Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs Chicago Bears

Tony Pollard shines in starring role, Cowboys run roughshod on Bears, 49-29

No Elliott? No problem. The Dallas offense hit on all cylinders and the club worked through a couple rough patches to cruise to their biggest win of 2022.

The Dallas Cowboys entered the game with injury concerns, and added more to the bonfire as the game went along. While next man up is really just something coaches tell players to get the most out of their backups, when a team has a roster as deep as Dallas does, it actually can come to fruition. Getting the rare opportunity to be the lead back, fourth-year pro Tony Pollard turned in the best performance of his career.

The pending free agent ran the rock 14 times for a gaudy 131 yards and three touchdowns, including a 51-yarder to cement the victory. Combined with another surreal play by Micah Parsons, a fumble return for a touchdown, Dallas was able to overcome three passing touchdowns by Bears QB Justin Fields and a rushing attack that gained over 200 yards.

The Cowboys scored touchdowns on their first four possessions of the game, something they hadn’t done since late in the 2014 season. They almost gave up the bag though, allowing the Bears to score 10 points in less than a minute before halftime, then close within 5 early in the third quarter. Order was restored however with a sack on the two-point play leading to Dallas going back-to-back with Pollard’s second score followed by the Parsons return.

The Cowboys would add the Pollard score after the Bears stayed competitive to finally put the nail in the coffin with Pollard’s third score. It was the first time a Dallas RB scored three times in a game since Joseph Randle in 2015.

The victory moved Dallas to 6-2 on the year, heading into their bye week. They could not gain ground on the division-leading Eagles who improved to 7-0 with their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

WATCH: Cowboys pave huge hole, Pollard plays the safety en route to another TD

A huge Dak Prescott run sets up an even more impressive jaunt by Tony Pollard to stretch Dallas’ lead once again.

The Dallas Cowboys offense is absolutely back. Any questions about whether or not the group is better with Dak Prescott under center are now making the askers look like idiots. After shaking the rust off in the first half against the Detroit Lions in Week 7, the momentum from the second half continues into Week 8. Prescott’s passing is firing on all cylinders, and now his leg game is back in full effect, too.

Scoring the first touchdown of the game already, Prescott took a 3rd-and-1 sneak and turned it into a 25-yard jaunt.

Already shaken, the Bears defensive front got absolutely manhandled shortly thereafter, as RB Tony Pollard broke through a huge hole before taking the ankles and soul from the last line of defense for a 21-yard score.

Dallas had to respond after a Justin Fields drive moved the Bears downfield for a score, but the lead is back up to 14 points, 21-7.

WATCH: Prescott, Lamb connect for TD as Cowboys stretch early lead

Lamb in the backfield? Make them declare. Lamb on the route? Make them deceased.

The Cowboys’ offense is humming, and pulling out wrinkles. For the majority of the drive, Dallas ran 03 personnel, with no backs, all three tight ends in and WR CeeDee Lamb lined up in the back field. Methodically, short quick passes moved Dallas into the deep end of the Bears side of the field.

Finally, the club ran Lamb, but for little yardage. Rookie Malik Davis took the next carry and got nothing, setting up 3rd-and-9 from the Bears’ 21-yard line. For the first time all afternoon, QB Dak Prescott looked in the direction of Lamb, and it was exactly what the drive needed as Prescott fired a strike into Lamb’s hands.

Prescott is absolutely dealing in the early going, hitting 10 of his first 11 passes for 108 yards and the score. He currently has a 137.9 passer rating as the Cowboys have an early 14-0 lead.

WATCH: Cowboys’ Dak Prescott scores 1st rushing TD in almost a year

The Dallas opening drive went exactly as scripted, culminating in a Prescott jaunt into the end zone.

The Dallas Cowboys have a ton of key players missing their Week 8 game against the Chicago Bears, but one couldn’t tell based on the opening drive. The offense opened up on the field without RB Ezekiel Elliott and starting WR Noah Brown, but they had no problem dissecting the Bears defense playing for the first time without traded edge rusher Robert Quinn.

The Cowboys still had QB Dak Prescott, RB Tony Pollard, WRs CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup, TE Dalton Schultz and of course their offensive line. The line was carving road-grade size lanes for Pollard and his 26 yards on the ground.

That run along with Pollard’s 16 through the air opened things up for Prescott’s play-action, designed run around the left side for the first touchdown of the game.

The score was the first time Prescott had run one in since Week 10 of last season against Atlanta. That was his lone rushing score on the year in 2021, in what used to be a staple of his game prior to his horrific injury in 2020.

Prescott opened the game 4-for-5 passing for 39 yards and now the Dallas defense goes to work with a 7-0 lead.

Bears more toxic but Cowboys should have antidote in Week 8 battle

While the Bears are more toxic than the Cowboys, how the teams matchup in the remainder of advanced stat indicators favors Dallas. @ProfessorO_NFL breaks it all down.

The Dallas Cowboys picked up their fifth win of the season against the Detroit Lions last weekend and now will face another NFC North opponent, the Chicago Bears, in Week 8 at home. With franchise quarterback Dak Prescott returning to action from a thumb injury that forced him to miss the previous five weeks, the Cowboys handed the Lions a 24-6 loss. The defense once again came to the rescue wreaking havoc on the Lions offense as they forced five takeaways and accrued five sacks.

The Bears will enter this matchup with a 3-4 record on the season coming off of an impressive win against the New England Patriots in Week 7. After starting the season with two wins in their first three games, the Bears found themselves on a bit of a tailspin, losing three games in a row before righting the ship against New England.  The Bears offense features a formidable running game and an opportunistic defense.

Oh my, already with wins against the Lions and Cincinnati Bengals, the Cowboys have a chance to complete the “Wizard of Oz” gauntlet with a victory against the Bears. Each week we open up the Advanced Stat Notebook to analyze how each team ranks in EPA, DVOA, ANY/A and Toxic Differential. These four key metrics have a high correlation to win probability.

11 burning Cowboys-Bears questions to heat up Week 8 discussion

The incomparable @AlyssaBarbieri of the world’s top Bears website @TheBearsWire joins @KDDrummondNFL to preview the Week 8 matchup.

The Dallas Cowboys shouldn’t be looking past their Week 8 opponents, the Chicago Bears. Any notion that this was a game they should easily win was thwarted on Monday night when the Bears whomped the New England Patriots in a road game. Dallas has the superior roster, but that means little when talent has to be executed. For starters, the Cowboys’ one week of pristine health was flipped on its head and the club is weakened.

But what of the opponent themselves? To get a real feel for what kind of threat the Bears present, we checked in with Alyssa Barbieri of The Bears Wire. Our Q&A series touches on a variety of subjects, including QB protection, front-office prowess, under-the-radar players who could make a mark and of course score predictions.

Cowboys 55-man roster shakeup sends 3 to IR, add 5 vs Bears in Week 8

Dallas’ moves gives them depth at position that weren’t previously a concern, and here’s a roster guide complete with jersey numbers to help keep things straight on Sunday. | From @KDDrummondNFL

It was all good just a week ago. Entering this point in time in Week 7, the conversation in this space was about the Cowboys getting themselves healthy heading into the middle of the season. The most important cog, quarterback Dak Prescott was returning and the team’s injury report was thinning out. Now? Dallas has to once again shake up their roster to get themselves prepared for the next opponent, the Chicago Bears.

In the week’s injury report, available here, Dallas lists their starting RB as doubtful and 7 different players as questionable. A day later, one of those players, linebacker Devin Harper, has been moved to injured reserve, the third Cowboys player to land on the list this week. Cornerback Jourdan Lewis and backup OL Matt Farniok were injured against the Lions, with the former having his season come to an end. Harper (achilles) and Farniok (hamstring) could be back in December.

As a result, there’s a ton of shuffling on the active roster. Dallas has signed a running back and tight end from the practice squad to the full roster, and they’ve also elevated a fourth back and another offensive lineman. TE Sean McKeon had been elevated the last two weeks and three times on the year, meaning Dallas had to sign him to ensure depth at the position with Dalton Schultz’s knee continuing to be an issue.

This is all happening during a week where Dallas traded for an additional defensive tackle in Johnathan Hankins and activated rookie LB Damone Clark from the non-football injury (NFI) list. All of the comings and goings has completely shaken up the group of players eligible for gameday, so here’s a look at the full roster as it stands for Week 8, complete with jersey numbers.

Making themselves comfortable among 3 keys in Cowboys-Bears Week 8 tilt

Both teams have an eye on the ground game, but Dallas will need to forge ahead in order to control the flow of things, according to @CDPiglet

In their Week 7 win over Detroit, quarterback Dak Prescott was back in the saddle for the Dallas Cowboys, attempting to throw off some rust from not playing since Week 1. From the kickoff of that game to his return in Week 7, Dallas has morphed from an offensive team led by Prescott’s passing attack to a defensive juggernaut carrying a middle-of-the-pack offense.

The game against the Lions was a perfect example. Prescott only had to throw for 207 yards, the team had a 10-6 lead going into the fourth quarter. The defense ended up causing four turnovers in the fourth quarter and setting up the offense for their final 14 points.

The Chicago Bears shocked many on Monday by destroying the New England Patriots, 33-14, in Gillette Stadium. Justin Fields struggled passing the ball, in typical fashion for young QBs facing a Bill Belichick defense. Fields threw 21 times, completing just13 receptions for only 179 yards. The part nobody predicted was how the Bears ran all over the Patriots to the tune of almost 250 yards with two players averaging over five yards per carry.

How do the Cowboys establish momentum heading into the bye? Can Chicago build from Monday night and win their second straight game on the road? Here are the keys to victory for the early Sunday contest.

Elliott status in major doubt, Parsons among 50/50 in final Cowboys-Bears injury report

A look at the status of several key players after the final full practice of Week 8. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The final injury report for Week 8 has been released and things aren’t looking good for the prospect of star running back Ezekiel Elliott. Although he returned to the game, Elliott suffered what now appears to be a significant injury in the win over Detroit in Week 7.  According to the report, he has a 25% chance or less of suiting up in the final game before Dallas’ bye week, the matchup against the Chicago Bears. Elliott isn’t the only star player with a question mark, as Micah Parsons, Malik Hooker and Sam Williams are key defenders who appeared on the report this week as well.

The Cowboys will look to see how several players react during Saturday’s practice to determine their game status. Meanwhile the Bears report is small in nature but perhaps as big in impact. A team with protection issues marking two linemen out against the vaunted Cowboys pressure package is sure to give Justin Fields a case of happy feet on Sunday. Here’s a look at all of the players listed on the final report.

‘They call it, I’m going to haul it’: Cowboys RB Tony Pollard ready for full workload if needed

Despite never having topped 14 rushing attempts in a game as a pro, Pollard is prepped to be the workhorse if Ezekiel Elliott can’t go. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will not participate in practice for a second straight day as he continues to rehab a knee injury sustained in last Sunday’s win over Detroit.

Head coach Mike McCarthy isn’t ready to make any sort of pronouncement on Elliott’s status for this coming weekend’s showdown with Chicago, but he did confirm that the offensive game plan will not change should Tony Pollard be tasked with RB1 duties.

“We’re going to run the ball,” McCarthy stated during his Thursday press conference.

That’s just fine with Pollard, who, despite never having topped 14 carries in his 53-game pro career (and logged a college-best 17 rushing attempts just once, back in 2018), says he’s fully ready to be fed Zeke-style if need be.

“Whatever they ask for me to carry, I got it,” he said this week at The Star in Frisco. “They call it, I’m going to haul it.”

Now that’s a tagline.

As CEO of the Tony Pollard Rushing Co., the former fourth-round draft pick  says he’s spent considerable time in the weight room since his days at Memphis. Now playing about seven to 10 pounds heavier than in college, he’s not worried about taking extra carries or subjecting himself to more of a pounding by being asked to do additional between-the-tackles work.

Although many are acting like this is uncharted territory for Pollard, it wouldn’t be the first time he’s stepped in for a banged-up Elliott.

Just the first time he’s had advance notice.

It was during pregame warmups, just before a late December 2020 meeting with a stingy 49ers run defense, that the fourth-year back was told he’d be making his first NFL start. Elliott, dealing with a nagging calf injury, cheered from the sideline that day as Pollard racked up 69 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 rushes as the lead back. (He added another 63 yards on six receptions.)

Nothing at all wrong with those numbers. But with a visiting Bears unit allowing an average of 149.7 ground yards per contest, it’s tempting to wonder if Pollard could do significantly better… especially if he’s given something more akin to 19 carries (Elliott, Week 4 vs. Washington) or even 22 attempts (Elliott, Week 5 vs. Los Angeles) instead of his current average of nine.

But let’s not stop there. No defense has been run on more in 2022 than Chicago (about 31 rushes per game), and they’ve responded by giving up 4.7 yards per carry. Pollard is averaging 5.6 yards per tote so far this season.

Calculate those numbers out to just their averages, and the math of what Pollard might be able to do Sunday is mouth-watering.

What Pollard knows for sure, though, is that, despite Elliott having been exceptionally durable for his entire career, it was just a matter of time before he’d need to be more than merely the second part of a one-two punch.

“It’s just ‘next guy up.’ In this league, the only thing that’s guaranteed is injuries,” the 25-year-old told reporters this week. “It’s expected, and the next guy’s got to be ready to step in.”

And even though he could be staring down the biggest sheer workload of his football life, Pollard won’t be the least bit fazed by the moment.

“I’m always trying to go out there and show what I can do. Prove myself right, prove others wrong, and just play team ball.”

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