The Dallas Cowboys looked to exploit the Chicago Bears‘ rushing defense in this home matchup for the Bears. With back-to-back Javonte Williams runs of 7 and 22 yards, it looked to be another tough day of sledding for Dennis Allen’s defense.Â
That is, until Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson ripped the ball out of Williams’ grasp and gave the Bears the ball around their own 24-yard line.Â
The Chicago Bears and Dallas then traded blows in the 1st half, and it looked like an offensive shootout was in the making.Â
At a score of 17-14 Bears were near the end of the half, and an incredible two-minute drill from Chicago resulted in Caleb Williams finding a wide-open Cole Kmet in the endzone to extend their lead 24-14 going into halftime.
The Bears never looked back after that, winning this one 31-14.
My best and worst from Chicago’s big win over Dallas:
Bears Best Against Dallas
Caleb Williams’ 4 Passing TD performance
Bears QB Caleb Williams likely played the most complete football game of his young career. Williams largely delivered from the pocket, showed greatly improved footwork, and his deep ball accuracy was on display the entire afternoon.
Williams finished the day 19/28 with a 68% completion percentage, 298 Passing Yards, and 4 passing TDs. He also posted a 142.6 passer rating, the highest mark of his career.
 In this win, Caleb distributed the ball to eight different targets and all four of his touchdown throws were to four different receivers.Â
The talk of focusing too much on Rome Odunze was slightly exaggerated. In fact, it was another Bears receiver who led the Bears in yardage Sunday afternoon.
Welcome to the NFL, Luther Burden III
Bears WR Luther Burden III broke into the scene for Chicago in a big way as his first NFL touchdown came in the form of a flea-flicker from D’Andre Swift to Caleb Williams and a 65-yard bomb that Burden was able to haul in for an incredible debut TD from the rookie.
While Burden only tallied three receptions on the day, he ended the afternoon with 3 catches for 101 yards and a score. Burden has quickly gained the trust of this coaching staff and will likely play an increased role in the offensive game plan moving forward.
Bears Offensive Line Performance
The Bears’ offensive line likely played their best game of the season by not allowing a single sack on the day and provided Caleb Williams with ample time to deliver from the pocket against Dallas.Â
Left tackle Braxton Jones also didn’t allow a single pressure, becoming the fourth left tackle this season to do so.
According to Next Gen Stats, that’s an improvement from his team-high 12 pressures from the first two weeks.
As this unit continues to gel, it bodes well for the continued development of Caleb Williams into what we all think he can be under Ben Johnson.
Bears Defense Steps Up
Last week against Detroit, the defense embarrassed itself by allowing 52 points, a mark the Bears hadn’t allowed since 2014 to Green Bay.
After a players’ only meeting on the defensive side of the ball, it appears the unit took that loss personally.Â
LB Tremaine Edmunds racked up two interceptions on the day, CB Tyrique Stevenson was excellent in coverage and forced a fumble early in the matchup, and S Kevin Byard sealed the game with an interception from Joe Milton with less than a minute to go in the game.
The Bears also totaled two sacks on the day from DE Montez Sweat and DE Dominique Robinson.
It was a statement from the unit, and hopefully it will carry into next week against Las Vegas.
Bears’ Worst Against Dallas
The Run Game/Run Defense
On a day of offensive fireworks, the Bears’ run game didn’t have to do much. That’s great, but there needs to be a better balance if this offense wants sustained success. The Bears totaled just 87 yards on the ground in the win over Dallas.
The longest run of the day didn’t even come from a running back as WR Olamide Zaccheaus racked up a 12-yard jet sweep.
I won’t harp on the unit too much after a win, but it’s a factor of this Bears offense that has and will continue to lose the Bears’ games this season.
On the other side of the ball, the Dallas Cowboys pounded the rock, totaling 121 rushing yards against the Bears’ defensive front. For as much money as Chicago has invested in this room, the results are disappointing to say the least.
In Minnesota, they allowed 120 rushing yards. In Detroit, they allowed 178 rushing yards. This is three straight weeks of 100+ rushing yard performances allowed by the Bears’ defense.
Needless to say, that will not be sustainable if this Bears team wants to get back on track.
Thankfully, turnovers cost the Cowboys, and the rushing attack didn’t translate to points.
Final Thoughts
I’ve seen a lot of contextualizing of this Bears win over Dallas. Statements referring to the Cowboys lack of star WR CeeDee Lamb and other injuries on the team.
I’ll just respond by saying the Bears were far from healthy themselves with Jaylon Johnson, TJ Edwards, and Kyler Gordon all out for this matchup. You play who you play with the roster you have.
I’m just happy Chicago responded in a way to being 0-2 that we aren’t accustomed to.
The Chicago Bears are 1-2, on the way to Sin City before their early Week 5 bye.
