Ray's Sports Ramblings: Chicago Bears @ Dallas Cowboys Preview

After last week’s devastating loss to the Washington Redskins, the Dallas Cowboys have plenty of questions to answer.  Their opponent this week, the Chicago Bears, want to be respected as a legitimate NFC North division contender. 

Having only one game to go off of in 2010 season, it’s hard to pick a clear cut favorite between these teams.  Last week, neither of these teams played to their full potential.  The Bears scrapped by with a win as a result of a controversial play against the Detroit Lions. 

With several injuries to the starting line up, the Cowboys – who many believe to be Super Bowl contenders – fell flat on their faces.  Both teams have an issue in the red zone. The Bears amassed 463 yards of total offense against the Lions, yet barely escaped with a victory.  The Cowboys as well out-gained the Redskins in nearly every category, but penalties and costly mistakes left them with a loss. Many are wondering if the Cowboys are the team they thought they were and if the Bears are able to be a true force to be reckon with.

One thing these two teams have in common is the inability to score points once entering the red zone.  A major key to victory in this game for both teams will be the red zone production.  The team that can even score one touchdown will take the victory.  This entire game will likely be a defensive power struggle.  Both teams need to prove they can find the end zone.  The defense cannot carry these teams forever.

The Bears have no significant injuries to speak of this week and the Cowboys have three key starters returning to their lineup.  Both teams are going to have a full roster at their disposal. 

For the Bears, the key to winning this week’s game is not to have turnovers.  This team had four against the Lions in week one. They cannot do that in this game against the Cowboys and still win.  The Cowboys play much better defense than the Lions.  The Bears must also contain Cowboys wide receiver Miles Austin.  Austin, the all-pro player, has become quarterback Tony Romo’s favorite target.

To achieve a victory in this game for the Cowboys they need to reduce the amount of free yardage they give away with penalties.  The team had twelve penalties in last week’s game.  Granted the player who committed three of them will not be starting on the field.  Right tackle Alex Barron will once again assume his role backing up Marc Colombo who is returning from a knee injury, something all Cowboys fans can rejoice over.  However, the rest of the team still needs to execute better.

Expect this game to be a low scoring defensive battle.  Both teams will attempt several field goals.  Expect special teams to be critical, as the team with the best field position should win.  The Cowboys have an edge in this area as their place kicker David Buehler leads the league in touchbacks.Both teams need to put offensive points on the board in order to prevail this match up.

However, with the Cowboys getting their offensive starters back they have a slight advantage over the Bears with the final score predicting Dallas 13 Chicago 10.

Rachel Trimm is a Jabberhead, blogger, & SJ Contributing Author. Read more of her works at Ray's Sports Ramblings: The Gridiron Edition.

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