Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs Chicago Bears

Cowboys vs Bears: 6 things to know about Week 8 opponent

The Bears may have moved old friend Robert Quinn, but a reunion is still on the menu. @BenGrimaldi looks into this and other things to know before Sunday.

The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a victory that gets them back on track with a 5-2 record. The win over Detroit featured the return of quarterback Dak Prescott, who shook off some rust and got into a rhythm in the second half, guiding the offense. After losing to a division rival the week prior, the Cowboys refocused and came back with a team effort in the win over the Lions. All three phases played a role in Dallas’ win, which included a defense that got back on track with five sacks and forced five turnovers.

The next opponent to step into the stadium with the Cowboys is the Chicago Bears. It’s the second of four straight matchups with NFC North teams, and the Cowboys are hoping to head into their bye week on a good note. Prescott should be even better in his second week back against a solid defense. Here are six things to know about the Week 8 opponent for the Cowboys.

Elliott, starting safety among Cowboys not practicing in Week 8 prep for Bears

Both clubs had significant players missing Wednesday’s practice; here’s a look at each player and their designations from Wednesday. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The first practice report of the week is hardly the end all be all, but it’s always interesting to note who is dealing with injuries from the previous game or weeks. On Wednesday, when the Dallas Cowboys released their first report ahead of their Sunday tilt with the Chicago Bears, there were a handful of names of major interest. Meanwhile the Bears initial injury report is less full, but with just as many starters who missed practice completely.

While running back Ezekiel Elliott stayed off the field as a result of the hit he took on his knee in Sunday’s win over Detroit (he returned to the game to score two touchdowns), the Bears are missing two starters from their offensive line. Here’s a look at the 13 players on Wednesday’s practice report.

 

Cowboys’ McCarthy: Ezekiel Elliott will not practice Wednesday with knee sprain

Elliott suffered a “knee sprain” in the game versus Detroit, but it’s apparently not the same sprain he sustained early last season. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Just as the Cowboys’ double-punch run game has begun to look consistently strong enough to quiet the debate about whether Ezekiel Elliott or Tony Pollard should get the majority of snaps at running back, the team is suddenly in some danger of being without one of them for their next contest.

Elliott will not take part in Wednesday’s practice, according to head coach Mike McCarthy. The two-time rushing champ will instead work off to the side with director of rehabilitation Britt Brown after a scary-looking direct hit to his right knee in the Week 7 win over Detroit.

McCarthy labeled the injury a “knee sprain” during his Wednesday press conference, but it’s supposedly not the same PCL sprain that Elliott suffered in Week 4 last season. He played the rest of the year through that injury.

The veteran returned to action after this most recent incident, too, and ended the day with 15 carries, 57 yards, two touchdowns, and one impressive hurdle of a Lions defender.

“I think I got a contusion on it,” Elliott said after the Cowboys’ 24-6 win.

Wednesday may well be just a take-it-easy, abundance-of-caution day for Elliott, with Thursday and Friday’s participation reports deciding whether he’ll suit up Sunday for a meeting with Chicago. The Bears are giving up an average of 149.7 rushing yards per game, third-most in the league through seven games.

Pollard saw a season-high 41 offensive snaps (second-most in his career) in Week 6’s ground-heavy attack. McCarthy says he has no concerns about the fourth-year man playing even more if Elliott cannot go.

“We’re so, so fortunate to have both Tony and Zeke here. I think they’re both fully capable of carrying a full load,” the coach told media members Wednesday morning. “I think Tony Pollard is a very good between-the-tackles runner. He’s in the crease as it opens. That’s a huge characteristic that I’ve always looked for when you’re evaluating a running back.”

McCarthy says the team’s upcoming Week 9 bye will have no bearing on whether Elliott sits out this Sunday, to ostensibly give his knee an extended break before the Cowboys face a tough stretch of opponents (Packers, Vikings, Giants) immediately afterward.

“That’s just not the way we approach it. We’ll just see how he responds today, and Britt will continue to build the plan based off what they accomplish today.”

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Maher says ‘I feel fine’ after another miss; Garrett to take ‘a hard, close look’

The Cowboys kicker’s job may be in jeopardy after yet another missed field goal- and additional errors- in Thursday night’s loss to Chicago.

A long list of things went wrong for the Cowboys in Chicago on Thursday night. Among the most maddening for many fans watching the game was the performance of Brett Maher. The second-year kicker missed a 42-yard field goal try in the second quarter that would have tied the score. Later, Maher cost the Cowboys valuable field position when a kickoff dribbled out of bounds. And in the waning moments, his onside kick try- the team’s last-ditch chance at a miracle comeback- never even had a chance.

As poor a showing as he had in the team’s loss, it might be Maher’s casual attitude to all of it afterward that infuriates Cowboys fans the most.

When asked about a possible injury or mechanics issues causing the preponderance of misses this season, Maher nonchalantly told reporters, “I feel fine.”

When pressed to come up with a reason, then, for blowing so many kicks, he answered with a shrug.

“I feel fine,” he repeated.

But he’s not kicking fine. He’s just 20-of-30 for field goal attempts this season, a dreadful 66 percent. Last season, he finished 29-of-36, or 80 percent. Yes, he has connected on several from extremely long range; he’s the only kicker ever with three field goals of 60-plus yards. But he’s just 1-of-5 this year on tries between 40 and 49 yards. Those are the misses that are costing the Cowboys games, wasting decent drives, flipping field position, causing the team to gradually fall behind by multiple scores, and forcing the offense to switch to catch-up mode too often and for too long.

That’s precisely what his 42-yard miss did against the Bears.

“Obviously, you have to make the kick,” coach Jason Garrett said from the podium Thursday night. “We’ve had that instance the last couple weeks where you drive the ball, you get yourself in a position to where you’re going to be competitive in the game, and we’re not able to cash in on the drive with a field goal.

“In regards to the ball that was kicked out of bounds,” Garrett continued, “we were trying to kick the ball away from 84 [Bears return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson]. He’s a big-time player, and [Brett] missed it a little bit left and it squirted out of bounds. Obviously, not what we wanted on that situation.”

The penalty gave the Bears fifteen extra yards of field position just moments after Dallas had reduced the deficit to 10 points and started to gain momentum. Working on a suddenly shorter field, Chicago promptly drove 60 yards in three plays and put the ball in the end zone to increase their lead to 17. Momentum, squelched.

A very late field goal from 31 yards out (on first down) brought the Cowboys to within seven points and left enough time on the clock for an onside kick attempt and a Hail Mary if they could recover.

The ensuing kick was so weak that media members had to ask Garrett during his press conference if it was an actual onside attempt.

“Yeah, it was,” Garrett replied. “He was going to try to bang it against the guy on the front line.”

It actually looked like Maher was trying to recover the kick himself, something that was done to perfection by Colts punter Pat McAfee back in 2014. Coincidentally enough, the play just made the rounds again on Twitter a couple weeks ago.

Whatever the intent, Maher’s onside try was scooped up immediately by Chicago. And the story of Maher’s game can be summarized by more missed opportunities.

The 30-year-old missed both of his field goal tries on Thanksgiving versus Buffalo. He missed one the week prior in New England. Week 14’s miss- his fourth in the last three outings- was his tenth on the year. No other kicker over the last four seasons missed ten field goals in a single year, and Dallas still has three more games to go in 2019.

When asked after the Chicago game to rate his confidence level, Maher seemed to shake off the question like it was an absurd thing to ask.

“Feel good.”

But the team may not feel as good. Garrett has always driven the “he’s made a lot of big kicks for us in the past” train. But after working out a trio of possible replacement kickers following the Bills loss, the coach allowed for the possibility of shopping once again after Maher’s latest miss.

“Obviously, we have to do a close evaluation of it,” Garrett said Friday morning during a phone call with 105.3 The Fan. “And Brett would be the first one to tell you that he’s got to make those kicks. Unfortunately, he didn’t do that for us. You know, we brought three kickers in earlier in the week; we decided to give Brett an opportunity this week. It didn’t work out. So we have to take a real hard, close look at that and determine what we want to do moving forward.”

For Maher’s part, he says he doesn’t think about the notion that his job may be in jeopardy.

“I can’t,” the Nebraska alum told reporters. “I felt like I did a good job staying in my lane this week. Felt like I hit every ball pretty well tonight, and I’ll put my head on the pillow tonight feeling good about what I did this week and moving forward.”

Maher may feel good about it. But the fans do not feel good about it. And with postseason play still very much on the table, the team may no longer be able to afford to pretend they feel good about it, either.

 

Cowboys ‘can’t put a finger on’ reason for losses, while all fingers point to Garrett

Players in Dallas claim they can’t explain why they’ve lost 7 of their last 10 games, but others have already laid the blame on the coach.

The result was the same for the third week in a row, but the tone was noticeably different. Cowboys fans have gotten used to the bewildering losses; there have been seven of them in the past ten games. But in the wake of the team’s latest collapse, a 31-24 road loss to the Bears, the players, coaches, and ownership of this outfit are suddenly unrecognizable.

Gone is the optimism. Gone is the quiet confidence. Those qualities that have defined this organization all year long have now been replaced by something else. Something harder. Something with an edge. Despite their losing record, the Cowboys still sit atop their division. They still have the inside track to the fourth seed in the NFC playoffs. They still have their sights set on hosting a home game on Wild Card Weekend. But what they don’t have is answers to what has happened over the course of this disastrous season.

“Can’t put a finger on it,” said quarterback Dak Prescott in his postgame address. “I wish I could right now. If I could, obviously we wouldn’t be in this situation; we’d be getting over this and out of this slump. That’s the most frustrating part. We have the skill level, we have the players, we have the chemistry at times. But we’re not playing together as a team complementary enough when we need to, and we’ve got to figure out what it is.”

“It’s just frustrating,” running back Ezekiel Elliott echoed to reporters after the loss. “It’s not clicking. We’re not playing well. And you can’t really put your finger on it. That’s the tough part.”

NFL Network analyst and ex-Cowboy Michael Irvin took issue with that assessment.

“No, you can’t put a finger on it,” Irvin said on the air, “because it requires both hands. That’s how many issues they have had. It’s not a one-finger thing.”

Ultimately, Irvin is correct: it’s not just one thing. Baffling playcalling in key situations, a terrible kicking game, slow starts, atrocious tackling, lack of takeaways, bad special teams, poor clock management, injuries, stupid penalties, and a stubborn insistence on sticking with underachieving players have all contributed to 2019’s overall disappointment. That’s ten.

But to include within that tally the most glaring failure of a team that would seem- on paper- to be far better than their record indicates, Cowboys fans need exactly one finger more. And most of them are aiming it squarely in the direction of coach Jason Garrett.

Some expected owner Jerry Jones to fire Garrett on the spot Thursday night, maybe even leaving him behind in Chicago after the embarrassing defeat. And it’s grown from just a contingent of angry fans; scores of broadcasters- including some within the Cowboys family who have known Garrett for decades- are all but openly giving Jones their blessing to let the axe fall.

“I absolutely think the world of Coach Garrett personally,” Irvin said of his former teammate, “but I don’t know how you continue down this road with what you’ve seen on this field the last two weeks.”

If Jones has lost Michael Irvin as the Cowboys’ head cheerleader, things are catastrophically bad.

Jones has been vocal, too, albeit with what some have perceived as mixed messages. His offseason refusal to extend Garrett’s contract very plainly set the bar for the season at a place Garrett has never taken the team during his tenure. Recent quotes have made it crystal-clear that Jones expects a Super Bowl.

Dallas hasn’t been just losing games. They’ve been taken behind the woodshed and humiliated, even if the final scores never look that bad. Worse than just coming up short, the Cowboys have looked unprepared. Uninterested, even. Many during the Thursday night telecast and postgame interviews were using the word “quit” to describe what they saw most prevalently from the current Dallas roster.

Even through this brutally bad stretch of games, though, Jones has continued to stand by his embattled coach and his roster of underperforming players. Jones has preached unwavering belief and tough love every time he’s been at a microphone throughout this 2019 campaign that once held so much promise.

But like everyone else affiliated with the Dallas Cowboys these days, the man at the very top had a very different tone when he spoke after Thursday’s sobering loss.

“So much for words,” Jones said afterward. “Seriously. So much for words.”

Maybe it’s only the fact that the aforementioned goal of a championship ring is still mathematically possible that’s preventing Jones from using his one finger to show Garrett the door.

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The Final Word: Q&A Preview of Cowboys-Bears TNF fight for relevancy

The Bears are outside-looking-in at the wild-card chase. The Cowboys have a shot at a division title. Neither feel like contenders but a TNF win could change all of that. We sit down with The Bears Wire’s Alyssa Barbieri to hash things out.

Cowboys Wire: Mitchell Trubisky seems to have regressed from the upwards trajectory we saw in 2018. Is the issue more that defenses know what he’s going to do and he hasn’t progressed, or has he regressed?

Bears Wire: He’s definitely regressed, and there are a number of factors at play. He continues to struggle reading defenses and going through his projections, which isn’t encouraging for a third-year quarterback. Then there’s the fact that Matt Nagy hasn’t been doing him any favors. What worked last year hasn’t worked most of this season — utilizing Trubisky’s mobility, not overloading him with his massive playbook, not micromanaging him and causing him to overthink everything. But at the same time, the rest of the Bears offense has been horrible this season, too, with the exception of Allen Robinson.

Trubisky’s the problem, Nagy’s the problem, the offensive line is the problem, the tight ends are the problem, the run game is the problem. But Trubisky has certainly been the biggest problem. Although Trubisky has put together a solid string of four games where Nagy looks like he’s gotten back to basics, what worked last season. We’ll see if he can do it against better competition in these final four games.

Cowboys Wire: Is Khalil Mack’s play any worse than it was in 2018, or is it simply a case of the solid effort not showing up in box-score stats?

Bears Wire: Let’s be honest, Khalil Mack is someone that, even when he’s not in the box score, is someone that’s affecting every play. Opposing teams have to gameplan specifically to stop him because he’s always a threat to get after the quarterback. With that said, this hasn’t been a particularly productive season for Mack stats-wise, which has to do with a number of things. After starting the first four games with 4.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles, he’s only had 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble. A big part of that has been the absence of defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, who is as important to Chicago’s defense as Mack is. With teams not having to worry about Hicks, they’ve been able to throw more reinforcements Mack’s way.

Cowboys Wire:The Cowboys boast one of the worst special teams units in the league, bring us up to speed on why this could be a serious issue facing Chicago.

Bears Wire: Two words: Cordarrelle Patterson. When the Bears signed Patterson in the offseason, they were getting a dynamic weapon both on offense and special teams. While he’s shown an ability to crank off huge plays on offense, he’s really made his presence known this season on special teams. He’s always a threat to break one for a touchdown, as he did against the Saints, or even just a solid 50-yard return, as was the case last week in Detroit. The Bears have struggled with field position, especially on punt returns, but Patterson typically always brings the ball out of the endzone on kickoff returns, which is good news for the Bears because he’s always a threat to score.

Cowboys Wire: Who are some of the unsung Bears heroes that may not be household names, but will show up on Thursday night?

Bears Wire: With receiver Taylor Gabriel and tight end Ben Braunecker out with concussions, there are two guys on offense that should see some attention. Second-year wideout Javon Wims is coming off a career game, where he had five catches for 56 yards on six targets. Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller are still the Bears’ top receivers, but look for Wims to get some opportunities. Chicago hasn’t had any success with its tight ends this season.

With Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen on injured reserve and Braunecker out with a concussion, undrafted rookie Jesper Horsted is getting opportunities. He’s only had two catches in two games, but he had an impressive touchdown catch against the Lions. And he’s still learning how to play tight end, as he was converted from receiver.

On defense, defensive tackle Nick Williams has been one of Chicago’s top run stoppers since Akiem Hicks has been out for seven weeks with an elbow injury. The Bears need a big game from Williams, who leads the team in sacks, to have a chance against Dallas’ offense.

Cowboys Wire: What’s your prediction for the game?

Bears Wire: While the Bears offense is coming off its best game of the season and Chicago is on a two-game winning streak, I’m not feeling too confident about how the Bears matchup against the Cowboys. The offense might be able to move the ball on the Cowboys, but with Prince Amukamara likely out on defense, I’m not confident the offense can get into a shootout with Dak and the ‘Boys.

Cowboys 27, Bears 20

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5 keys that will determine if Cowboys are victorious vs Bears

The Cowboys are hoping the Bears are ready for hibernation on TNF. They need to control what they can control, and that includes several factors such as Dak’s confidence level and Amari’s road yips to earn a victory.

The Dallas Cowboys are either on the brink of disaster or going through the darkness necessary to reach the light. It all depends on perspective, or whether your interest in the team is from your couch or a luxury box seated firmly atop a $100 million investment now worth over $5 billlion. On Thursday night, the club takes on the Chicago Bears in a battle of 6-6 records.

Dallas is favored on the road, but there’s a lot at play in the matchup between underachieving franchises. Here are a handful of things we feel will go a long way towards determining the outcome of the game.

Dak Prescott’s confidence level

Prescott played the worst game of his season last Thursday against the Buffalo Bills. Yes, he threw for 355 yards and two scores, but it was an abject failure. He was picked off once, and it should have been three times if we’re all going to keep things a buck here. In addition, he fumbled twice, losing one of them.

The stats aren’t the story, though. It was how he looked in the process and that was of a quarterback who didn’t have confidence things were going to work out. All season long, Prescott has been the strength behind the club, unwavered by the things happening around him. This game followed the loss in horrible conditions in New England, which was Prescott’s worst statistical game of the season thanks to the Patriots’ stellar defense and the miserable weather conditions that throttled both team’s passing attacks.

During the worst stretch of Prescott’s career, from Week 9 in 2017 through the first part of 2018, one of the biggest issues he had was he seemed to be playing with no confidence. New QB coach Jon Kitna and former QB coach now OC Kellen Moore seemed to eliminate that from the equation, but observers need to keep a careful eye on whether Prescott’s flawed mechanics and lack of confidence rear their heads in this contest.

Continue…

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Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Thursday’s Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears Week 14 sports betting odds and lines, with Thursday Night Football betting picks.

The Dallas Cowboys (6-6) and Chicago Bears (6-6) meet Thursday at Soldier Field for a prime-time matchup at 8:20 p.m. ET. We analyze the Cowboys-Bears betting odds and lines with betting picks and tips for the matchup.

The teams may have the same record, but their postseason chances are vastly different. The Cowboys are trying to win the NFC East, while the Bears are hoping to win out and have a shot at a wild-card berth.

Cowboys at Bears: Week 14 preview, betting trends and notes

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  • The Cowboys are just 4-9 against the spread in their last 13 Thursday games. Most recently, they lost to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving, failing to cover as 6.5-point favorites.
  • Chicago hasn’t been much better, going 2-8 ATS in its last 10 Thursday games. They’re 1-5 ATS in their last six games against NFC opponents.
  • Dallas is 1-5 ATS in its last six games against the NFC North, losing to the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings this season, but beating the Detroit Lions.
  • The Bears are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games, going 3-5 straight up.
  • The total has gone Under in five of the Bears’ last six games but it hit the Over in each of the last six head-to-head meetings.
  • The Over is 10-5 in the Cowboys’ last 15 games.

Cowboys at Bears: Key injuries

Cowboys LB Leighton Vander Esch (neck) and S Jeff Heath (shoulder) are questionable.

Bears WR Taylor Gabriel (concussion) is also uncertain to play. OT Bobby Massie (ankle) and LB Danny Trevathan (elbow) are questionable.

Cowboys at Bears: Odds, betting lines and prediction

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated on Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET

Prediction

Cowboys 27, Bears 20

Moneyline (?)

This is a great opportunity to bet the moneyline. The COWBOYS are favored at -150, which is a reasonable value. Despite struggling in recent weeks, the Cowboys will score enough to put the game out of reach for Chicago’s underwhelming offense.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Cowboys to win outright would return a profit of $6.67.

Against the Spread (?)

The Cowboys are favored by 2.5 points on the road. They’re 4-2 ATS in their last six games and this is a game they should be able to win by at least a field goal.

Bet the COWBOYS (-121) to cover the spread.

Over/Under (?)

The Cowboys are facing a good Bears defense this week, testing their eighth-ranked scoring offense and No. 1-ranked passing attack. The Over/Under is only 43.5 points, though, and Chicago’s offense is 27th in scoring.

This game will surpass 43.5 combined points, so bet the OVER (+100).

Want action on this game? Sign up and bet at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @camdasilva and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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