The Dallas Cowboys were winning games while without quarterback Dak Prescott by relying on the defense to hold opponents down and then asking the offense to not make critical mistakes. The reason the team was excited to get Prescott back was because eventually the Dallas defense was going to have a bad game and the offense would need to carry the team to a win. They weren’t going to do that with Cooper Rush under center.
Unexpectedly, the Week 8 Chicago Bears were the team to bring that challenge. They fell behind early but stuck to their game plan of running the ball at Dallas with multiple running backs, the quarterback, and even WR Velus Jones. Chicago ran 14 more plays than Dallas, controlling the clock for over 36 minutes, rushing for 240 yards. The Cowboys’ offense was going to have to show up and more than 400 yards and over 40 points later, last year’s No. 1 offense produced three stars of the game.
Yes, Micah Parsons did take a fumble and return it for a touchdown. Dalton Schultz brought in six of his seven targets for 74 yards, CeeDee Lamb had five receptions for 77 yards and a TD, and Kellen Moore was dialing up a great offensive plan all game. Any of those could have received a star this game, but sometimes it can be about more than who had the best stats of the day.