Gene Chamberlain/Bearmaven
GAMEDAY Open Thread/Live Blog: Bears 31, Cowboys 24 Final | Week 14
Bears lead 24-7 third quarter after Anthony Miller's 14-yard TD catch.
8:18: Dallas first possession of second half starts at 29 and they go nowhere in three downs. Bears have it again at 33.
7:41: Trubisky tries running an option again and loses a yard around right end. Dumps it off to Cohen for 3-yard gain. Cohen has to lead league in 3-yard passes. Mitch got away with one. Tried throwing right into the teeth of the zone to Robinson and it got tipped, which is just what the Cowboys want. But no one was able to get the ball. Bears punt to Dallas 16.
6:20: Prescott 6 of 16 for 60 going into this drive. Elliot tries cutting back outside which is where Bears usually are vulnerable. Floyd wipes him out. Third-and-3 at the 23. Mack sacks Prescott from behind and forces punt. Cohen with a nifty move and gets an 11-yard punt return.
Bears in great field position again at their own 46.
4:20: Wide receiver screen to Robinson gets 6. Good blocking downfield by J.P. Holtz, who has made some nice receptions too. Montgomery powers off right guard for 4 and a first down. Bears at Dallas 44. Montgomery refuses to go down and has the ball stripped and Dallas has it at the Dallas 46. This is the break the Cowboys were looking for to get back into this game.
2:58: Third down inclompletion Bilal Nichols knocks it down. Dallas going for fourth-and-4 at Bears 47. Prescott hits 22 -yard pass to the Bears 26, then gets off a beautiful pass to Michael Gallup at the Bears 12 for 15 as he's being sacked. Elliott goes forward to the 5 for 6 yards.
Fourth Quarter
15:00: Cowboys get the touchdown on a 2-yard Ezekiel Elliott run and Brett Maher's conversion kick makes it Bears 24, Cowboys 17.
54-yard drive after the lost fumble by David Montgomery.
14:55: Maher kicks it out of bounds trying to get cute with Patterson and now the Bears have it at the 40.
Dallas had gone four games without getting a turnover but have both a fumble recovery and interception in this one.
Montgomery for 5 around left tackle on first down, then the Cowboys get called for pass interference on Byron Jones at the Dallas 45.
Mitchell Trubisky not moving around as much in this half with the pocket, but does it on his own to the left and puts it up for grabs but Robinson hauls it in for 22 yards to the Dallas 23. A really bad decision but it worked. Trubisky with the read option 23 yards for a touchdown. Bears lead 31-14. 3-play, 60-yard drive with a defensive penalty. The Cowboys are right back where they were before their touchdown drive after Montgomery's fumble.
At this point, I think Prescott is going to get a big dose of Mack.
If you didn't see my tweet before the game and you like making wagers, I practically gave you the over on this game. Six games with an average of 55.5 points between these two heading into the game. And tonight were at 45 right now.
Prescott has forever to throw and threw incomplete. Grounding penalty on Prescott when he was being sacked by Aaron Lynch. He got outside the pocket, but there was no receiver and he didn't get the ball to the line of scrimmage.
Incomplete, Floyd, blitzing Pierre-Louis and Mack all had a chance at him. Mack went for the ball. Cowboys punting.
I think Chris Emma from the Score was the only Chicago media person to pick the Bears. We've all got egg on our faces right now.
Bears with the ball at the 47 12:50 left. More great field position. This is the best field position the Bears have had all year.
12:50: Bears will no doubt try to work on the clock here with a three-score lead. Three-and-out just doesn't do it. Dallas ball after a punt.
11:21: Dallas drives to the Bears 48 but faces fourth-and-4 and Prescott panics with the rush closing in and overthrows Elliott, who wouldn't have had the first down anyway. Bears ball at their own 48.
9:09: Dallas drives to a TD by Amari Cooper on an 19-yard pass from Prescott over Toliver. First drive all game where Toliver looked overmatched as Prince Amukamara's replacement.
Bears injuries piling up. Aaron Lynch went out after a pass rush with six minutes left and Roy Robertson Harris went out as well, but Roberston-Harris returned. Bears have ball at their own 37 with 4:23 remaining and a 31-21 lead. Dallas has all its timeouts remaining and they're using them now. Trubisky looking like Aaron Rodgers, fakes a run at the line and then hits Horsted on the run for a first down to keep the clock running. Dallas uses its final timeout. Bears facing third-and-7 at the Dallas 45. They run it and punt to the 10. Dallas in scramble mode now with a running clock. For the Bears, it's just keep the gains short and tackle them in bounds.
Under a minute now and Dallas at its own 35 trailing 31-21.
What you have to take away from this for the Bears is Trubisky really has improved, and this time he did it against a zone team which is not something he'd done before. You can rip Dallas all you want, but they were .500 division leader and the Bears are losing players left and right. And Trubisky rose to the occasion. Dallas receiver Cedrick Wilson injured going for a bomb with 20 seconds left in the end zone. Ugly looking left-leg injury. Cowboys settle for a 31-yard field goal with eight seconds left and will try an onside kick. I guess that's good strategy. Looks kind of pointless.
Bears' Anthony Miller recovers the onside kick.
Bears 31, Cowboys 24 Final
