The Dallas Cowboys had a disappointing 7-10 record last year and there was not a lot of optimism at the start of the season. They traded All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers and they dropped their season opener. They rebounded with a 40-37 overtime triumph in Week 2 against the New York Giants and can improve to 2-1 if they can beat the Chicago Bears.
The Bears hired Ben Johnson as their latest head coach with the belief that he could have a dramatic influence on No. 1 pick Caleb Williams and turn him into a winning NFL quarterback. The Bears thought they had plenty of talent on the offensive side to help him get there and that the defense would do a solid job and support him effectively.
It has not been a good start for Johnson. Williams has shown some improvement, but the Bears have lost their first two games in disappointing fashion. They had control of their opener against the Minnesota Vikings for three quarters before falling apart in the fourth quarter and dropping the nationally televised Monday night game.
The Bears got blown out on the road in Week 2, getting hammered 52-21 by the Detroit Lions. The defense has been generous, giving up more points than any other team in the league through the first two weeks.
The Cowboys will try to follow up their win over the Giants by attacking the Bears’ vulnerable defense.
The Cowboys have a dynamic passing attack with Dak Prescott under center along with wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens as well as tight end Jake Ferguson. The Bears’ defense appears to have multiple holes and the secondary is not at full strength due to injuries.
The Bears are not good enough to stop the Cowboys passing game and that will be their fatal flaw in this game.
Johnson unhappy with his Bears’ effort
Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
After the loss to the Lions, Johnson said he thought Detroit played harder than the Bears. As the week of practice leading up to the Week 3 game, the head coach explained what he was seeing from his team when he looked at the game film.
“Every week there’s good stuff on tape, and there’s not enough good stuff on tape,” he said. “When you win, those mistakes get minimized, and when you lose, those mistakes get magnified. Those mistakes are loud and clear right now. We’re making too many of them, and they’re of the giant variety.”
Tight end Cole Kmet said that Johnson was not pulling any punches with his team behind closed doors. “You guys get the PG version,” Kmet said to the Chicago Sun-Times. “I expect there to be transparency between what he says to us and what he says to you guys. And he’s not wrong. He has a high standard of what things need to look like, and we’re just not there at the moment.”
Even with a better effort, the Bears appear to be up against it. Injuries in the secondary to Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Jones mean that the struggling defense won’t be anywhere near its best against the Cowboys.
Cowboys are coming off 40-point effort in Week 2
Prescott threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns as he completed 38 of 52 passes in the triumph over the Giants. Lamb rebounded from a troubling effort in Week 1 that included three dropped passes. He caught 9 passes for 112 yards against the Giants, but he did not get into the end zone. He is significantly faster than any of the defensive backs that will try to slow him down
Ferguson caught 9 passes for 78 yards and showed the ability to get open whenever Prescott looked his way. Pickens caught 6-68 and caught a touchdown pass from Prescott. Fellow wideout KaVontae Turpin also caught a scoring pass.
The Cowboys have the weapons in the passing game to send the Bears to a third consecutive defeat.
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