Every year the Dallas Cowboys and their accompanying, nation-spanning troupe of fans claim a return to the Super Bowl is right around the corner. With a slaughterhouse squad the features QB Tony Romo, arguably a top five Cowboys signal caller of all-time, RB DeMarco Murray, a record-holding runner who many believe is a better example of a runner than the great RB Emmitt Smith, TE Jason Witten, perhaps the greatest Cowboy of the past decade and WR Dez Bryant, perhaps the most physically imposing wide receiver in the NFL behind Megatron aka Calvin Johnson. Even though that’s debatable, it’s certain that Bryant is more durable.
Despite all that firepower, and a renewed emphasis crafting an offensive line that is reminiscent of the great ones from the good ol’ Super Bowl days, the Dallas Cowboys are about as mediocre as mediocre could can get for the better part of a decade. Yet, every year, the Dallas Cowboys are thrown into the mix of NFC favorites without accomplishing much of anything. Conversely, as unimpressive as the Dallas Cowboys have been since the mid-90s, the Chicago Bears seem to have copied their blueprint for underachieving. A top-flight receiving core featuring WR Brandon Marshall, WR Alshon Jeffrey and athletic TE Martellus Bennett, a pass catching RB in Matt Forte and a cannon-armed QB in Jay Cutler, seems to have copied that blueprint for mediocrity. How could they be mediocre with all that firepower? Well, if you’re team can’t stop anyone from scoring then eventually the records will even out.
DeMarco Murray sprinted for a season-high 179 yards and a touchdown while Tony Romo tossed three touchdowns in a 41-28 Thursday Night thrashing of the once proud Chicago Bears franchise. Though the numbers appear inflated, but the game was actually closer than the numbers say. Chicago lost Brandon Marshall to a rib injury while his team appeared to be threatening to score and did not return. The win made sure the Cowboys would clinch their first winning record in five years after three straight seasons of 8-8. But Coach Jason Garrett and company are not only looking to ride this wave of positive energy towards winning the NFC East over the rival Philadelphia Eagles and perhaps making their first playoff appearance in five years.
The game was tight like hallways early on as the Cowboys took at 14-7 lead into halftime, but 21 points in the third quarter seemed to spell curtains for all of the Chicago Bears aspirations. However, they did make a gutty surge late in the game. Tony Romo completed 21 out of 26 passes for 205 yards and finished with a 138 passer rating. The Cowboys converted seven out of 14 third downs thanks in large part to Dez Bryant and Cole Beasley showing up and producing when needed. DeMarco Murray also had 49 yards receiving to go along with his 179 yards. Murray tied Emmitt Smith with 11 straight 100 yard rushing games in the season.
Cutler’s game wasn’t too bad. He threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns. However, Cutler imploded on the final drive with an interception to Cowboys’ CB Orlando Scandrick to end the game. A recurring and unfortunate theme for the Bears was their inability to run the ball (Matt Forte had 26 yards on thirteen carries), and the defensive ineptitude displayed by the team that once was called The Monsters of the Midway. Laughable in retrospect.
