Real Bears Issue is Finding Micah Parsons

There are several lopsided matchups facing the Bears in Sunday's game with Dallas but the biggest problem is Micah Parsons against their entire offense.

Perhaps it's been since they last faced Aaron Donald and the Rams that they spoke about an opposing defensive player with such dread.

Micah Parsons awaits them Sunday in Dallas, although they'll probably have a hard time finding him before he strikes.

"He's an animal," running back David Montgomery said. "You can't act like he isn't. He's a dog, so it's going to be a big challenge for us but it's going to be fun and see where we are.

"I feel we'll prepare the best that we can, but we'll all go out and play football."

Parsons is Cowboys' second-year line backer who lines up all over the formation and terrorizes the quarterback. He has eight sacks already, after piling up 13 last year. They need to spot where he is each play.

"It's very important," Montgomery said. "He's one of those guys that you just always keep an eye on, always be sure that you know where he is on the field because he can wreck a game."

It will be up to quarterback Justin Fields and center Sam Mustipher to identify where Parsons lines up each play.

"It's on both of us," Mustipher said. "We've got to ID where that guy is, find out where 11 is on every play.

"Sometimes they run packages where they have D-Law (DE DeMarcus Lawrence) on the same side, sometimes they run packages where they have four D-ends on the field at the same time. Any time you get in a situation like that you've just got to go out and execute, stress and play your fundamentals."

Dominique Robinson and trevis Gibson need to step for the bears, I'd love to see one of those guys really turn up and go to the next level.#Beardown

— JPda1 (@Je1dagr8) October 30, 2022

If there is a key matchup and a rather lopsided one in this game for the Bears, it's Parsons against their whole offense. No one seems to be able to stop him.

There are other mismatches in this game favoring the Cowboys, making it all the tougher for the Bears.

Bears CB Kindle Vildor vs. Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb

Lamb is off to a great start with 37 catches for 479 yards, averaging 12.9 yards a catch, although he has only been in the end zone twice. This has been the problem for the entire Dallas offense. Lamb is 6-foot-2, 189 pounds and Vildor is giving away 3 inches and is experiencing a great turnaround to his career, or perhaps is now developing after being benched last year. He is coming back-to-back strong games and has matched his season career high for pass breakups with four, while lowering his passer rating against to 82.4 and completion percentage against to 60.7, by far career bests. Still, doing it against Lamb, who will line up all over the formation, when the Cowboys have so many weapons will not be the toughest assignment he has faced, with the exception of the instances when he had to cover Justin Jefferson.

Bears WR Dante Pettis vs. Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs

Pettis made a spectacular TD catch against Washington and has begun to make a play or two a game but now he's overmatched going up against the 6-2, 195-pound third-year cornerback who has three interceptions so far after making All-Pro last year with a league-high 11 interceptions. Diggs has a high-risk, high-reward reputation which doesn't seem accurate or fair since his passer rating against last year was 55.8 and this year is 73.9, both outstanding marks. However, he has given up 11 TD passes in three seasons. When targeted, he is giving up 59% completions this year. It's entirely possible the Cowboys could put Diggs on Darnell Mooney all over the field, although their defense probably would function better if they didn't.

Bears DT Justin Jones vs. Cowboys RG Zack Martin

The Bears have performed better against the run in the last two games and much of it has to do with Jones becoming more comfortable in the three-technique role within their offense. He has two sacks and six tackles for loss this season. However, this game he is going against a five-time All-Pro who controls his line battles with a blend of technique, speed and strength. Martin is currently graded as the ninth-best pass blocking guard by Pro Football Focus and 17th best guard overall.

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