Monday Night Football brings us what hopes to be a great match-up as the Chicago Bears (2-1) go down to Dallas to take on the Cowboys (2-1). This match-up features two teams that have playoff aspirations and whoever wins this game will have a lot of momentum as they continue their journey towards the playoffs.
There have been many question marks for both teams through the first three games of the season. Will the Bears’ offensive line be able to block long enough for quarterback Jay Cutler against a very talented pass rush for the Cowboys? If not, will Cutler be able to keep his cool, as I am sure we all saw him shove J’Marcus Webb the Bears’ starting left tackle, and find different ways to move the Bears down the field.
On the other side of the field we have the Cowboys and their inconsistent running game. Running back DeMarco Murray totaled 131 yards in the Cowboys’ win over the New York Giants in their season opener. However, Murray hasn’t quite been the same since. He has totaled only 82 yards in the past two games for the Cowboys. If the Cowboys hope to win this game they will need Murray to be the guy he was in the first game of the season.
Matt Forte is a game-time decision for the Bears as he is still nursing that injured right ankle. Forte says he should be ready for the game after an extended week off from last Thursday in Green Bay, a game in which the Bears were dominated on both sides of the ball by the Packers. The Bears do have a very capable back up in Michael Bush.
The Cowboys will look to clean up all the penalties they’ve committed as they barely escaped last week against Tampa Bay. The Cowboys committed 13 penalties for 105 yards, but thanks to some very good defense they were able to hold Tampa Bay to just 166 yards on offense.
If all these things fall into place for both of these teams, this looks to be a very entertaining match-up and I like the Cowboys to defeat the Bears 17-14 in a hard fought defensive game.
