In a game that featured strong winds within Cowboys Stadium, the Bears' offense wasn't as sharp as in the prior week against Detroit, largely as a result of facing a much tougher defense in Dallas. However, da Bears' defense managed to play lights-out, showcasing a stunning 3 forced fumbles, 4 interceptions, and 4 sacks. Bears DT Tommie Harris had 2 forced fumbles alone, and CB Zack Bowman had 2 of the 4 interceptions of The Tony Romo Show. MB3 was the lone bright spot for Dallas's offense, racking up over 100 yards rushing. For the Bears offense, WR Devin Aromashodu had a big day, leading the team in catches and yards receiving. Bears WR Earl Bennett also stepped up admirably for the injured WR Johnny Knox.

PLAY OF THE GAME: On 2nd and 14, Bears QB Jay Cutler decides to surprise the defense by calling Singleback Y-Trips Bear - Smash, with the only receiver going long to be TE Greg Olsen. The defense hopefully gets preoccupied with #1 WR Devin Hester running a shallow comeback route, freeing up Olsen down the field. When Hester's covering DB blitzes, it forces the SS to come down to help cover Hester's shallow comeback route, which indeed frees up Olsen on his sprint past the linebackers, catching the pass from Cutler in stride on his way to 6: http://www.easports.com/media/play/video/44799810


1 2 3 4 OT T
Bears
6 17 7 7 0 37
Cowboys
7 0 11 0 0 18 Final

• Scoring Summary

First Quarter

(CHI) C.Tillman, returned interception 43 Yds(missed kick), 4:24

(DAL) M.Austin 12 Yd pass from T.Romo(D.Buehler kick), 0:25

Second Quarter

(CHI) R.Gould, 45 Yd FG, 3:49

(CHI) Z.Bowman, returned interception 62 Yds(R.Gould kick), 2:52

(CHI) D.Aromashodu 4 Yd pass from J.Cutler(R.Gould kick), 0:10

Third Quarter

(DAL) M.Barber, 48 Yd run(2pt), 4:24

(DAL) D.Buehler, 41 Yd FG, 1:57

(CHI) G.Olsen 33 Yd pass from J.Cutler(R.Gould kick), 0:27

Fourth Quarter

(CHI) M.Forte, 8 Yd run(R.Gould kick), 4:52

• Keys for N'awlins
  • Keep pace with the Patriots' passing attack. If there's any team that can do this, it's the Saints, with the unbelievable precision, accuracy, and composure of QB Drew Brees. Although Brees had far less passing yards and far less TD passes than Brady (30 versus 55), he also had far less interceptions (6 versus 22).
  • Keep Brady off of the field. If the Saints can get even a moderate ground attack to balance out Brees' passing attack, they just might beat NE. New Orleans RB Pierre Thomas, while not a top 10 rusher, had nearly four times as much rushing yards as Patriots RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis. This should mean a balanced Saints offense.
  • Defense Needs to Step Up. New Orleans beat the Seahawks by only 4 in the NFC Championship game, and beat the 'Boys only by 3 in the Divisional Round. Given New England's performance against Indy, this may be enough of a margin to win, but the defense will need to contain if not shut down New England.

• Keys for New England
  • Contain Drew Brees. As it's virtually impossible to force Brees into making lots of mistakes or shake him completely, the Patriots will have to be content with containment and not go for the big play very often, as Brees easily has the composure and accuracy to exploit such eagerness at will.
  • Force turnovers. Just like in last year's SB victory and throughout the season, the Patriots have been good at forcing turnovers. That will be difficult to do via INTs of Brees, so forced fumbles might have to do the trick.
  • Dink-and-dunk if the Saints constantly drop back into zone - as the Patriots started to realize from the Colts game, they cannot force big plays down the field if the defense wants to keep stopping that. Take what the defense gives, including if it's the running game.