Grading the Bears

Game ball

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was taking some heat in one Chicago media circle for not having faced many tough defenses in his young career. How would the Eastern Illinois product fare against the best in the league? He probably only half-answered that question because of the Bears' injuries, but Romo did throw for 329 yards and 2 TDs.

Grades:

QB: 1.5 footballs

Rex Grossman, just like against the Chiefs, had one good drive. And that's not going to cut it. Grossman threw 2 more picks, including 1 in the fourth quarter that was returned for a touchdown and sealed the Bears' fate.

RB: 2 footballs

After gaining 18 yards on his first 2 carries, Cedric Benson's next 14 went for a paltry 28. The Bears' workhorse never got anything going.

WR: 2.5 footballs

A tough area to grade because Bernard Berrian made some great plays in the first half, easily beating Cowboys corners. But he also dropped 2 passes, the second of which could have given the Bears a 10-3 lead late in the first half.

O-line: 2 footballs

The ugliest part of the day for the line came on the Bears' only scoring drive in the first half. The front five couldn't move the Cowboys off the line on second-and-goal from the 2, and Benson was stopped for no gain. After an incomplete pass, the Bears settled for a field goal.

D-line 3 footballs

Mark Anderson set the tone by sacking Tony Romo on the game's first play. Dallas was immediately rattled, had false start penalties and looked generally terrified of the Bears' front four. The second half was a nightmare for the Bears, but that was mostly because of a slew of injuries.

Lbs: 3 footballs

The Cowboys' running game never accomplished anything until mop-up time. Brian Urlacher, with a pair of sacks, and Lance Briggs (before he was hurt) played well.

Secondary: 2 footballs

Adam Archuletta had an interception on a deflected pass in the first half, but Terrell Owens was too much on this night.

Special teams: 1.5 footballs

Bright side: Israel Idonije blocked another field goal. Dark side: Too many mishandled kick returns led to a rare off day for the return teams.

Coaching: 2 footballs

All of the plays working early were passing plays. Why not play-action pass on the first scoring drive on second-and-goal from the 2 to catch Dallas off-guard? The Bears' offense needs to do more when inside the 5.