CHICAGO – The final score certainly got away from the Cowboys on Sunday as the Bears got their head coach his first win.
But it's not like the Cowboys didn't have their chances throughout the game. Here are some plays that might be forgotten but could've changed the outcome.
First-quarter fumble – Way back in the first quarter, on the Cowboys' first possession, let's not forget the fumble by Javonte Williams that stalled an encouraging opening drive. It wasn't just the fumble, but the way the Cowboys were moving down the field when Williams was stripped by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who got the ball in one motion before stepping out of bounds. After an impressive defensive stop by the Cowboys, the offense looked to be on its way to scoring when the turnover happened. Getting a touchdown early could've changed the momentum at a critical time.
Guyton penalty – Trailing 14-3 early in the second quarter, the Cowboys were on the move and had third-and-3 at the 10-yard line, possibly in four-down territory already down by 11. But a false start on left tackle Tyler Guyton pushed the ball back to third-and-8, and the Cowboys didn't convert. The penalty set the offense back and led to a field goal, wasting yet another great chance to get into the end zone.
Calling timeouts before halftime – Trying to play the clock game, the Cowboys came up on the wrong end of the stick, and it might have cost them at least four points. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer was trying to give his offense some time to get the ball back, but twice he called timeouts that allowed the Bears to take their time on offense. After a 4-yard run by D'Andre Swift with 1:24 to play in the half, the Cowboys called their second timeout. But on the next snap, although the Bears ran another play short of the first-down marker, the Cowboys didn't call a timeout. On third down, Chicago promptly got a big first down on a pass to Rome Odunze. Then on another pass to Luther Burden down to the Cowboys' 10-yard line with 30 seconds to play, Schottenheimer again called a timeout. Instead of the Bears hurrying up and wasting another 10-12 seconds or calling their own timeout, the Cowboys gave them the chance to take their time. A touchdown pass on the next play gave the Bears a 24-14 lead, and without any timeouts, Dallas did nothing with the ball before the end of the half.
Prescott sacked, drive stalls – The reason teams defer after winning the coin toss is to try to make a big statement at the start of the third quarter. But after a promising beginning on the first possession of the second half, which saw the Cowboys reach midfield mainly because of a strong running game, Dak Prescott was sacked on second-and-5 for a 10-yard loss. That killed the drive as the Cowboys were forced to punt, wasting a chance to cut into the 10-point Bears lead.
Missed opportunity for INT – This is more of a three-play sequence in the third quarter with the Bears already up by 10 points. The Cowboys were desperate to get a turnover, and they had a shot when Caleb Williams' pass was deflected up in the air. But linebacker Kenneth Murray couldn't get to the ball in time. After the incomplete pass, the Bears then had a third-and-10 but converted on a pass of 12 yards to D.J. Moore, his first catch of the day. The drive then continued, not only chewing up yards but time on the clock, and the Bears ended up scoring a touchdown by Moore on fourth-and-goal to grab a commanding 31-14 lead. That drive lasted 19 plays for 9:54 of game clock. The Bears converted four third downs and a fourth-down for the TD.
