3 Takeaways from Bears' Week 8 Loss vs. Cowboys

The Chicago Bears had a chance to pull to .500 on the season in Week 8. However, they ran into an offensive buzzsaw and instead fell 49-29 to the Dallas Cowboys.

This was not a pretty game for a Bears defense that has largely played solid ball in 2022. Chicago came in ranked sixth in points allowed and fresh off of last Monday's dominant 33-14 win over the New England Patriots.

On Sunday, Chicago gave up 442 yards of offense and allowed Dallas to convert nine of 11 third-down attempts. The Cowboys jumped out to a 28-7 second-quarter lead and did enough from there to salt away the game.

At 3-5, Chicago can still think about making a postseason push, but Sunday's loss showed that the Bears aren't quite ready to tangle with the top teams in the NFC. Here's what else we learned during the Bears' Week 8 loss to the Cowboys.

Last week, the Bears made the curious decision to trade standout pass-rusher, Robert Quinn, to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fourth-round pick. The compensation seemed low, considering that Quinn had 18.5 sacks last season and Chicago was just a game below .500.

While Quinn has only one sack and seven quarterback pressures this season, he had a big leadership role on the defense.

"He left me with a lot of tips and tendencies," defensive end Trevis Gipson said, per Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago. "You know, I’m just soaking up everything he gave me. It was sad. It was down. But it’s also part of the business."

Chicago's defense seemed to lack intensity against Dallas and it put almost no pressure on quarterback Dak Prescott—who was sacked only once, hit twice and finished 21-of-27 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

The Bears defense got burned early—Dallas found the end zone on its first four possessions—and desperately could have used a veteran leader like Quinn to help it regroup. Instead, the Cowboys scored two offensive touchdowns and a defensive TD in the second half. Quinn's presence will be difficult to over the final nine games of the season too.

It wasn't all bad for Chicago, as the offense was relatively efficient against a very good Dallas defense. While David Montgomery's third-quarter fumble—which Micah Parsons returned 36 yards for a touchdown—was definitely a lowlight, there were plenty of bright moments.

Many of them came from quarterback Justin Fields, who has been unleashed as a dual-threat signal-caller by head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Fields ran 14 times for 82 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Patriots, and that helped open up Chicago's offense.

"I thought it brought a whole different element to our offense," Fields said, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra.

Fields was back to scrambling on Sunday, finishing with 60 rushing yards and a touchdown to go with 151 passing yards and two more scores. The Bears offense racked up 371 yards and 22 first downs while controlling the ball for 36:04 of game clock.

By allowing Fields to play freely instead of forcing him to play from the pocket, Chicago has sped up the 23-year-old's development. Fields' 120.0 passer rating was a career-best, and a lack of offense was not the reason for the loss.

Chicago should feel very good about dropping 29 points on Dallas, and it should feel even better about the direction in which Fields is trending.

As the Bears look to set up Fields for success, they must consider upgrading his supporting cast. Chicago lacks dependable pass-catchers aside from Darnell Mooney, and it wouldn't be a shock to see Chicago target a pass-catcher at Tuesday's trade deadline.

However, the Bears have gotten a little help in the form of former Patriots wideout N'Keal Harry. The 24-year-old was acquired for a 2024 seventh-round draft pick back in July but only made his debut last week against his former team.

An ankle injury landed Harry on injured reserve to start the season, and the Bears are just now getting a look at what they have in the Arizona State product. They might just have a player who can contribute.

Harry caught his only target for 14 yards against New England last week. Against Dallas, he caught two passes on two targets for 24 yards and a touchdown. His 17-yard touchdown reception helped spark a surge, and Chicago pulled within five points of the Cowboys in the third quarter before Dallas broke the game back open.

While Harry obviously isn't taking over games, it's nice to see him on the field and making plays in Chicago's offense. The Bears have nine more chances to evaluate the 2019 first-round pick before he becomes a free agent.

*Advanced statistics from Pro Football Reference