Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys didn’t play well on Sunday, losing to the Chicago Bears 31-14. Most expected it to be a good battle as both teams have issues on defense, but it was the Cowboys who showed themselves to be most vulnerable. An injury to a star player early seemed to take the life out of the offense, and it wasn’t very long before this one was unbearable to watch. Here are 10 thoughts on this disappointing defeat on Sunday.
It didn’t last long, but the Cowboys got off to a good start when the defense forced the Bears’ offense to go three and out on their first possession. At least for this brief moment, it was a sign of life that the Cowboys might have corrected some wrongs from their poor display last week. Making things even better is that the offense started off with two nice Javonte Williams runs that moved the ball to the Bears’ 24-yard line. Unfortunately, on the second run the ball was stripped out of his hands, resulting in a turnover. And just like that, the fun was over.
It was the same old for the Cowboys’ defense when it came to avoiding giving up explosive plays. Against the Bears, they surrendered a 35-yard touchdown to Rome Odunze when Trevon Diggs fell down. On the Bears’ next offensive play, they caught the Cowboys’ defense napping when a flea-flicker left rookie receiver Luther Burden III wide open for a 65-yard touchdown.
During the first half, the Cowboys’ defense was bitten by the big plays, but as the game progressed, they proved to be ineffective across the board. Chicago put together a seven-play, 71-yard drive at the end of the first half that felt like a dagger, giving the Bears a 10-point lead. Then, the real dagger came when the Bears put together a 19-play, 76-yard drive that used up almost 10 minutes of the third quarter. The Cowboys’ defense couldn’t get off the field as the Bears just moved down the field methodically.
It’s never a good thing when you lose your biggest playmaker on offense, but that’s exactly what happened early in the game. On a designed run, the team’s star receiver CeeDee Lamb injured his ankle. Lamb tried to return, but it was clear that he wasn’t able to cut effectively, ending his day. Lamb had a streak of four-straight 100-yard games dating back to last season, but that streak is no more.
The game script added a wrinkle to the Cowboys’ game plan when it came to running the ball, but when it was relevant, they looked pretty good. Williams continued to run with power as he had 76 yards on just 10 carries for an efficient 7.6 average. He made the most of his opportunities, lowering his shoulder and keeping his legs churning....
