Thanksgiving was rough for both the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. The Cowboys fell hard to the Philadelphia Eagles as Mark Sanchez avenged his infamous butt fumble. The Bears were victim to a big game from Calvin Johnson who led the Detroit Lions to a much-needed win. Now both teams are in need of bouncing back as they remain in contention for the playoffs.
The Cowboys are trying to avoid another December collapse. Dallas cannot afford another loss. The team dropped to 8-4 after the Thanksgiving loss while also losing hold of first place in the NFC East. They trail the Philadelphia Eagles by one game while sitting tied with Seattle and Detroit for a wild card spot. The issue is that it is December, the worst month in Dallas. The Cowboys have gone 1-3 in the month of December in the past two of three seasons. Thanksgiving did not get things off to a good start when the team was held to just 267 yards, the second lowest of the season while they rushed for just 93 yards total. Tony Romo tossed two interceptions and was sacked four times.
The road has been good to Dallas. They are trying to go 6-0 away from home while Romo has 12 touchdowns and a league-best 122.0 passer rating on the road this season. If they are going to avoid another steep fall from grace this year, the Cowboys must maintain those numbers against the Bears.
Chicago will first focus on stopping Demarco Murray who has run for 146 yards on 18 carries in last season's loss to the team. The Bears rank 10th in run defense this season, allowing an average of 105.5 yards per game. However, Matt Forte could be preparing to burn the Cowboys. Dallas let LeSean McCoy rush for 159 yards on Thanksgiving, something Forte is capable of doing. He had just five attempts against the Lions, something that will change against Dallas.
Chicago has underachieved for most of the season so far and are in need of a dominating game. If Dallas is off their game heading on the road, they might be able to get the needed win.