Dallas Cowboys vs. Chicago Bears: Full Report Card Grades for Chicago
Published by Matt Eurich on December 5, 2014
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
A week after struggling on offense in a loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, the Chicago Bears were unable to get into a rhythm offensively until the fourth quarter in their 41-28 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.
After picking up 100 yards through the air with Jay Cutler and five yards on the ground with Matt Forte in the first half, the Bears trailed the Cowboys 14-7 at halftime. A series of miscues and bad plays led to the Cowboys jumping out to a 35-7 lead before the Bears were able to muster up some offense late in the second half. The Cowboys came away with the victory, but Chicago managed to put up 376 yards of total offense.
Despite Chicago’s fourth-quarter efforts, Dallas’ DeMarco Murray was simply too much for the defense to handle. He finished the game with 179 yards on 32 carries with one touchdown.
With the loss on Thursday night, Chicago’s slim playoff hopes were all but dashed.
“You just want to be in it at the end (of the season),” Cutler said after the game, via ESPN.com. “Unfortunately throughout the year we’ve done some things to not give ourselves a chance, and we’re upset about that.”
Regardless of the final score, head coach Marc Trestman did not think his team gave up on Thursday night.
“This team competes hard every day to get better, and it competes hard in the football game,” Trestman said, via ESPN.com. “That would be totally disrespecting our football team to think they’re not going out and competing as hard as they can.”
When asked about his job security following his team’s eighth loss of the season, Trestman avoided the question, via Adam Hoge of TheGameChicago.com:
Here is Marc Trestman’s response when asked if he is concerned about his job security: pic.twitter.com/tAnTTR96Ig
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) December 5, 2014
The Bears will now focus their attention on the New Orleans Saints. The two teams are set to square off at Soldier Field on December 15 on Monday Night Football.
Here are our grades for each Bears unit following the Week 14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
