but seriously doubt anyone would do that.

• Dallas caused five turnovers last week against Detroit. All five of them came in the second half.

• People seem to like the idea of running it. I would too if I saw Micah Parsons coming.

Inactives

Bears

• DB Lamar Jackson

• T Larry Borom

• WR Isaiah Coulter

• TE Jake Tonges

Cowboys

• RB Ezekiel Elliott

• WR Noah Brown

• DE Sam Williams

• S Malik Hooker

• DT Trysten Hill

• LB Jabril Cox

• QB Will Grier

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