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Bears take on Dallas tonight at Soldier Field

Neither the Dallas Cowboys or the Chicago
Bears had all that much to give thanks for last week.

Each team will try to rebound from lopsided divisional losses on
Thanksgiving Day when they kick off Week 14 of the NFL season tonight at Soldier Field.

The Cowboys laid a 33-10 egg against visiting Philadelphia on
Turkey Day, and the Bears suffered a 34-17 setback at Detroit.

Dallas is now a game behind the Eagles in the NFC East with just
four to play and the Bears are all but done in the NFC North at
5-7, three games south of the Lions and four behind
division-leading Green Bay.

"No excuses," Cowboys defensive tackle Jeremy Mincey said. "We just
gotta get better. Sometimes it's good to get a good old fashioned
butt-kicking to get you going again."

The Eagles ended Tony Romo's consecutive games streak with a
touchdown pass at 38 in North Texas and held league rushing leader
DeMarco Murray to under 100 yards.

Romo completed 18-of-29 passes for 199 yards and threw two
interceptions as Dallas dropped its third straight home game.

"Today was an opportunity that we didn't cash in on, but we have to
learn from this game and move forward," Cowboys head coach Jason
Garrett said.

Murray failed to reach the century mark for only the second time in
2014, finishing with a season-low 73 yards on 20 carries against
the Eagles.

The Cowboys will meet the Eagles again in Philadelphia on Dec. 14,
meaning this could serve as a bit of a trap game for Dallas,
although the Bears haven't scared many foes this season.

In the Motor City on Turkey Day, embattled QB Jay Cutler was
31-for-48 for 280 yards with a pair of touchdown passes to Alshon
Jeffery along with two interceptions for Chicago, which had won its
previous two coming into the contest. Jeffery had nine catches for
71 yards.

"We had a fast start which was good," Bears head coach Marc
Trestman said. "Then they got on a roll and really made their money
throwing the football and moving it around."

The all-time series between the 'Boys and the Bears is tied at 11
apiece but Garrett has yet to beat Chicago in his head-coaching
career, losing three straight.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Cutler has always seemed very comfortable against Dallas and has
passed for 552 yards with five touchdowns and a gaudy 138.2 passer
rating in his previous two starts against the Cowboys.

He has plenty of weapons offensively starting with lengthy wideouts
Jeffery, who has seven touchdown catches this season, including
four in the previous three games, and Brandon Marshall as well as
6-foot-6 tight end Martellus Bennett.

"We've got a big game in primetime this Thursday night," said
Marshall, who has 22 catches for 432 yards and three touchdowns in
four career games against Dallas. "We've definitely got to put our
best game forward against the Cowboys."

Meanwhile, running back Matt Forte has been nearly as productive as
Murray this season with the two ranking first and second in the
NFC, respectively, in scrimmage yards this season.

Forte (828 rushing, 650 receiving) is the only NFL player with at
least 800 rushing yards and 650 receiving yards in 2014 and he
tends to be even better at home where he 147.2 scrimmage yards per
game with four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving).

"(Forte is) almost half of their offense if you put it all
together," Garrett said. "Very versatile, very productive, and they
use him really well - similar to what Philly does in using their
backs a lot of different ways."

Despite all that skill-position talent, however, Chicago is just
21st in the league, averaging only 21.1 points per game.

"I think with the guys we have and character and integrity of the
guys, I don't think anybody's going to quit," Cutler said. "I think
the coaches won't let us, they're not going to quit on us."

Dallas has been much better on the road this season than at home,
piling up over 30 points per game and compiling a perfect 5-0 mark
away from the Lone Star State.

"I think (it) turns me on a little bit - to come into someone's
house and hear the boos and all that," Murray said. "I think it's a
great thing. We've just got to focus, and have more patience,
especially on the road, and not make many mistakes. I think we'll
be fine."

Romo has been exceptional as the visitor, passing for 1,164 yards
with 12 touchdowns and a league-best 122.0 passer rating when he is
in unfamiliar surroundings. .

As a starter on Thursday games, Romo has led the Cowboys to a 7-2
record with a 103.1 passer rating. Of course, he is also coming off
one of those losses.

The recipe for Dallas' success this season has been getting Murray
going and they need to get back to that default setting. The NFL's
leading rusher has at least 100 rushing yards in 10 of 12 games
heading into Thursday, and has 1,427 yards this season.

In three career Thursday games, Murray has 343 scrimmage yards
(114.3 per game) and four rushing touchdowns.

With all the focus on Cutler and the offense's failings that has
masked the bigger issue in Chicago, a poor defense which lacks
playmakers.

Overall the Bears' stop unit is 26th in a 32-team league and really
doesn't do anything all that well. It's 10th against the run but
that is more indicative of just how easy it has been to throw the
ball against Chicago.

"We're going to come out and play ball," said Bears defensive end
Willie Young. "We're going to stick to our game plan against
Dallas. It should be a good game."

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Bears are technically still alive in the NFC playoff race but
they would need to win out and get plenty of help. Dallas on the
other hand is a legitimate player but one that could be heading for
another late-season collapse if it can't get things done here.

"I think it's just about this week, this Thursday against the
Chicago Bears," Romo said. "More than anything, it's a time to
start playing your best football and our football team needs to
understand the sense of urgency is now. I think our guys understand
what's ahead of them if they can go on and play their best
football."

Romo and the offense isn't the problem, though. The Cowboys
defense, which allowed a season-high 464 yards against
Philadelphia, is starting to leak oil and that figures to continue

Tonight's game can be heard on Newstalk 1060 with the Pre-Game Show at
7.

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