Scouting Report for Chicago Bears (2-1) vs. Dallas Cowboys (2-1)
October 1, 2012- Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX
Bears: Chicago managed a 23-6 victory over the Rams last week. To say the least, the defense has done what it could. The offense, however, has been shaky at best.
Jay Cutler had a decent outing (17-31 183 YDS and 1 INT). He found Brandon Marshall 5 times for 71 yards. Despite 55 yards rushing from Michael Bush, Bush did score the only offensive touchdown. Defensively, the Rams Stephen Jackson only managed a paltry 29 yards. Sam Bradford was sacked 6 times and picked off twice. Including Major Wright's 45 yard return for a touchdown.
Cowboys: After splitting a pair of road games to start the season, the Boys got a 16-10 victory over the Buccaneers last Sunday. That game could've and should've been a loss. However, Dallas is a good enough to get away with those kind of performances.
Tony Romo (25-39 283 YDS) turned the ball over 3 times the whole game. He was picked off by Aqib Talib on the game's first drive. Then he had two fumbles (both were results of overturned calls). Luckily, the Buccaneers could only muster 7 points. DeMarco Murray scored the first rushing touchdown of the season in the first quarter. Sean Lee also gave the Cowboys their first interception in the second quarter. Anthony Spencer had 7 tackles and DeMarcus Ware both sacks on Josh Freeman.
What to watch for: This game has some history that could decide the outcome. Besides Cutler and Marshall being teammates in Denver (2006-08), there is another person involved during that same time period. DC Rob Ryan was with the Raiders and should bring some insight. The last time Cutler faced off against Ryan was in 2009 when Ryan was the DC in Cleveland (30-6 Bears). Cutler is 3-2 all-time. However, Cutler has only completed 56.4% of his passes for 1212 YDS, 5 TDS and 7 INTS.
Conclusion: This game looks like it is too close to call on paper. But, the offense that can score the first touchdown should be able to win the game. The Cowboys had 13 penalties enforced on them for a total of 105 yards. 9 of those penalties were either false starts (6) or offensive holding. If the Cowboys O-Line can stop shooting themselves in the foot and get the ball to Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, Kevin Ogletree and Jason Witten, the Boys should blow the Bears back to the Windy City.
The Bears should hope for Matt Forte to return. Forte is a game time decision, but if he is good to go, then him and Bush should help take the pressure off Cutler. Not only would a healthy dose of the run game be good for the inconsistent O-Line, it could keep Dallas' 19th ranked rush defense on the field.
Prediction: Cowboys by 16
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