Chicago Bears notes: Defenses falters in ‘embarrassing’ fashion against Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas – When two team captains use the word “embarrassing” it’s never a good sign. Bears linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Eddie Jackson both called Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys, 49-29, at AT&T Stadium in Texas “embarrassing” for the Bears’ defense.

It’s hard to argue with them.

The Bears allowed 442 yards of total offense and Dallas averaged 7.8 yards per play. The Cowboys’s offense went 9 for 11 on third down. Dallas rushed for 200 yards and threw for 242. “Embarrassing” seems to fit.

“It’s embarrassing to let anyone run the ball like that,” Smith said. “You’ve just got to get better, got to take this one under the chin. Hat’s off to those guys, but we’ve got to get better, it’s embarrassing from the defensive side.”

The Bears offense scored four touchdowns and a field goal, but it still wasn’t enough to top the Cowboys. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott finished the afternoon 21-for-27 passing for 250 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Prescott also ran for 34 yards and a touchdown.

Playing without starting running back Ezekiel Elliott, running back Tony Pollard totaled 131 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Pollard’s 54-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter all but cemented the win for the Cowboys.

It was a breakout performance for Pollard, who has largely been a sidekick to Elliott.

“He’s a shifty guy, speedy guy,” Jackson said. “He’ll hit holes and stuff, get to the second level. Today, he kind of did that. We’ve seen that on film. We didn’t do a great job of keeping him under control. We knew that would be the thing, they’re going to get him out here and try and get him going.”

Jackson wore the captain’s letter “C” on his chest for the first time this year. The Bears were playing their first game since trading Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn earlier this week. The Quinn trade left one captain spot open, and the team named Jackson a captain.

Jackson tied his career high with 11 tackles and also had one interception in the game. It was his fourth interception of the season.

Offensive outbreak: It wasn’t all bad. Sunday marked the highest passer rating of quarterback Justin Fields’ career at 120. His previous career high was 118.7 earlier this season against Minnesota.

Fields went 17-for-23 passing for 151 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 60 yards and a score on eight attempts. He did not turn the ball over. The Bears’ 29 points on Sunday marked the most that Dallas’ vaunted defense allowed all season.

“Just look at the positive things, of course,” Fields said. “Watch the film and see where we need to grow. I think the offense today played well. There’s always room to grow.”

The Bears have utilized Fields’ running abilities better in recent weeks. That seems to have opened things up for the offense.

“His ability to run out of pocket is really special and the designed QB runs are also a plus,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “It kind of creates those opportunities in the pass game. We’ll just keep leaning on that.”

Fields connected with Kmet for a 10-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. It marked Kmet’s first touchdown since Dec. 6, 2020, and his first touchdown thrown by Fields. It snapped a lengthy drought for the 2020 second-round draft pick.

Herbert with another big game: Running back Khalil Herbert totaled 99 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. For the second game in a row, the Bears used Herbert and running back David Montgomery nearly evenly. Montgomery totaled 53 yards on 15 carries, as well as 22 yards on three catches.

The Bears totaled 240 rushing yards as a team. It marked the third consecutive game they ran for at least 200 yards. They haven’t done that in three straight games since 1968, according to NFL Research.