(670 The Score) It’s Week 8. The Bears are coming off their best win in, like, actual decades, and are off to Dallas for another seemingly tough road game against another seemingly better team in the Cowboys (5-2). But now that the Bears (3-4) are officially "the team that creates quarterback controversy," maybe they can throw another wrench in the Dak Prescott–Cooper Rush nonsense. The team’s October road trip ends in Texas this weekend, so let’s look at a few matchups to keep an eye on.
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons vs. literally anyone
Parsons may be the best player the Bears play against this season. It’s terrifying to think that they’re going to have to pass protect against him. He’s currently the second-best edge rusher in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus, and he’s basically either first or second in any statistic that matters. Sacks? He's second (eight). Assists? He's second (eight). Pass rush grade? He's second (91.7) Forced fumbles? He's fourth (two). So he’s not perfect! Still – he wrecks games, and the Bears should probably just put offensive lineman Teven Jenkins and tight end Cole Kmet on him at all times, regardless of where he is on the field. Sorry Cole, you’re playing guard this week too. There really isn't anyone on the Bears’ offense equipped to deal with Parsons on his own, but maybe teamwork can make the dream work. (The dream is keeping quarterback Justin Fields on both his feet, right?)
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard vs. Bears LB Roquan Smith
It sounds like Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (knee) isn’t going to play this weekend, so now the Bears don’t have to pretend like he’s their top priority in the running game. The Tony Pollard-is-better-and-underrated argument has been made so often over the last couple seasons that it’s hard to say he’s underrated at this point, but let’s do it! Tony Pollard is underrated. Pollard ranks 12th in average yards per rush (5.6), and PFF has him ranked as the third-best running back in football. Don't ask me how they make those distinctions, I don't know. All that matters is that he’s good, and without Elliott taking away his red-zone touches (technically they’re tied with 42% of red-zone rushes, per Football Reference), he’s going to get more than a few chances against a Bears’ run defense that ranks 24th in DVOA. Everyone is in charge of stopping him, but I already did the “vs. everyone” schtick for Parsons, so this one falls on Smith. He’s had a pretty weird season so far but does seem to have a knack for playing well in big games – and what’s bigger than playing the Cowboys in a game that, while not technically televised nationally, will be on most of the country’s TVs this weekend. It feels like playing with fire to say that the Bears should prefer a game that features a lot of Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb and receiver Michael Gallup, but here we are.
Bears CB Kyler Gordon vs. whomever Jaylon Johnson doesn’t pick up
Gordon has been playing a lot better over the last month – his statistics and grades now describe him as a replacement-level cornerback instead of quite literally the worst in football. Progress! His interception against the Patriots was one of the more cathartic moments of the Bears’ season, and three of his best four performances – according to PFF – have come in the last month. Assuming that Johnson spends most of his time on Lamb, Gordon is going to get a healthy dose of Gallup and Noah Brown. Dallas’ passing offense isn't particularly spectacular (20th in DVOA), but all the nerdy stats say that Brown has low-key been more productive than Lamb – Brown has him beat in DVOA, DYAR, VOA and catch rate. For all of his early season shortcomings, Gordon deserves credit for showing the ability to stack good performances, and if the Bears want to get back to .500, his play figures to be a major part of that. Also, if he plays well again, it’s officially time to give the Bears’ secondary a fun nickname.
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
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