ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys jumped out to an early lead and figured out how to hang on for a rather comfortable 14-point win Sunday night.
It marked the first win at home for the Cowboys since Week 1 of 2015 when the Cowboys beat the Giants.
On Friday, the staff writers gave their gut feeling for Sunday's game. Check out the instant reactions from the staff of DallasCowboys.com.
David Helman:Strictly speaking, I picked this game correctly – I thought the Cowboys would win and they did. But if you read my pre-game prediction, you know that I whiffed on everything else. To be quite honest, I thought the Cowboys would struggle to put this Bears team away. That wasn't quite the case. All credit in the world to this team for coming to work against an overmatched opponent and keeping things drama-free. Yes, the Bears tried to make it a game during a listless third quarter, but Dallas bucked down and put together a 10-play scoring drive to put this one away early. Dak Prescott continues to amaze, and the vaunted rushing attack we've been waiting for finally showed up. But the details aren't as important as the fact that the Cowboys dictated how this game would go from the very beginning. How they handled a supposed "gimme game" speaks volumes about how good they're capable of being.
Nick Eatman: Well, I was certainly pulling for a late field goal by the Bears, even though it would've been a dumb move trailing by 14. But it would've given me another exact score as I had 31-20 for the Cowboys. Overall, this was a decent prediction because I said the Cowboys needed to start fast to put the Bears on their heels. That's exactly what we saw as they jumped out to a 24-3 halftime lead and held on for the win. I had Zeke going over 100 yards for the first time although I must say that rushing for 140 was a little more than I predicted. I did miss on Lucky getting a touchdown and Anthony Brown recording a pick. But the Cowboys did spread around the touchdowns, with three different players recording a rushing touchdown, including the first of the season for Lance Dunbar. I figured the Bears might play a closer game but before we get too excited about a nice win for the Cowboys, let's not forget that this Chicago team is in bad shape right now, not just lacking talent but healthy talent as well.
Rob Phillips: It doesn't happen often, but my keys to Week 3 were in fact two of the biggest factors in the Cowboys' 31-17 victory. Rookie Dak Prescott continues to play mistake-free football, and the defense forced two more takeaways to give the team a plus-three turnover margin through three games. Bears backup quarterback Brian Hoyer did a good job of moving the Chicago offense as the game wore on, so was critical the Cowboys didn't hand him any extra possessions. I thought Ezekiel Elliott was due a breakout game – he looked headed in that direction the previous week at Washington, despite his two fumbles. He set the tone and had eight straight carries on the final two drives to help run out the clock.[embeddedad0]
Bryan Broaddus: I thought this would have been a much closer game than what it was. Dallas was clearly the better team and offensively played that way. The Bears were shorthanded on defense but the Cowboys offensive line took the fight to them all evening both run and pass. They were more physical than the Bears and despite not having Tyron Smith and La'el Collins were able to control the line of scrimmage. Dak Prescott had plenty of protection and Ezekiel Elliott was able to rip off his first 100-yard game. The Bears tried to make a game of it in the second half but really never could get anything going.
For the initial gut feeling predictions of the staff writers posted on Friday, click here.
