Cowboys Opponent Profile: Bears Looking To Upset Cowboys Playoff Chances

By Shawn Lealos

The Dallas Cowboys look to recover from the beating handed down to them by the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving Day in a Thursday night game with the Chicago Bears. Thanks to the loss to the Eagles, Dallas has to scramble to remain in the playoff hunt, with their best chance now a wild card berth. Another stumble could knock them out of playoff contention completely. Here is a look at the Chicago Bears and the threat they possess.

Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery

In 2013, the key to the Bears offense was their playmaker wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. However, in 2014, Jeffery was off to a rough start. Through the first nine games of the season, Jeffery only had two 100 yard games and three total touchdowns. While his yardage totals is still not great, he has come to life over the last three weeks. He has 23 receptions for 228 yards and four touchdowns in that time span and is heating up just when the Bears needed him to.

Marshall is faring even worse. After opening the season with four touchdowns in the first two games of the season, he has only four in the 10 games since then, with two coming against the Minnesota Vikings three weeks ago. Tight end Martellus Bennett is even outplaying Marshall this season. The Bears receivers are still two of the most physically talented in the NFL, but they need Jay Cutler to play better if they want to succeed.

Jay Cutler

That is where the Bears problem in 2014 lies. Jay Cutler is supposed to be the franchise quarterback in Chicago, but he doesn’t always play like one. So far through the season, Cutler has 24 touchdown passes and 25 turnovers. While 14 of those turnovers are interceptions, he also has fumbled the ball 11 times and his inability to hold on to the ball is a huge reason that the Bears are 5-7 right now and pretty much out of playoff contention.

The Defense

At one time, the Chicago Bears defense was one of the strongest in the NFL and the reason that they could win any game. However, they have struggled mightily this season. They rank a low 30th in the NFL in pass defense, giving up 270.7 yards a game, and 11th in run defense, giving up 105.5 yards per game.

Last week, they gave up 390 passing yards to Matthew Stafford and watched as Calvin Johnson hauled in 11 receptions for 146 yards. This means that, while they might somewhat limit DeMarco Murray, they might have problems stopping Tony Romo and Dez Bryant in the passing game.

The Weather

Through the end of the season, when every game is a must win for the Dallas Cowboys, weather conditions will play a major role. Dallas has to play in Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington in three of the last four weeks, and all three locations have a chance for hazardous weather. Luckily for Dallas, the weather on Thursday night in Chicago is supposed to be very cold, at a low 31 degrees, but only cloudy with no rain or snow. 

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Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.