Chicago Bears (0-2 SU, 0-2 ATS) vs. Dallas Cowboys (1-1 SU, 1-1 ATS)
Week 3 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday Night Football, September 25, 2016 at 8:30PM EST
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
TV: NBC
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Betting Odds: CHI +7/DAL -7
Over/Under Total: 44.5
The Chicago Bears come into AT&T Stadium to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. The Bears are off to an 0-2 start, which was compounded with a thumb injury to Jay Cutler, as Brian Hoyer looks to start at QB this week with Cutler listed as doubtful. On Monday Night Football, the Bears lost at home badly to the Eagles, 29-14, as they were really awful after losing on the road to Houston the previous week. Dallas showed they're still in the mix with a nice road win over the Washington Redskins in week two to even their mark at 1-1.
The Cowboys look to go to 2-1 and are at home with what appears to be a deteriorated Bears bunch. Dallas lost by one-point in week one to the Giants and beat the 'Skins on the road and definitely look better in their Tony Romo-less state this season than they did last year. Back at home, they look to make it two in a row, which would certainly create some positivity in the Dallas locker-room. There were some good developments on Sunday. Rookie Dak Prescott hasn't been great, but he hasn't been bad, either. He has no TD passes, but at least he hasn't thrown any picks. He was 22-for-30 with 292 yards in week two, an improvement on week one's game. He started connecting in a meaningful way with Dez Bryant, who was over 100 yards on the game. Cole Beasley had another good day, as he looks to be gelling with Prescott early. The run-game looked to advance their cause in week two. Rookie Ezekiel Elliott had 83 yards and a touchdown, while Alfred Morris and Prescott each ran one in, as well. Unlike last season, you can at least see them forming an identity on offense.
This Dallas offense is a group that can develop. With a rookie at QB and RB, there are going to be some growing pains, Helping ease those growing pains, however, is a good offensive line, a good tight end in Jason Witten, and a diverse receiver crew that can do a little bit of everything. It's the perfect environment for young talent to grow and one can expect some decent results some weeks, and some uneven ones in other weeks.
As the offense grows, the Cowboys will be looking for the defense to make a big contribution this season. They're getting pretty good play too. The secondary has kept Eli Manning and Kirk Cousins under control in two games thus far. Sean Lee is all over the field making plays and is a real difference-maker in this defense. The line has been leaky against the run, while the pass-rush has been inconsistent, a byproduct perhaps of the suspensions incurred by Randy Gregory and Demarcus Lawrence.
The Bears look to be in some trouble and turning to Brian Hoyer for relief seems problematic at best. There are weapons at his disposal. Alshon Jeffery is a handful and Hoyer should be able to find him. Eddie Royal is another substantial contributor who can also make big special teams plays, as he showed with a punt return TD on Monday. It looks like first-round pick from '15 WR Kevin White might need more time to come around, but he's been starting to make contributions. Not having continuity at QB isn't good, though Cutler hadn't been lighting the world on fire, either. Hoyer is 15-11 as a starter. It also looks like the run-game will continue to suffer unless Jordan Howard can make something happen. Losing Matt Forte is turning out to be a key departure where recovering from it looks like a potential problem.
The Bears have been decent against the pass and held Carson Wentz to a respectable 190 yards on Monday, after keeping Brock Osweiler in check for much of week one. They held the Eagles to 4.1 yards per play and 280 yards overall. The Eagles converted just 3 of 15 third downs. 29 points is a lot for the Eagles to score with that kind of offensive production. Three turnovers didn't help and some costly penalties also played a role. They've secured one turnover in two games and are just sort of "there." Now they're looking battered with S Adrian Amos and CB Bryce Callahan leaving the game with concussions, LB LaMarr Houston leaving with a knee injury that will force him to miss the season, and NT Eddie Goldman carted off with an ankle injury that will keep him out for a while. A thumb injury has also taken out LB Danny Trevathan for an indefinite period of time. In week 3, a huge part of their defensive personnel is injured.
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It's a good time to be cautious when betting against the Bears. A lot of teams look worse than they really are in two-game windows. It's troubling the way they have started the season and with so many teams looking to improve, they don't look equipped to be among those squads. You have to figure John Fox will get some results at some point, right? With his track record, something good is bound to happen. Hoyer, who came in for Cutler last week and completed 9 of 12 passes, is by no means a long-term answer at the position, but these journeyman types can often be really productive when they come in on a short-term basis.
How bankable is Dallas at this point? When you get down on one team, it can often times blind you from the other team's shortcomings. Dallas was able to beat what looks like a much worse-than-expected Redskins team and we could be looking past Chicago just in terms of how they match up with this particular team in this specific game. The number on this game might jar some people who think it's big. And as is often times the case in scenarios like that, that team is the right pick. I think Chicago has been left dilapidated on the defensive side of the ball. Even if the absence of Romo shines the most, the Cowboys look to be the far more-intact team and I see them getting some separation late from the Bears.
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