The Chicago Bears are riding a three-game winning streak and slowly, but surely, are increasing their playoff odds by the day, defeating the Dallas Cowboys 31-24 in front of a raucous crowd at Soldier Field.
After a slow start on both sides of the ball, the offense and defense both turned it around and dug the Bears out of an early 7-0 hole. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky played his best game of the season, accounting for all 4 touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) and showing he may not be the bust many pegged him to be halfway through the season.
Meanwhile, the Bears defense locked in on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and forced him out of the pocket on many occasions. His timing was disrupted and, despite scoring 17 points in the final quarter during garbage time, he couldn’t rally his team back from such a large deficit. Dallas has now lost three straight and is searching for answers while attempting to compete for the NFC East division title.
The Cowboys may be moving backward, but the Bears are surging forward with just three weeks to go. Here are my five takeaways from Thursday’s convincing win.
1. Mitchell Trubisky played his best game as a Bear
Mitchell Trubisky’s best game as a Bear wasn’t the 6-touchdown performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018, or even last week’s game Thanksgiving showing against the Detroit Lions. No, it was Thursday evening against the Dallas Cowboys.
Trubisky looked poised all night, threading the needle on multiple occasions to wide receivers Anthony Miller and Allen Robinson and taking the game over with his legs, particularly on the Bears’ final touchdown drive. This is the quarterback fans have waited to see. Trubisky not only kept the offense ahead, he did it in a figurative “do or die” game, in which a loss would have truly all-but eliminated the Bears from playoff contention.
The game not only keeps the Bears “in the hunt”, but also silences the chorus of fans, media, and players who may have wanted Trubisky out of Chicago. These final few games of 2019 were always going to be big for the Bears’ quarterback, and he has risen to the challenge thus far.
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