Bears vs Cowboys: Takeaways from the snap counts, stats, and more

Dropping a game by 20 points is never a good thing, but considering where this Chicago Bears team is right now, I'm not even upset with their 49 to 29 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Playing consecutive road games on a short week often spells doom for that second contest, and the Bears looked a step slow from the start. Dallas scored touchdowns on their first four possessions, and Chicago had no answer for one of the most talented offenses in the league.

But Justin Fields and the offense flashed at times, and the running game (240 yards) continues to be tops in the NFL. Chicago's offense racked up 29 points and 371 total yards, both of which are the most the Cowboys have allowed so far this year.

Dallas' offense clicked all day with 442 yards, and their average gain per play was better than the Bears' (7.8 to 5.2). Chicago ran more plays (71 to 57) and had the time of possession edge (36:04 to 23:56).

The Bears were 6 for 15 (40.0%) on third downs and 2 for 3 (66.7%) on fourth downs, but the Cowboys were an incredible 9 for 11 (81.8%) on their third down attempts.

Now let's take a closer look at the playing time breakdowns for the Bears and also some individual stats.

OFFENSE

Box score scouts love to crap on Justin Fields, but he's been playing some pretty good football these last couple of games. Yesterday, in the 18th start of his career, he had his highest passer rating thus far at 120.0. He was an efficient 17 of 23 (73.9%) for 151 yards, 2 TD passes, and most importantly, 0 interceptions and 0 fumbles. He added 8 runs for 60 yards and a TD, but he was sacked 4 more times.

Khalil Herbert had 99 yards rushing on 16 carries and a TD on just 22 snaps.

David Montgomery ran 15 times for 53 yards and had 3 receptions for 22, but he fumbled for the first time this season.

Darnell Mooney has been trending up of late, and on Sunday he had 5 catches for 70 yards.

Cole Kmet had his first TD reception since December 6, 2020, to go with 2 receptions for 11 yards.

N'Keal Harry had the first TD of his Bears career (2 receptions for 24 yards), and it was also his first TD since December 6, 2020. He also was the second most active receiver behind Mooney this week with 50 snaps.

DEFENSE

Eddie Jackson led the Bears in tackles with 11, and he had an interception that he returned for 21 yards.

Jaquan Brisker had 9 tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss.

Al-Quadin Muhammad played a season-high in snaps and playtime percentage, but he didn’t scratch the stat sheet.

Nicholas Morrow (1 TFL), Kindle Vildor, and Roquan Smith all had 5 tackles apiece.

Smith was upset after the game, both with his play and the play from his defensive teammates.

SPECIAL TEAMS*

*The above image has players that only played in the third phase.

Cairo Santos had another perfect game with 2 extra points and a 36-yard field goal.

Trenton Gill had 4 punts for a 50.8 average while dropping 1 inside the 20.

Jaylon Jones had 2 total special teams tackles.

Long-snapper Patrick Scales was credited with an assist on a tackle.

To check out the full Bears vs Cowboys box score, I find that ESPN has an easy-to-navigate site.

All statistics and snap counts are taken directly from the NFL's Game Statistic and Information System, as are the accompanying pictures.