The Week 8 matchup between the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium is -- at least in one way -- like some of the heavyweight title bouts JerryWorld has hosted over the years. The Bears' offense and the Cowboys' defense's biggest strengths happen to be each other's biggest weaknesses, and the winner will likely be decided by whoever wins the most at the line of scrimmage.
Let's break down exactly what we can expect on Sunday, but first here's how to watch:
Bears at Cowboys
Date: Sunday, Oct. 30 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: At&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)
TV: Fox | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Cowboys -1, O/U 42.5 (courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook)
Passing Game: Advantage Cowboys defense
The Cowboy have had one of the best defenses in the entire NFL all season, ranking in the top five across the board in nearly every key metric.
| Cowboys defense in 2022 | NFL Rank | |
|---|---|---|
PPG | 14.9 | 2nd |
Sacks | 29* | 1st |
Pass YPG Allowed | 185.1 | 4th |
Takeaways | 12 | T-5th |
*Cowboys' most through first seven games since 1987 (34)
Dallas padded its numbers a week ago in its 24-6 win over the Detroit Lions, forcing five turnovers, their most in a game since the 2013 season opener against the New York Giants (six). It was the Cowboys' NFL-best fourth game with a minimum of five sacks this season. The level of performance in their game against the Lions was exactly what they said they needed after they were all "pissed" following their Week 6 loss against quarterback Jalen Hurts and the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, according to defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. They had surrendered a season-high 26 points in the 26-17 defeat. Linebacker Micah Parsons declared that it was "shark week."
"It was good to get back on the right side of getting the ball, I think I communicated I was not pleased last weekend, so it was fun to have some chances to get the ball in the second half and see guys deliver on that," Quinn said on Monday. "I was really pleased to see their relentless energy and effort to go finish on some plays. That's us, that's our style, it was good to see that. We still have a lot of things where we feel like we can do better. Those are the fun parts of a game that you win where you can say 'let's take the next step, let's keep pushing to go.' So when you see the heads nod and that there are spaces for us to keep rocking, that fires me up as a coach."
Much of that "relentless energy and effort" comes from Parsons, the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft who has morphed into one of the NFL's premiere pass-rushers in his second season.
| Micah Parsons in 2022 | NFL Rank | |
|---|---|---|
Pressures | 36 | 1st |
Sacks | 8.0 | 2nd |
TFL | 8 | T-3rd |
QB Hits | 13 | T-5th |
Quinn has coached some of the most ferocious defensive players of the last decade as the Legion of Boom's defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks during their Super Bowl runs in the 2013 and 2014 seasons. However, Parsons still stands out as one of the most "competitive" players the current Cowboys DC has ever coached.
"He's [Parsons] a rare competitor, really beyond his years, that's his superpower, he's just rare in that space," Quinn said. "If there is a part he wants to improve on, he will find a way to do that. A lot of football you would think would come easy to him based on his physical traits, but there's a mental side for him [play recognition], so he can process things quickly in a game. Especially, if a play or situation repeats itself, he can recall something from two weeks ago. It's a rare competitiveness."
Bears quarterback Justin Fields, the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, probably isn't too fired up to see his former Big Ten rival and Penn State alum, Parsons, this weekend. He is the NFL's most sacked quarterback, 27 sacks taken, and the Cowboys defense leads the NFL in sacks, 29 sacks.
| NFL rank this season | Justin Fields | Cowboys Defense |
|---|---|---|
Sacks | Most (27) | Most (29) |
Pressure Rate | Highest (50%) | Highest (41%) |
"When you look at our pass rush, you're not going to block those guys, the only chance you got is breaking contain," Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott said on Wednesday. "That might give you the best chance you have against our D-line. Breaking contain and being able to make some plays in the scramble game."
Even if Fields heeds Elliott's advice, that's no guarantee he's going to be able to evade Parsons and the rest of the Dallas defensive line's grasp.
"It doesn't matter, no one is faster than me, I don't really think that's a problem," Parsons said on Wednesday when asked about Fields tucking the football and looking to take off downfield. "At the end of the day, we just have to get him to the ground."
One reason Parsons maintains a strong air of confidence when talking about chasing down Fields is because he proved he's faster in their pre-draft process. The Cowboys linebacker ran an unofficial 4.39 40-yard dash at Penn State's Pro Day while Fields clocked an unofficial 4.44 40-yard dash at Ohio State's Pro Day. They both share David Mulugheta of Athletes First as their agent, and the two train together in the offseason.
"Yeah, that's not even a question, he knows that too, we've raced multiple times," Parsons said when asked if he's faster than the Bears quarterback. "We actually bet on our 40-yard dash times when we were coming out. I beat him in that, it's not even close. For linebackers and defensive linemen, I'm the fastest player in the league. There are some skill positions that are faster though."
Even though Parsons will be tasked to make his offseason training partner's life miserable for three hours on Sunday, he hopes for Fields' success every other week except Week 8.
"We've spent a lot of time training together, we were out in Los Angeles together, and we spend a lot of time together in the offseason," Parsons said. "He's one of my closer friends in the league. It's always exciting to play him because I understand his competitive mindset, the type of game he's going to bring. He understands my mindset and he knows I'm going to be out there hunting for him. At the end of the day, it's a brotherhood. We love each other, and it's going to be fun watching each other's success."
Running Game: Advantage Bears offense
One area where Fields could see offensive success against Parsons and the Cowboys on Sunday is on scrambles or through the combination of his running backs, David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert, slicing through the Dallas run defense, a unit that ranks 19th in rushing yards per game allowed (120.1). Chicago averages an NFL-best 181 rushing yards per game, runs the ball more than any other team (59.8% of their offensive plays), and their 79.3 Pro Football Focus run-blocking grade is the best in the NFL.
| NFL rushing rank in 2022 | Bears Offense | Cowboys Defense |
|---|---|---|
Rush YPG | 1st | 19th |
Yards/Rush | 5th | 17th |
Yards After Contact/Rush | 1st | 17th |
Fields entered Week 8 leading all quarterbacks in rushing yards after contract with 266. Not so coincidentally, the Bears are coming off a 33-14 road beatdown of the New England Patriots on "Monday Night Football," a game in which he had a career-high 11 designed runs called. Those 33 points are the most the Bears have scored this season and in any of his 17 career starts.
| Bears offense in 2022 | First 6 Games | Week 7 at NE |
|---|---|---|
PPG | 15.5 | 33* |
Total YPG | 293.5 | 390 |
3rd Down Pct | 35.6% | 61.1% |
* Most in a Justin Fields start
Chicago has three games with 200 or more rushing yards this season, tied for the most in the league with the New York Giants. That has put the 2022 Bears offense in rarefied air in team history. They have run for more than 200 yards in each of their last two games, marking the first time the franchise has had consecutive 200-yard rushing games since 1985, the season of their last Super Bowl title.
| Bears rushing stats in last two games | Week 6 vs WAS | Week 7 at NE |
|---|---|---|
Carries | 37 | 45 |
Rush Yards | 237 | 243 |
Rush TD | 0 | 2 |
* Back-to-back 200-yard rushing games for 1st time since 1985
"He's [Fields] a big quarterback, he's very athletic, and if you watch his Ohio State film, it flashes there," Parsons said. "Even now it flashes, and they're really starting to develop their run game with him, so we have to find ways to hit him."
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones found a new way for his team to hit any opposing ball-carriers his team may face on Tuesday, trading for defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins in a transaction with the Las Vegas Raiders. Hankins comes to the Silver and Blue with a 2024 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2023 sixth-rounder, according to reports. Standing at 6-2, 320 pounds, Hankins' role is very clear: stop the run.
"Just going out there and doing the best I can in stopping the run and plugging up holes, so those guys can go out there and pass rush," Hankins said on Wednesday when asked what his goal is with his new team. "They've been doing an amazing job before I got here, so I don't think any of that is going to change. I'm excited, the team is playing well, and I just want to come in and help out."
"You can't have enough big men, particularly with the length and the size," McCarthy said on Thursday following the deal to acquire Hankins. "That's been a goal since I arrived here. I just can't say enough about our personnel department and the defensive staff to continue the development there. We have excellent, excellent numbers on defense."
If the Bears are able to stay in third-and-manageable situations, four yards or less, Chicago will have a chance against the Cowboys as a road underdog. However, if the Bears fail to stay out of third-and-five or longer scenarios, Parsons and company could feast all afternoon.
"Once again, we're facing another very good dual-threat quarterback in this league, and we just have to find a way to slow him down to win on first and second down, so we can do what we do best," Parsons said. "We just have to own our man keys on first and second down, understanding field position and what they want to try to do, so that we can go eat on third down."
