Possession by Possession Analysis of the Cowboys-Bears Game

Live Blog of Dallas Versus Chicago

First Quarter

Chicago to receive and Dallas kicks the ball out of bounds. Good field possession at 40. Let’s see what Ron Turner and Rex Grossman have in store tonight.

Bears: Bomb on first down? Nope. Cedric Benson run for six yards. Benson run for 12 yards and a first down. Turner looks like he will let the running game open the pass. Grossman fires a strike to Bernard Berrian, who drops the pass. 2nd and 10 — Sweep by Adrian Peterson for a short gain. Third down and time for the Bears to utilize the tight ends. 3rd and 8 — Grossman in shotgun. Hit as he throws as the pass is incomplete. Maynard punts into the end zone.

Analysis: Drive stalls on Berrian drop. Don’t like the fact that Turner is going to make this a running game. Chicago needs to attack Dallas with the passing game. Nice start for Benson. Why does Turner pitch to Peterson on second down? Questionable call. Bears defense versus Cowboys offense set to begin.

Cowboys: Romo sacked on first down by Mark Anderson for a loss of 11 yards. Julius Jones for a couple of yards. Hit hard by Adam Archuleta. Chicago should bring the pressure here on third and long, and see if they can force a Romo interception. 3rd and 19 — Romo to Terrell Owens for about 17 yards. Late blitz by the Bears. Dallas will punt out of bounds if smart. Nice punt to the sidelines by McBriar. Hester return for two yards before going out of bounds.

Analysis: Great start by Chicago’s defense. They need to bring the pressure against Romo all night. Expect the Bears to pound with Benson on first down. If Turner had guts, he’d go for the homerun ball to Berrian.

Chicago: Grossman quick hit to Berrian for 11 yards and a first down. Benson run for a yard. Hester in and used as a decoy. Turner doesn’t understand that he hasn’t struck any fear into opponents with Hester on offense yet. 2nd and 9 — Benson run for two yards. Another third and long here. It’s time to get Desmond Clark or Muhsin Muhammad the ball. Bears in shotgun again. Grossman delivers a nice throw to Berrian for a 17-yard gain and a first down. Give credit to Turner for going shotgun thus far on third downs. Grossman play-fake, and the pass is low to Muhammad. Dallas had some decent pressure. Grossman didn’t step into that throw. 2nd and 10 — Neutral zone infraction caused the offense to jump. 2nd and 5 at Dallas 43 — Benson short run for two yards. Benson has followed big run with two runs for nothing. Big third down here. Bears have been on the field longer and are establishing a time-of-possession game here. Grossman fires quick slant to Berrian for a first down. Nice job by the Bears of getting Berrian going early. Now let’s get the tight ends going. Benson run for seven yards on a fake to Hester. 5-yard Dallas facemask at the end of the play. Hester lined up as a receiver here on 1st and 10 from 21 — Benson hit for a loss of a yard. Grossman short strike to tight end Greg Olsen (first NFL reception) to make it a more manageable third down. Nice throw into tight corridors by Grossman. Third and 4 — Grossman under center, fires quick strike to Muhsin Muhammad for a first and goal. Turner doing a nice job of a quick hitting attack. Possession at six minutes here. Benson runs to the two-yard line for second down. Benson stuffed on second down run. Third and goal — playaction fake to Desmond Clark? Big play here. Bears need a touchdown not a field goal. Grossman roll out and throws the ball out of the end zone. Smart decision. Poor play call with six Dallas defensive backs. What is it with NFL teams wanting to throw the ball when at the two-yard line. Robbie Gould field goal of 20-yards is good. Bears 3, Cowboys 0.

Analysis: Bears needed a touchdown on that drive after having the ball for seven minutes. Good playcalling thus far bogged down at the end of that drive on third down. At least, this is becoming a game in which the Bears offense is staying on the field. Still need to get in the end zone after drives like that. Grossman sharp thus far.

Cowboys: Gould kicks the ball out of bounds. Dallas to have ball at 40. Good field possession for Cowboys. Watch Dallas try to stretch the middle of the field here to T.O. on first down. Nope. Julius Jones run for eight yards on first down. Tackle by Charles Tillman. Romo in gun. False start on T.O. What a shame! 2nd and 8 from 42 — False start on Flozell Adams. 2nd and 13 from 38 — Why are Bears in nickel? Romo under center here. Jones stuffed for a gain of nothing. Tackle by Hunter Hillenmeyer, Brian Urlacher and Archuleta. 3rd and 15 — Romo’s pass off Crayton’s hand is picked off by Archuleta. Bears showed blitz with Ricky Manning Jr. but dropped off.

Analysis: Cowboys shooting themselves in the foot early here with penalties and a pass that should have been caught. Would like the Bears to get a bit more aggressive and go after Romo rather than letting him sit in the pocket. Good field position for the Bears. Chicago needs to be up 10-0 after this drive, no ifs, ands or butts, or the first quarter will be considered a waste. Don’t let Dallas hang in here. Time for the offense to get in the end zone.

Bears: Grossman hits Berrian for a gain of 13 yards to the Cowboys 35. Cedric Benson run for three yards to the 32. End of first quarter.

Analysis: Bears dominating time of possession and game. Only lead 3-0. With that said, the offense is doing a much better job and not letting the defense have to spend all game on the field thus far. This could be a big thing to watch later in the game. Chicago needs a touchdown on this drive. Need to be up two scores at the end of this possession and not let Dallas hang in.

Bears: Grossman is picked off by Anthony Henry to start the quarter. Muhammad stopped the route. Cowboys ball around their own 30.

Analysis: Don’t hang that INT on Grossman. Like the Berrian interception in San Diego, it looks like a receiver broke off a route.

Cowboys: Marion Barber stuffed by Hillenmeyer on first down. Romo dump to Jones in the backfield. Urlacher missed tackle. Looks to be illegal block in the back on Dallas and is. Bears catch a break. Must wrap up. 2nd and 20 from Dallas 24 — Barber stuffed by Lance Briggs for a gain of nothing. 3rd and long for Dallas — Romo in gun. Short pass to Crayton. Tackle by Manning Jr. and Briggs. Punt coming. Dallas hasn’t been on the field at all tonight. Hester muffs the punt but falls on it. Mark Bradley just missed blocking the punt. Bears ball at their 21.

Analysis: How did Bradley miss that? And how did McBriar get that nice of a punt off? Anyways, Bears are dominating this game, but it is very disturbing that it’s only 3-0 right now. Time to get in the end zone. Turner is calling a nice game thus far but can this offense punch it in? Bears need to execute in Dallas territory.

Bears: 1st and 10 from 23 — Benson dancing too much…loses four yards on a play in which there wasn’t much to begin with. Still need to move forward rather than sideways. 2nd and 14 — Conservative draw to Benson for a gain of about five yards. A long third down here, key for Grossman to not force anything. 3rd and 8 — Grossman in gun, goes under center, throws a floater off his back foot to Rashied Davis. Pass incomplete. Maynard punting from just outside Chicago 10 — Nice punt to Cowboys 31, Crayton fair catch.

Analysis: Poor footwork by Grossman on that play. Davis had a chance to catch it. More alarming, Bears controlling the game and yet only lead 3-0. Very reminiscent of first halves against San Diego and Kansas City. This team needs to take a chance deep down field on offense. Dallas should be down at least 10-0 but is one big play away from taking the lead in a game in which the offense has done nothing.

Cowboys: Romo strike to Jason Whitten for a gain of 34 yards. Bears brought the pressure there and Romo avoided. 1st and 10 from Bears 35 — Romo pass to Terrell Owens for 10 yards and a first down. Chicago needs to be more aggressive on defense. Owens dropped a slant pass. Offensive pass interference on Owens. 1st and 20 from 35 yard line — Whitten wide open again behind the Bears defense after some pressure. Nice blitz pickup by Dallas. Urlacher couldn’t get off Gurode block and still struggles getting off blocks in general. Romo pass to Whitten in the back of the end zone is incomplete. Dallas starting to get a nice offensive flow. 2nd and 10 from 12 — Romo quick slant to Fasano is dropped. Dallas should have scored there. Cowboys tight ends giving the Bears a lot of trouble. 3rd and 10 — Romo pass to Crayton is incomplete. Chicago holds on nice coverage by Peanut Tillman. Nick Folk field goal from 30 yards is good. Bears 3, Cowboys 3

Analysis: Dallas starting to find something with its tight ends, who are getting behind Bears linebackers. Romo and Fasano should have connected for a touchdown. Chicago not getting much of a pass rush from front four. May need to bring some more blitzes. In general, they should be sending more guys in at Romo. This game is very alarming. It’s 3-3 and the Bears have dominated for the most part. Romo showing very nice poise in the pocket.

Bears: Hester return to the 18-yard line. Another T.V. timeout. Big drive for the Bears on offense. Need to score here. Momentum is swinging. Benson run for six yards wiped out by Desmond Clark holding. 1st and 19 from Bears 9 — No turnovers please. Benson rush for three yards. Juking too much rather than hitting the hole (even though there wasn’t one there); 2nd and 16 — Grossman is sacked by DeMarcus Ware, who blew by John Tait. 3rd and 23 from 4 — run with Adrian Peterson. No shock. Turner has no confidence in Grossman this deep in Bears territory. Maynard in back of end zone needs a big punt. Punt to Bears 48, Crayton return to 45.

Analysis: Great field position for Dallas. Chicago offense stalling like in games past after early momentum. Bears defense facing yet another tough task.

Cowboys: Briggs and Anderson brought the heat and just missed the sack. Urlacher gets the sack. That’s what Chicago needs to do. Bring the blitz and go after Romo. 2nd and 18 — Romo incomplete pass. 3rd and 18 — Dallas averaging 16 yards to go on 3rd down. Screen pass to Julius Jones for about 15 yards at least swings the field position game. Bears timeout.

Analysis: Big blitz by Bears holds down Dallas here. Yet again, Bears need to do something here on offense. A nice drive to end the half (five minutes left) would be nice. Looks like Dallas is going for it on 4th and 3 — may try to draw Bears offsides. Romo hits Owens for a first down. Darwin Walker’s inability to get off the field leads Cowboys to go for it. Romo to Whitten for first down at Bears 12. Nice blitz pickup on previous blay (Gurode got Briggs). Jones run for three yards, nice stop by Manning Jr. 2nd and 8 from Bears 9: Romo pass to Fasano for three yards, tackle by Nathan Vasher. 3rd and 4 — Romo in gun: Crayton drops touchdown pass, wide open, reminiscent of Jackie Smith in the Super Bowl. Folk 23-yard field goal is blocked by Idonije. Archuleta returns to Dallas 46 yard line.

Analysis: Another block by the Bears special teams. Unbelievable. Three blocks in three games. Dallas decision to go for it on fourth down earlier at Bears 43 shows that Dallas and other teams don’t worry about where the Bears have the ball on offense. In other words, they’re not too concerned about what the Bears can do on offense. Chicago holds again with backs against the wall. Chicago could realistically be down 14-3 at this point. This game is like Kansas City in the second half. Cowboys are now blowing chances. Chicago needs to score a touchdown to end the half. Dallas receives first in the second half.

Bears: Grossman play action pass to Desmond Clark down the middle is low and incomplete. Bad throw by Grossman. Good call by Turner, trying to turn special teams stop into chance for a big hit. Two minute warning. 2nd and 10 — Grossman quick hit to Berrian for 13 yards. 1st and 10 — Grossman beautiful pump fake and throw to Berrian at the 10 yard line is dropped. Let the ball hit him in the chest rather than getting hands on it first to bring into chest. 2nd and 10 — Nice blitz by Dallas. Grossman throws the ball into the ground. Bad pickup by the Bears on Ware. 3rd and 10 — Grossman calls timeout. Grossman quick strike to Berrian is incomplete. Gould will try a 53-yard field goal. If he misses here, this will give Dallas a chance to score at end of half and could swing the momentum. Bears run a fake and it’s incomplete. Play never developed. Desmond Clark didn’t get off the line quick enough for Gould to throw the ball. Dallas with good field position at 35.

Analysis: As John Madden said, that play didn’t have a chance. More importantly, fake shows the Bears don’t have confidence in offense and are trying to pull all of the tricks out of the bag here in a big game. Chicago should have scored on that drive but Berrian’s drop looms large.

Dallas: Romo pass to T.O. is dropped yet again. Draw to Barber. Stopped by Briggs. Holding on Dallas makes it 2nd and 20 from 25 with 59 seconds — Romo pass to Owens is incomplete. If Bears can hold here and use last timeout, they will set up a Hester return. Huge play. Barber draw for about 10 yards. Bears to use last timeout, setting up Hester possibility. McBriar should punt out of bounds but doesn’t. Hester fair catch at 29 yard line.

Analysis: Why are they punting to Hester?

Bears: Grossman to Desmond Clark for seven yards. Nice job by Clark of getting out of bounds. Horse collar on Roy Williams adds 15-yards to the end of the play. Chicago should take a shot down field here and try to get a late score. Grossman forced pass to Muhammad is incomplete. Why is Chicago trying to work the middle of the field with no timeouts? Grossman dump pass to Peterson, tackled inbounds. Grossman spikes the ball on third down with six seconds left. Grossman got sacked by Ware. Holding on offense. Bears timekeeper ran off the clock. John Tait has been abused by DeMarcus Ware.

Analysis: Terrible coaching by the Bears here and the Bears get away with cheating by timekeeper. Just awful all around there. Dallas got screwed on that play. Bears are lucky to be tied. Chicago 3, Dallas 3.

Halftime Analysis: Missed opportunities sum up this first half. Bears should have scored early but settled for a field goal, and then turned it deep in Dallas territory. Romo missed Fasano on touchdown. Crayton dropped a T.D. pass. Berrian dropped a possible T.D.

Even more worrisome, Chicago’s clock-management and play calling at the end of the half was awful. Bad first half for Tait, and Grossman couldn’t avoid the rush on the last play. Chicago survives because of dirty timekeeping. This game is eerily similar to San Diego and Kansas City games. Expect the Cowboys to take this game in the second half. Chicago offense sustaining no rhythm once again; Turner’s called a decent first half but the Bears did not capitalize when they had the opportunity early in the game. Dallas can use the tight ends in the middle of the field, and it looks like the Bears defense will once again have to save the day. Grossman’s been OK but needs to be better. Chicago’s coaching staff doesn’t have the confidence to do much on offense. If the Bears staff has such little faith in Grossman, why is he out there?

Third Quarter

Cowboys: Kickoff is botched by Dallas and goes out of bounds deep in Dallas territory. Romo to Crayton for seven yards. Romo good mobility on second down, hits T.O. for first down. Lance Briggs out with groin injury. Julius Jones run for three yards. Romo pass to Whitten is dropped. Another drop, but the tight end was open once again in the middle of the field. 3rd and 7 from Dallas 38 — Romo pass to Owens for first down. Nice presence in pocket by Romo. This game is slipping away from Chicago. 1st and 10 for Dallas at Bears 35. Romo again alludes pressure and hits Owens in the middle of the field to the Bears nine yard line. Julius Jones first and goal run to the three yard line. 2nd and Goal — Romo play action pass to Whitten for a touchdown. Cowboys 10, Bears 3.

Analysis: Romo is playing an excellent game against Chicago pressure. Bears defense is once being asked to do too much. Even more alarming, Briggs out and Ogunleye hurt on that drive. Injuries could take a toll on this unit this season. Dallas is really beating Chicago in the middle of the field, thanks in large part to Romo’s scrambling ability. Chicago offense must respond, which is asking a lot from a unit with one offensive touchdown in 10 quarters this season. Dallas may have taken this game, and Romo has been impressive. Owens with four catches for 70 yards on that drive.

Bears: Hester muffs kickoff and returns to the 14-yard line. False start on Muhammad. Benson run for five yards to get back to original line of scrimmage. Grossman throws out of bounds, nice protection by Dallas defense. Fans booing Grossman but that was good coverage and a smart decision to throw out of bounds. Grossman steps up in the pocket and runs and dives for first down. First time in his career that Grossman has made a play with his legs. Chicago’s offensive line is getting dominated tonight. 1st and 10 from 26 — Grossman hits Clark for a big gain to the Dallas 21. Roy Williams tried to knock him down rather than wrapping up Clark. Finally getting Clark the ball (his second reception). 52-yard gainer there by Clark. Grossman to Olsen down to the one yard line. Nice job. First and goal from one — Benson touchdown run. Bears 10, Cowboys 10.

Analysis: Great bounce back drive. Grossman big scramble seems to have gotten him going. Give Grossman credit there. He maintained that drive with a smart run on third down. For Grossman’s critics, anyone who has watched him the first three games can say that he has been better in the pocket this season. In other words, he’s not as much of a statue as he was last year, and is moving around. With that said, Chicago’s offensive line is struggling once again with the blitz. This is where the Bears miss a strong blocking back like Jones as Benson can’t do it. Time for the defense to respond.

Cowboys: Tyson Thompson return to about the Dallas 25. Holding will bring it back half the distance to the goal. If Chicago can create a turnover here, game could change. But Romo and Owens have a nice rhythm. T.V. timeout. Romo throw to Whitten for about five yards. Grossman’s career rushing stats 42 carries for 58 yards. Romo’s pass on second down is incomplete. 3rd and 4 — huge play: Romo to Barber for first down. Looks to be a flag on this play. Holding on Dallas. Bring it back half the distance. Vasher down on the play. Yet another injury to the defense? T.V. timeout. Vasher walking off the field. Looks like a groin injury. Manning Jr. in the game. 3rd and 11 from Dallas 8 — Romo to Owens for a big gain of 35 yards. Sam Hurd destroyed Archuleta with a nasty block. Romo is controlling this game in the pocket. 1st and 10 from Dallas 43 — Romo slings it to Hurd for a 25-yard gain and a first down. Hurd was wide open. Cowboys finding gap in Bears zone once again. First and 10 — Romo’s pass to Owens is broken up by Tillman. Romo avoids yet another sack. Romo quick hit to Crayton for ten yards and a first down. 1st and 10 deep in Bears territory. Timeout Dallas. As much as Romo is a ham and been built up way too quickly by the media, he’s playing an excellent game against a strong defense that is starting to look tired. 1st and 10 from Bears 22 — Barber run for about five yards. 2nd and 6 — Barber tough run for about five yards. Just short of a first down. Very tough run. The Bears defense looks a step slow. Injuries and the fact that they’ve been on the field so much is starting to catch up on them. Third and one — Barber picks up first down. This is a big drive by the Cowboys. Great response to Bears touchdown. First and Goal from 10 — Romo pass to Barber out of backfield for a touchdown. Missed tackles by Manning Jr. and Archuleta results in touchdown. Cowboys 17, Bears 10.

Analysis: Cowboys huge drive and response. That’s a drive that could define not only a game but also a season.

Bears: Grossman pass to Benson for eight yards after Hester return to Bears 35. Benson run for a first down. However, he fumbled it and Roy Williams recovered. Play to be reviewed? Ball looks like it was out. Yet another big turnover by the Bears offense? Chicago’s defense looks tired and Dallas could put the game away here. Yet again, Chicago’s defense will be put in another tough position. Play stands. Benson fumbled it.

Analysis: Benson is not the guy at running back. Two fumbles in three games this season. Bears have 9 turnovers in three games. Defense once again put in terrible position. Dallas should put this game away right here.

Dallas: Romo pass to Jones for a first down at Bears 32. End of quarter. Cowboys 17, Bears 10.

Fourth Quarter

Dallas: Romo pass to Whitten in the end zone is incomplete. 2nd and 10 from 32 — Encroachment on Tommie Harris. Julius Jones run to the Bears 4. Another penalty on Dallas. Holding brings the play back. 1st and 10 from 30 — Romo avoids another sack and hits Jason Whitten for 10 yards and a first down. 1st and 10 — Urlacher blitz and sack. Romo nearly got out of his grasp. Chicago doing a poor job of tackling. 2nd and 20 from 31 — Barber run for about five yards. 3rd and 15 — Watch the middle of the field; pass to Owens is incomplete. Tillman stepped in front and nearly picked off. Another Chicago blitz. 4th and 15 — 44 yard field goal is good. Cowboys 20, Bears 10.

Analysis: Cowboys looking good. Bears are tired but hanging in. With that said, this game is over.

Bears: Hester fumbles on kickoff, Brandon Ayanbadejo recovers. Grossman’s pass is intercepted by Anthony Henry and returned for a touchdown. Cowboys 27, Bears 10.

Analysis: Bears fans are literally starting the Griese chants. Poor decision by Grossman, which has been his calling card in his career. Does Lovie go to Griese? You can feel a season slipping away here. Dallas is becoming the top team in the NFC and the Bears are taking a step back. If Grossman returns on this drive, he needs to lead Chicago to a touchdown. Another interception here could mean the end of his career as a Bear.

Bears: Hester is eaten alive inside the 10 yard line. The Bears are falling apart here, physically and mentally. They are beaten tonight. Going into commerical, Al Michaels slings a cheap shot at Donovan McNabb, saying that Grossman will get 100X the criticism this week that McNabb will receive.

Analysis: That wasn’t necessary, Michaels.

Bears: Grossman pass to Berrian for a first down. Berrian drops a pass from Grossman. 2nd and 10 from 15 — pass to Adrian Peterson for 7 yards. 3rd and 3 — Peterson run for a first down. Grossman pass to Muhammad for a first down. Grossman sails a pass out of bounds on first down. Peterson wrapped up. Where’s Benson right now? This is supposed to be your franchise back. 3rd and 10 — Grossman sacked. 15-yard facemask on Olin Kreutz. The offensive line looks old and awful. Penalty declined. Maynard punt to Crayton. Holding on Dallas.

Analysis: Madden hit it on the head. Grossman’s inability to scramble for the most part is what differentiates him from Romo. Dallas has dominated this game with an impressive showing. The Cowboys have won this game on both lines and thanks to Romo’s ability to move in the pocket.

Dallas: Barber run for about five yards. Time to run the clock out. Barber another strong run. Bears tackling has been pretty bad tonight. They need to regroup this week and focus on wrapping up players. Tommie Harris is down on the field. Yet another T.V. timeout. Barber run. He’s stuffed at the line, but picked up first down. Barber run for a couple of yards. Barber run for a first down and a horse collar on Charles Tillman (play not called). 1st and 10 at Dallas 45 — Barber 54-yard run to the Bears one-yard line. Barber has been a stud in the second half. Urlacher stuffs Barber but fails to wrap up. Luckily, Barber stuffed short of end zone. Barber touchdown run. Archuleta missed tackle. Went high instead of hitting him low. Cowboys 34, Bears 10.

Analysis: This is getting embarrassing, but Dallas has shown a lot tonight. Just a dominant performance in all three phases of the game. Barber has had a great second half, and Chicago’s tackling has been terrible.

Bears: Danieal Manning return to the 47-yard line. Grossman is picked by Roy Williams, who read his eyes and took the pick. Grossman got locked on Muhammad on that play.

Analysis: Three interceptions for Grossman tonight. This is the beginning of the end of his career as a Bear. He needs a change of scenery. There’s too much scrutiny on Grossman. In his defense, the whole Chicago team has been bad tonight. This game wasn’t lost by Grossman but a whole team. Chicago was outplayed and outcoached tonight. Lovie and his staff face the biggest test of their careers during this week. How do they get a defeated team to bounce back? How do they respond to all these injuries? And do they finally pull the plug on Grossman?

Cowboys: Cowboys mop-ups are in. Two short Dallas runs, and the two-minute warning. Brad Johnson is the quarterback. Tyson Thompson run. Cowboys to punt. McBriar punts out of bounds.

Bears: Grossman back out. Peterson run for eight yards. Peterson run for two yards and this game is over. Cowboys 34, Bears 10.

Analysis: Give Dallas credit tonight. The Cowboys came into Soldier Field and dominated at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. The Cowboys also were spectacular on special teams. After getting a lot of hype for his success last season, Romo had the best performance of his young career. His ability to avoid the Chicago rush was phenomenal, and he controlled the game in the second half. Terrell Owens had a very strong night, and Dallas Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett exposed the middle of the field against Chicago’s defense all game long.

The only things that may hold Dallas back in the long run this season are penalties and its defense. However, the Cowboys were much more aggressive tonight with the blitz and should continue to play a similar scheme throughout the year. The Cowboys need to be more disciplined, but are clearly the best team in the NFC at this point after three games.

For the Bears, all the blame will unfairly go to Grossman tonight, even though the whole team and coaching staff was awful. Grossman’s interceptions didn’t lose the game; the game was lost before his two picks in the fourth quarter. However, the INTs do reveal that Grossman doesn’t have what it takes to lead you back from big deficits. Chicago had early opportunities tonight but let Dallas hang in after a dominant first quarter. It’s also further clear that Cedric Benson is not the man, and that Ron Turner has been an absolute dog this season.

Chicago broke down in the fundamentals in tackling tonight as well. Defensively, the Bears were a step slow in the second half. After being on the field for too long in the first two games of the season, the Bears defense couldn’t maintain another Herculean effort. And injuries are starting to take a toll on this team, once again symbolizing how tough it is to get back to the Super Bowl.

This game probably signals the end of Grossman as the quarterback of the future for the Bears. He may still start but this is the type of game that will begin cementing the fact within the organization that he’s not the guy for the long term. Now the questions will start falling on Lovie Smith and his coaching abilities. Will he finally make a change at the QB position? The Bears haven’t been able to game plan around Grossman all year. Also, how does Smith get the Bears to regroup?

This game also falls on Jerry Angelo. The Thomas Jones trade was bad in March and is even worse right now. Why Benson was anointed the starter (just because he was a first-round pick) is a joke, and Ced once again disappeared from the game after his third-quarter fumble (similar to the Super Bowl). All in all, the Bears were exposed tonight in every facet of the game. How they respond will be key to where this season goes from here?

Once again, the offense failed to establish any consistent rhythm, and turnovers (4 more tonight) and dropped passes were huge. Chicago’s offensive line is really looking old thus far this season, and is unable to pick up the blitz. The Bears don’t have a solid back to take the pressure off Grossman (as Benson is clearly not the guy). Rex continues to show that one mental gaffe or physical mistake can result in a downfall of mistakes. It’s getting clear (if it hasn’t been already) that Grossman’s teammates and coaches don’t have confidence in him and are letting this affect their play.

Defensively, the Bears were aggressive but couldn’t get to Tony Romo, who proved elusive and controlled the game from the second quarter on. Fundamentally, the Bears were very poor when tackling. How many times did Bears players make initial contact only to let Romo, Barber or someone else bounce off and get more yards? The front line was contained by the Cowboys offensive line, which did a phenomenal job against the blitz unlike its Chicago counterparts. The Bears defense is a unit that has been on the field way too long this season. While keeping the game close in the first half, the Bears defense couldn’t do it in the second half. Romo, Garrett, Owens and Whitten killed the Bears in the middle of the field all night long.

All in all, it was a game that a usually dominant Bears defense (which is being decimated by injuries), a dormant offense, a sloppy special teams, and a unimpressive coaching staff would like to forget. But will Chicago be able to forget a game in which the Cowboys came into their house and totally dominated?