Chicago Bears: What to look for in Week 8 matchup vs. Cowboys

Can the offense repeat last week’s success?

We finally saw an overall good performance by the Chicago Bears offense last week. The unit raked up 390 total yards. It was one short of their total from the week before against the Washington Commander.

The difference between the two games, though, was that against the Patriots the offense made it to the end zone. Against the Commanders, the Bears could only muster seven points. Against the Patriots, however, they already had 10 points after just two drives.

The Cowboys have a stingy defense. As I mentioned, they rank second in points given up, averaging just 14.9 points per game. They have a superior pass rush that will really test the Chicago Bears’ offensive line.

The line continues to undergo changes. Lucas Patrick made his first start at center last week but it was short-lived. He left the game with a toe injury. That injury has now landed him on injured reserve. That means we likely have to continue to deal with Sam Mustipher at center. He has struggled there all last year and into this year. There were moments in the game last week in which he looked confused. He didn’t have anyone to block and found himself out of position. At one point, he ended up with his back turned to the defense and got in the way of Justin Fields, who was trying to run.

Hopefully, the line can hold up with all the pressure. They still gave up four sacks against the Patriots, and now have allowed 27, the most in the NFL. The Cowboys’ defense leads the league in sacks with 29. This may be tough to watch.

The one area the Bears can exploit is the ground game. Chicago leads the league in rushing and the Cowboys defense ranks 19th in yards and 17th in yards per carry allowed.

The Cowboys have especially been suspect against quarterbacks running. They haven’t really played against quarterbacks who are as mobile and athletic as Fields and have had their troubles playing against them.

Fields will give the Cowboys some problems with his legs. Last week the coaching staff finally designed running plays for him. They doubled the number of designed runs called from the previous six games. That definitely worked, as Fields was the Bears’ leading rusher for the game.

The Patriots’ defense is similar to the Cowboys with their struggles against running quarterbacks. They had no answer for Fields. The Bears hope for a repeat of that this week.

Fields’ legs could help slow down Dallas’ ferocious pass rush. If they become too concerned with FIelds’ running it could open things up downfield.

In order for that to happen, offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy needs to add in more quick passes. Throwing curls, slants, and screens are high-percentage passes that will get Fields in a good rhythm.

While Getsy did call more running plays last week, he still has a tendency to leave Fields in the pocket. I get that the coaching staff wants to develop Fields into a more complete quarterback but part of that should have been general manager Ryan Poles getting more help on the offensive line.

No, not all the sacks are on the line, but a great deal of them are. There are moments when the line is so overwhelmed that no one under center could have time to throw. Until the line is improved and becomes just decent, having Fields stay in the pocket is a recipe for disaster. He’s taken a beating in the pocket. Getsy needs to move the pocket and utilize FIelds’ legs. If the receivers cannot get open Fields could just take off. In any case, it gives him additional time to find someone.

Talking about screens, it is very confusing as to why the play-calling is going away from David Montgomery. He is still getting his touches on the ground, but suddenly he is non-existent in the passing game. Fields and Montgomery have had success with the screen. In fact, Montgomery was the leading receiver in Chicago’s Week 5 loss against the Minnesota Vikings.

The screen pass to Montgomery was instrumental in the Bears’ comeback. For some reason, however, Getsy has gone away from it. In the past two weeks, Montgomery has been targeted just one time (a screen for 13 yards). He had no targets last week. Khalil Herbert was targeted twice against the Patriots. He caught a screen and took it 25 yards for a touchdown.

Montgomery has to be more involved in the passing game. The receivers aren’t doing a very good job of getting open so if Montgomery can be FIelds’ safety valve Getsy has to exploit it. Herbert is not as accomplished as a pass-catcher.

This is a game that could look ugly from start to finish. The Dallas defense has the capability to overwhelm the Bears’ offense and demoralize the team right from the start. We have seen this team stand up after getting hit, though. The Vikings were thoroughly crushing them before they finally got things going. Last week, the Patriots answered the Bears’ 10 quick points by scoring two quick touchdowns and taking the lead. Chicago came off the floor again and ended up winning going away.

Hopefully, we see this Chicago Bears team continue to grind and make a game of it. If the defense can keep it close and the offense finds the end zone, who knows what could happen?