ARLINGTON, Texas (670 The Score) — The Bears couldn't keep up with the Cowboys in a shootout Sunday, dropping to 3-5 with a 49-29 loss at AT&T Stadium. Here are the observations from Chicago's defeat in Dallas.
Fields shows growth
Now about halfway through a rebuilding season, Bears second-year quarterback Justin Fields is showcasing considerable growth. He feels it, and it's clear in his performance.
Fields was 17-of-23 for 151 yards and two touchdowns while adding eight carries for 60 yards and another score Sunday. As a unit, the Bears have also showcased progress around him.
“I’m getting more comfortable with the offense,” Fields said. “I think our guys are too. I think we’re growing.”
Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has schemed to the strengths of Fields and the personnel around him, and Chicago leads the NFL with 188.4 rushing yards per game this season.
It’s possible that running back David Montgomery (361 yards in seven games), running back Khalil Hebert (563 yards in eight games) and Fields (424 yards in eight games) each surpass 1,000 yards rushing this season. Meanwhile, the Bears are on pace to surpass 3,200 yards on the ground this season. The Eagles led the NFL with 2,715 rushing yards in 2021.
That’s only part of how the Bears have displayed growth on offense. The effective running threat has also opened up more opportunities in the passing game.
Related
The Bears are beginning to unlock receiver Darnell Mooney as a more reliable threat. He had five catches for 70 yards against the Cowboys. Fields has also grown more comfortable with big targets in Equanimeous St. Brown and N’Keal Harry, who hauled in his first touchdown in a Bears uniform on a 17-yard strike across the middle of the field Sunday.
The Bears couldn’t keep pace with the Cowboys because of their poor defense, which allowed its most points since Chicago's fiasco at Lambeau Field in 2014. In case you blocked that game out of your mind, the Packers won 55-14 after leading 42-0 at halftime.
Scoring 29 points should usually be enough to earn a win. In defeat, the Bears can still claim a moral victory in seeing Fields and their offense make important strides against a stout Cowboys defense.
Roquan takes the blame
Bears linebacker Roquan Smith held himself accountable Sunday like a team captain should after a poor performance.
"We just got to get better,” Smith said. “We got to take this one on the chin. Hats off to those guys. But we got to get better. It’s embarrassing on the defensive side.
“We didn’t play to our standard. It’s unacceptable, and it starts with me. We got to get better, and we all have to get better for our individual assignments.”
Smith played like a $100-millino player in the Bears’ win against the Patriots on Oct. 24, producing one of his best career games. On Sunday, he had arguably his worst showing in the NFL.
Smith whiffed on a tackle in the backfield on a third-and-1 play early in the fourth quarter, allowing Cowboys running back Tony Pollard to escape for a 54-yard touchdown run. It was a back-breaking play for the Bears and one their top player on defense has to make.
“We have to be better,” Smith said. “It’s that simple. We can’t let no one run the ball, throw the ball and do whatever – or score that many points on us. Period. Everyone has to look themselves in the mirror and has to grow from this, get better. There were mistakes out there and they were simple mistakes, but they cost us big.
"Hats off to those guys, but we’ll be better from now on.”
If Smith wants to elevate his market ahead of this offseason, he has to be consistently great. So far, Bears general manager Ryan Poles hasn't been willing to give the off-ball linebacker a premium contract. Because of that, Smith went into this season betting on himself.
It was nice of Smith to shoulder the blame for the poor play that he and the Bears' defense displayed. Now it’s on him to improve.
Back to the basics
When asked to assess several specific players in his postgame media session Sunday, Bears coach Matt Eberflus responded that he had to review the film first. But the general diagnosis of his defense’s struggles was fairly simple.
“There’s no mystery here,” Eberflus said. “It’s about good fundamentals and technique. You got to do that down in and down out to play good defense.”
The Cowboys busted five plays for more than 20 yards and 10 plays of more than 15 yards. Pollard carried 14 times for 131 yards and three scores, averaging 9.4 yards per carry.
The Bears credited the Cowboys’ talent but also lamented their own lack of discipline.
“We could’ve been more gap sound, could’ve been more (technically) sound,” Bears pass rusher Trevis Gipson said. “But we can’t hang our heads on this game.”
Wrong read
On a two-point conversion attempt in the third quarter, Fields was absolutely blasted on a sack by Cowboys pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence.
It wasn’t a breakdown on the offensive line that led Fields to take the hit. The play was a run-pass option in which Fields elected to pull back from running back David Montgomery and throw. The protection slid to the left for the potential hand-off to Montgomery, leaving Lawrence unblocked behind the flow of the play.
“Should be a handoff, it should be a give, and he read it the other way,” Eberflus said. “Just got to throw it, then.”
Extra points
-- For the first time with both players healthy, the Bears on Sunday gave more carries to Herbert (16 rushes for 99 yards) than Montgomery (15 carries for 53 yards). Montgomery played the Bears’ first two series before Herbert entered on the third drive and began to make his mark.
-- After the Bears traded pass rusher Robert Quinn to the Eagles last week, they had to fill a vacancy among their four team captains. That role went to veteran safety Eddie Jackson, who hauled in his fourth interception of the season Sunday.
-- Let me borrow this line from colleague David Haugh, who wrote, “It got so bad Sunday that the Bears' offense couldn't stop the run either.”
-- Not to pile on former Bears coach Matt Nagy, but why didn't he utilize Fields as a runner like Getsy has?
-- Fields hit 21.23 miles per hour on a run Sunday, according to NFL Next Gen stats. And he did so at less than 100% as he played through a hip contusion. Yeah, he can fly.
-- It was another day in which we proclaimed how tough Fields is. That's because he was again pressured often. The Bears have to protect him better.
-- The Bears may be better suited with veteran Riley Reiff at right tackle over second-year pro Larry Borom. Reiff performed well in that role Sunday as Borom was out with a concussion.
-- Rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn had an increased workload at the Sam linebacker position Sunday, playing 22% of the snaps at that spot. It was a show of faith from the Bears’ coaching staff as he continues to develop.
-- The play is never over until the whistle sounds.
-- Somehow, it felt like the Cowboys could’ve scored much more than 49 points.
-- AT&T Stadium opened in 2009 and remains one of the premier stadiums in all of America. There are few venues that grab your attention like it.
-- Donate the orange helmets to charity. Or if a charity won't take them, just throw them in the trash.
-- For those rooting to see Fields develop and the Bears lose often so they can land a top draft pick, Sunday was your day.
-- Of course, don’t be the fan who roots against your favorite team for a draft pick that may or may not work out.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
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