Cowboys Keys to Victory Against Bears

The Cowboys season could catapult towards the playoffs or they could spiral downward after they play the Bears; however, there’s a familiar uneasy sense amongst many fans and for good reason.

The Cowboys have choked big the last three seasons under Jason Garrett and a forth consecutive meltdown in December would leave Jerry Jones no choice but to remove his hand-picked coach.

At 8-4, the Cowboys are still in control of their destiny, but a loss against the Bears will put all the early success in serious jeopardy. The Cowboys need to win this game and hope the Eagles lose to the Seahawks, which will make next week’s game a battle for first place, again.

This is the time of year when the contenders separate themselves from the pretenders. The game against the Bears will further prove one or the other for Dallas. We need to get this win and we need to take that momentum and get hot.

Here are my keys to victory:

— The defense needs to get back to the fundamentals that made them look like an improved defense and by that I mean 3rd down stoppages. In 2013, the defense was awful and 3rd down conversions absolutely killed us. If we cannot get the Bears off the field, then we are in serious trouble the rest of the year in this regard. We’ll be back on “we can’t stop anyone” mode.

— Last week McCoy gashed the hell out of us and the Bears will look at attacking our defense similarly until we can prove otherwise. In turn, this will open up their passing game, and with a Newman-like Carr out there, I don’t see us stacking up well against their receivers.

— Offensively, the Cowboys need to convert their 3rd downs and they need to score touchdowns, not field goals. We cannot continue to answer touchdowns with field goals. Get going or go home.

— The Cowboys started the season good and made teams match our intensity and it started with our offensive line. In recent weeks, the Cowboys are the ones trying to match our opponents intensity. We need the killer instinct, and I’m not sure this is something Garrett has been able to get out of our players – it needs to happen!

— Turnovers and sloppy play are killing us. We cannot turn the ball over. I do not want to see Beasley fumble again, or anyone else. Secure the ball. These negative plays could be the difference between winning or getting knocked out of the playoff race.

— Melton needs to have a monster game and needs to make the Bears regret letting him go. If Melton can’t get going it won’t bode well for the defense in this game.

— Rolando McClain needs to look like the playmaking guy from a few weeks back. Last week he was clearly slowed by his knee and was ineffective.

— Offensive play calling needs to improve, otherwise I can see a situation where Garrett takes over the play calling again. We saw it last season where Garrett took over the play calling even though neither him or Jerry admitted it. We cannot have dumb play calls and we’ve seen more and more suspect play calling since the Washington game.

— Let your star players make the plays they excel at. In the running game, let Murray and Randle run the ball. I do not want to see wasted calls with Dunbar receiving a handoff for a no-gain. Let Dunbar shred the Bears in the screen game, that’s his niche. Let Dez out physical that decimated Bears secondary. Be tough and demand greatness.

— I’ve been calling for Escobar to get the ball more especially with his large catch radius, he is an obvious mismatch for the secondary. I do not understand why he is not getting his number called more in lieu of Terrance Williams slumping it up and Beasley fumbling around. Get him involved already…

— I wish we had Tyler Patmon back.

— Romo needs to throw the ball away instead of immediately hitting the ground in fetal position. Throw the ball away, don’t take sacks. If we see more of this from Romo, then something tells me there is more to his injury than we are being told. He’s been ultra overly protective. If a third back surgery is needed we’re in serious trouble, I almost feel like he’s going to need some sort of clean up.

— Special teams needs to get Dwayne Harris some lanes to run through. He’s been in a slump on many levels in the return game. I’m still cringing when he fields the ball. I honestly feel relieved when the ball is kicked out of the endzone forcing a touchback. Please don’t turn the ball over.

— The last four games need to be played as if they are single elimination games. Go all out and prove this team has turned the corner. Beat the guy across from you each play and we’ll win.

Let’s go Dallas!