Game Recap: Bears Roll Cowboys, Move Into a Tie for First

Well, that’s more like it. The Bears took it to the Cowboys on national television, (always a fun combination) winning 45-28 and moving into a tie with Detroit atop the NFC North. Josh McCown played a very strong game, finishing 27/36 for 348 yards, 4 touchdowns passing, and 1 touchdown rushing. He didn’t throw a pick, but three separate passes should have been intercepted; two were dropped by Cowboy defenders, and a third was intercepted, but wiped out by a defensive holding call. Matt Forte ran for 102 yards, while also catching 7 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery both had big games. Marshall had 6 catches for 100 yards, including a few huge third-down conversions to keep scoring drives alive. Jeffery had 5 catches for 84 yards and another ridiculous, highlight-reel grab (as GIFd here.) He also made an amazing grab down the left sideline. The Bears never punted, finishing the game 8-11 on third down conversions, and they scored on every drive save for a final kneeldown to close out the game.

It wasn’t all rosy for the Bears. As we’ve come to expect, the defense was porous, especially against the run. They tied an NFL record when they allowed DeMarco Murray to crack the 100-yard barrier, becoming only the second team to allow a 100-yard rusher in 6 consecutive games. In total they allowed 198 yards on the ground, which is obviously an issue. They made up for it by sacking Tony Romo twice while holding Dallas to just 144 yards passing.

The Bears played a much cleaner game than they had in recent weeks; they were turnover free (despite McCown’s three near-picks) and were only whistled for two penalties. Dallas didn’t turn the ball over either, but their defense literally could not get off the field without allowing points. As I noted in my “Three Things” post, those stops became key, as the Cowboys offense had zero margin for error thanks to their defensive woes. (Here I’ll note that my other two keys, involving taking the over (line was 48 points) and both Forte and Murray would rush for 100 yards (102/145 respectively) came to fruition. I’m wrong so often, I hope you won’t begrudge me this slight moment of self-satisfaction.)

Some other notes on the win:

Thanks to everyone who joined me on Twitter, and to everyone who might be checking out the site for the first time. I’ll be back tomorrow with a closer look at the NFC North playoff picture with three weeks remaining. I also hope to look back at a few more key plays from tonight’s game at some point this week.

The Bears are back atop the division, and they have a very real shot at the playoffs.

That’s pretty cool.