Dallas Cowboys vs Chicago Bears: Halftime Updates
After a close contest last week against the Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys took on the Chicago Bears in front of their home crowd for Monday Night Football.
Cowboys 1st Possession:
Oct 1, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) under center at the line of scrimmage against the Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
Following the opening kickoff, the Dallas Cowboys started at their own 20. A couple of effective runs by DeMarco Murray highlighted his moves, patience, and vision. Kevin Ogletree had a nice catch and run for a 1st down before a penalty. RB Felix Jones came in on 3rd and long; Romo was under pressure, but he fired a bullet to Jason Witten for the first down.Witten caught the only 2 passes thrown to him on the possession. Ogletree, on an end-around- turned a 4 yard loss into a 4 yard gain. RB DeMarco Murray was dropped for a loss, so the defense could then send their pass-rush; LT Tyron Smith got beat on a stunt, and the Cowboys punted.
Chicago Bears 1st Possession:
After an 8 yard run, Bears RB Matt Forte left the field looking like he re-injured his ankle. QB Jay Cutler converted a 3rd and long to WR Marshall in the slot to keep their drive alive. Marshall may have been lined up against a LB as opposed to a DB. The Bears moved the ball into Dallas territory. A huge play by ILB Sean Lee to drop the ball carrier after the D-Line forced Cutler to drop the ball off in the flat. Chicago was forced into 3rd and long; CB Morris Claiborne made a quick tackle on 3rd down to force a punt. (ILB Bruce Carter left game with injury)
Cowboys 2nd Possession:
Oct 1, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) in action during the first quarter against the Chicago Bears at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE
Cowboys opened on their 16 with a big gain off a short pass to Murray. A few plays later, Murray fumbled the ball, but the Cowboys recovered. That was Murray’s first fumble in his last 259 touches. The Dallas Cowboys were forced to punt after a mis-communication on 3rd down between QB Tony Romo and WR Dez Bryant.
Bears 2nd Possession:
Chicago began on their own 20. Cowboys run defense continues to be stingy. OLB Butler was used in pas coverage a lot. OLB Ware got to Cutler on 3rd down to force punt.
END of 1st Quarter
Cowboys 3rd Possession
A 53 yard unfielded punt left the Cowboys with 1st and 10 at their own 25ish. Dez caught 2 balls, one of them a bullet, for decent yardage. Romo had a shot to hit Dez for a TD on 3rd down, but he over threw it.
A great punt by new Cowboys punter pinned the Bears inside their own 5.
Bears 3rd Possession:
Oct 1, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) throws a pass during the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE
Dallas Cowboy DE Hatcher continued to make big stops for short gains on running plays. Cutler hit his WR on a 3 step drop/slant route to Brandon Marshall for 18 yards to get the Bears away from their endzone. Cutler took one unsuccessful deep shot down field to Hester, McCray was in coverage. A Forte run of 14 yards began to change the complexion of the game. Cutler also took a deep shot at rookie Morris Claiborne, but it was no where close. On 3rd and long at the 50, Butler almost had a sack, but Cutler evaded him and completed a pass for the 1st down at the Cowboys 34. Cutler found WR Brandon Marshall when he needed to. Despite giving up some chunks of yards to Forte, the run defense remained solid most of trhe day. They forced a FG. Chicago 3 – Dallas 0
Dallas Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan is trying to play defense without OLB Anthony Spencer, NT Jay Ratliff, DE Kenyon Coleman, and ILB Bruce Carter.
Cowboys 4th Possession:
With about 4 minutes left in the half, the Dallas Cowboys took over on their 20. Witten caught his 3rd pass (ZERO drops) Murray also seemed to have contracted fumbleitis. He dropped a toss from Romo. As a result of the lost yardage, the Cowboys had to pass, Romo threw a pick 6 on a pass intended for Dez Bryant. (Former Cowboy Chris Canty was blitzing on the play). Chicago 10 – Dallas 0.
Cowboys 5th Possession:
Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE
With just over 2 minutes and all 3 timeouts, the Cowboys started on their 20. Witten had another catch for a 1st down (ZERO drops). WR Miles Austin finally got a catch. Then he followed it up with a long catch from a scrambling Tony Romo to set the Cowboys up with a 1st down on the Chicago 18 with 46 seconds left. Romo hit Bryant for 8. Chicago was forced to take a timeout with 20 seconds left on the clock. Romo hit Austin for the TD on from the slot. Chicago 10 – Dallas 7. Romo was 8 of 9 on the drive, no rushes, 80 yards.