DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys head into their bye week feeling good after beating the Chicago Bears 49-29 on Sunday.
The offensive explosion represented the first 40-point game for the Cowboys this season, who are riding a two-game winning streak with quarterback Dak Prescott back under center.
Week 8 was a game full of momentum swings for the Cowboys, who started out hot, cooled off after some sloppy play, but then turned it on again to pull away late. The team will take the positives from the win, but there is a major issue for the Cowboys to address during their week off after the Bears ran through the defense like a knife through hot butter.
Here is what we learned about the Cowboys in the Week 8 win over the Bears:
Prescott is truly back
The Cowboys waited five weeks for their leader to return, and the results were uneven in the Week 7 victory over Detroit. However, Prescott appeared to shake off the rust in his second start since the thumb injury.
The two-time Pro Bowl quarterback was nearly perfect in the first half, tossing two touchdowns and running for a third score, as Dallas built a big lead. The only imperfection was an interception over the middle of the field late in the second quarter.
Prescott wasn’t tasked with doing too much in the last 30 minutes, but when he was needed, he delivered. When the Bears narrowed the lead to five points, Prescott engineered a seven-play, 75-yard drive. On the possession, Prescott moved the offense through the air, going 3-of-4 for 56 yards. The biggest throw came on a 3rd and 9 toss over the middle to tight end Dalton Schultz for 30 yards.
With the game quickly becoming a question, Prescott had a quick response for the Bears. As Chicago tried to grab the momentum, it was led by Prescott who took it back.
Dante Fowler is playing well
Bringing in pass rusher Dante Fowler was one of the few offseason signings for the Cowboys, and that acquisition has been quietly paying off. The former third overall pick has been getting better and better, and against the Bears, Fowler played his best game in Dallas.
An offsides penalty that allowed the Bears to continue a drive they eventually ended in a touchdown wasn’t ideal, but Fowler produced a sack, batted down a third down pass, and had a tackle for a loss. Fowler also showed incredible hustle to rally to the ball on a few occasions to limit the Bears’ gains.
Fowler was in for a season-high 37 snaps, a sign that the Cowboys are starting to count more on the veteran defensive end.
CeeDee Lamb was forgotten
The Cowboys seemed to get their top wide receiver threat involved early, but then neglected to keep feeding him the ball. In the first half, Lamb had four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, on six targets. Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore even lined up Lamb as a running back and gave him a carry, which gained just one yard.
In the last two quarters, Lamb had just one target, a catch for 12 yards. Lamb is the best receiver on the Cowboys so neglecting him for a half is questionable. Getting him involved early is nice but keeping him involved is smart. Dallas failed to do that against the Bears.
Tony Pollard is more than Ezekiel Elliott’s backup
Elliott might be the starter on the depth chart, but that doesn’t mean Pollard takes a backseat to his running mate. Pollard continues to shine when given the opportunity, and he answered the call against the Bears.
He only received 14 carries, but Pollard made the most of them with three touchdowns while averaging 9.4 yards per run. Pollard was once thought of as a change of pace, speedy compliment to Elliott, but those days are gone.
Pollard displayed patience, power, vision, and speed on his way to a career day. It wasn’t a fluke, and Pollard doesn’t need to have a certain number of touches to impact the game like most running backs.
The Cowboys have two starting caliber quality running backs and there’s a case to be made that Pollard is the better player.
Mobile quarterbacks gives this defense fits
The Cowboys have one of the best defenses in the league, but they struggle to stop the run. The problem gets exacerbated even more when they play an offense with a mobile quarterback.
New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones ran for 79 yards on them, while Philadelphia Eagles’ signal caller Jalen Hurts only ran for 27 yards, but the threat of him running the ball opened holes for the rest of the running backs to burn the Dallas defense.
Against the Bears, quarterback Justin Fields ran for 60 yards and seemed to be running free all game. The defense was put on their heels with the danger of Fields beating them with their legs, which helped allow the Bears to rack up 240 yards total on the ground. The failure to tackle Fields close to the line of scrimmage when they had the chance also cost the Cowboys points and made the game closer than it should have been.
Stopping the run has been hard enough for the Cowboys, but adding a mobile quarterback into the equation has made the task even tougher. The time to get it corrected is now because the Cowboys will see NFC East signal callers Jones and Hurts again.
Are you satisfied with where the Cowboys are at as they enter their bye week? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
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