Chicago Bears Vs. Dallas Cowboys: Five Things To Watch

In last week's 13-6 loss to the Washington Redskins, the Cowboys were doomed by turnovers, sloppy play, penalties, and sub-par offensive line play.  Actually, the offensive line did all right, only allowing one sack of Tony Romo. But the game will forever be remembered for that horrid holding on right tackle Alex Barron.

Alas, it is time to focus on the game against the Bears.  The Bears had to feel lucky after beating the Lions last week. Although it is always hard to call a game a must-win in September, the Cowboys do not want to head into Houston 0-2 against an amped up Texans team that just beat up on the Indianapolis Colts. 

So, here are five things to watch in today's game.

1.) Offensive Line Play

Yes, for the second week in a row all eyes will be on how Marc Colombo fares after coming back from minor knee surgery.  The return of Kyle Kosier will be watched as well, but Colombo will be facing bears defensive end Julius Peppers, and that will be a matchup to watch for. 

In case you missed it, Peppers played a role in sacking and injuring Matt Stafford last week.

2.) Special Teams

It sure feels like just when the team is starting to get comfortable with a place kicker, I'm looking at you Nick Folk circa 2008, things fall apart (Nick Folk circa 2009). Once again here we are trying to find a reliable kicker. 

The Cowboys have tried different approaches to fix the kicker woes, from signing free agents (Mike Vanderjagt) to drafting for one (Folk, David Buehler).  Buehler has been better known for his booming kickoffs than anything else, but now the team needs him to kick the pigskin between the uprights when it matters. 

Missing a 30-odd yarder last week does not instill confidence.  On top of the kicker woes, special teams coverage did not look stellar against the Redskins either.

3.) Turnovers

There has been a good amount of chatter on why the Cowboys defense does not cause more turnovers.  In just about every other department, the defense has been stellar.  The cure to the turnover woes should be the arrival of Jay Cutler to town. 

Cutler threw a league-high 26 picks last season and has one to his name in 2010.  With numbers like that, I would expect the Cowboys defensive backs have been salivating since they saw this game on the schedule.

4.) Jason Garrett

The offensive game plan left people wanting last week.  Some of the conservative approach, especially concerning the passing game, has to be attributed to Garret and Co. not feeling confident in Alex Barron's ability to handle the pass rush. 

Judging by how Barron performed when he actually had to pass block, it's hard to argue with Garret's approach.  That said, the team needs to stop getting cute with bubble screens to Dez Bryant and needs to trust that the guys with the stars on their helmets will get the job done.

5.) Defensive Backs

I know I already mentioned turnovers, but the Cowboys DBs (Newman, Jenkins, Scandrick), not to mention the safeties (Ball and Sensabaugh), should be busy with a Bears offense that is run by Mike Martz. 

Old school Bears offense is running the ball down your throat, but this Bears offense couldn't get a yard on four downs to score on the Detroit Lions last week .  So, expect loads of passing, which should yield a more open, and fun to watch, game than last week.