It certainly didn't start pretty, but the Chicago Bears offense showed up and came out of Dallas with a much deserved win. Jay Cutler looked phenomenal in a 27-20 win over the Cowboys on Sunday, leading the the Bears to a 2-0 record. If you missed this great game, here's what you didn't see.
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The defense created turnovers again with third corner D.J. Moore picking off two Tony Romo passes. The first came after Charles Tillman hit Miles Austin and caused him to lose the ball right into Moore's waiting hands. That turnover led to the Bears' first field goal, in spite of Cutler taking multiple hits early in the game as Dallas relied on the blitz to get pressure.
Punting on their next possession, the Bears special teams unit gave up a punt return touchdown to rookie Dez Bryant, scoring his first of his young career. Thankfully the Bears responded quickly on a Cutler pass over the middle to Greg Olsen for a 39-yard score.
Chaos ensued on the offensive line front, as Chris Williams left the game on the second drive with a hamstring injury and didn't return. Kevin Shaffer came off the bench at left tackle for a drive and committed two penalties, leading him to switch with starting right tackle Frank Omiyale.
Chicago's offense moved the ball all day on the Cowboys, but were stymied often when Dallas brought pressure. When the Bears starting running a quicker offense, Dallas was caught in man coverage and bland packages. Most fans will find a correlation between Williams leaving and the improved protection, but don't kid yourself. The reason Dallas stopped getting to the quarterback is because they simply stopped blitzing as much. They needed to drop in coverage to defend the pass and ceased sending multiple rushers. When it's 5 on 3 or four, the Bears can get the blocks they need.
The score flip-flopped in the first half, with Dallas reaching pay-dirt on a 13-play drive that took nearly eight minutes off the clock. Daniel Manning shut down Marion Barber on first and goal, but true to form he was completely out of position on the following play, the score off play-action to the fullback Gronkowski after Peppers jacked of the blocking Barber. Cutler wasted little time returning the favor, hitting Johnny Knox on a 59-yard bomb down the field. To end the drive, Jay found Devin Hester from nine yards out in the corner of the endzone. Hester looked like a legitimate wide receiver as he made the catch, dragging his fest and maintaining possession.
Turnovers were the key in Dallas, with the Bears forcing the 'Boys into three costly mistakes. A Roy Williams fumble in the fourth quarter as he was fighting for the sidelines put the game out of reach. Charles Tillman, you are still the Master of the Ball-Punch.
Not everything was hunky-dory, as there were a few tense moments between Bears today. Brian Urlacher was clearly yelling at Lovie Smith after the coach accepted a holding penalty after his defense stopped a run for a three yard loss. Jay CUtler yelled "Let's f***ing block somebody!" on the sidlines in the first half when Dallas was just running by and over blockers on their way to planting the QB on the ground.
On a few plays Devin Hester showed you why he isn't a number one receiver inspite of his catches today. He dropped a gorgeous deep pass from Cutler down the sidlines and completed failed to make contact on a block that would have allowed Matt Forte to convert no a third down pass. Charles Tillman slipped in coverage on numerous plays, begging the question, when were they going to change his effing cleats? I was calling for a Julius Peppers sack all day, but the pressure just never got to Romo.
In typical fashion, the Bear offense struggled to convert on third downs. As the game was tight headed towards the end of the fourth, Smith and Martz decided to run it on three straight plays and punt instead of trying for thr first down. For a coach that trusted his offense to get a fourth and goal from the one, it seems awfully suspicious that he wouldn't at least let them throw a screen pass on first or second down.
Moving past the negatives, Jay Cutler could not have played better. He went 21 of 29 for 277 yards and three touchdowns on a day when he was knocked around on a regular basis. He made smart decisions with the football yet again and found the open receiver, which today was Hester.
We're still not beyond improvements, but on a day when Minnesota fell to 0-2, I'll take this win and love it. Bear down and Happy Freaking Jay Cutler Day!
Keywords: Charles Tillman, Chicago Bears, D.J. Moore, Dallas Cowboys, Jay Cutler, Joe Anello, Julius Peppers, Lovie Smith, Miles Austin, NFL, Tony Romo
