2022 Cowboys Season Preview: Week 8 vs Bears

Week 9 will see the Dallas Cowboys take on the Chicago Bears in Arlington to close out the month of October.

The Cowboys last faced the Bears in 2019, with Chicago coming out on top at Soldier Field 31-24. The last time Dallas defeated Chicago was in 2016, beating the Bears 31-17 in Arlington.

Justin Fields returns for his second season as the Bears’ starting quarterback. Last season, he completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,870 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Fields also rushed for 420 yards and two touchdowns. He started 10 games in 2021.

Running back David Montgomery’s 2021 season was dampened by a knee injury. Despite this, he rushed for 849 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games.

After losing Allen Robinson in free agency, the Bears will rely on a wide receiver corps of Darnell Mooney, Byron Pringle, N’Keal Harry and Velus Jones Jr. The latter three are new acquisitions via free agency, trade and the NFL Draft, respectively. Cole Kmet returns as Chicago’s No. 1 tight end after tallying 612 receiving yards last season.

Tackles Riley Reiff and Tevin Jenkins, guards Cody Whitehair and Michael Schofield and center Lucas Patrick make up the Bears’ offensive line. Chicago will be without guard James Daniels, who the Pittsburgh Steelers signed in free agency.

After trading away edge rusher Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers, former Cowboy edge rusher Robert Quinn will be relied upon heavily on the defensive line. Last season, he tallied 18.5 sacks, ranking second in the NFL.

Roquan Smith, one of the league’s best linebackers, returns to anchor the Bears’ defense. Jaylon Johnson remains Chicago’s No. 1 cornerback after recording one interception and nine passes defended last season.

Johnson is joined in the secondary by safety Eddie Jackson and rookie safety Jaquan Brisker. Brisker was selected in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft out of Penn State.

After firing head coach Matt Nagy, the Bears are now led by new head coach Matt Eberflus in 2022. Eberflus was the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts before coming to Chicago and was the Cowboys’ linebacker coach from 2011-17. This is his first head coaching job.

The Cowboys will play the Bears on Sunday, Oct. 30 at noon CT on Fox.