Cowboys' Romo proves elusive

Despite all the talk about the running ability of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, he had accumulated just 100 yards on 36 career attempts (2.8-yard average) heading into the Sunday night game.

His mobility is more the kind that allows him to buy time in the pocket than run for significant yardage. But it was no help on the first snap of the game, when he was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Mark Anderson.

And linebacker Brian Urlacher sacked him twice, but several other times throughout the night, the Eastern Illinois product was able to elude pass rushers and find receivers who used the extra time to work their way open.

"For some reason, our radar was off," said defensive end Alex Brown. "We just couldn't get him on the ground."

Through three quarters, Romo had completed 21 of 32 passes for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns, and he finished 22 of 35 for 329 yards and a passer rating of 100.8.

"The most impressive thing was the way he eluded the rush," said Bears coach Lovie Smith. "He scrambled and found time to make plays."

In less than a full season of starts, Romo has developed a reputation as a chance-taker, a quarterback willing to gamble to make a big play. The Bears were hoping to use that against him, but it didn't work.

"He was good," said cornerback Charles Tillman. "He bought some time for his receivers and made some plays."

No improvement: Muhsin Muhammad had just 2 catches for 15 yards in the first two games, but his 9-yard reception to the Cowboys' 6-yard line helped set up the Bears' first score, a 20-yard Robbie Gould field goal.

Unfortunately Muhammad finished with just 2 catches for 21 yards.

But Muhammad can take some solace from his experience with the Carolina Panthers in his Pro Bowl season of 2004. In the first six games that season, Muhammad had 21 catches for 290 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the final 10 games he caught 72 passes for 1,115 yards and 14 TDs.

"You've just got to stay patient," Muhammad said. "If you go out there and you get frustrated and you stop doing the things that got you there, it's not going to work out."

Great expectations: Even though first-round draft pick Greg Olsen was playing in his first regular-season game Sunday night, Lovie Smith was expecting a contribution.

"Everyone we dress, we would like to get some production from them," Smith said. "We're expecting that from Greg. He's been on the field with us (in the preseason), and he's always done some good things. We're hoping he'll do some of those Sunday."

Olsen caught his first pass with 5:30 left in the first quarter for a 7-yard gain, and his 21-yard reception to the Cowboys' 1-yard line in the third quarter set up a Bears touchdown. He finished with 2 catches for 28 yards.

Aggressive approach: Through two weeks, the Bears had outsacked their opponents 7-6, with linebackers Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs and cornerback Nate Vasher each contributing 1.

Urlacher got 2 more sacks Sunday night on Tony Romo.

Players have praised first-year defensive coordinator Bob Babich for allowing them to contribute to the pass rush.

"He's been aggressive, turning us loose," said Urlacher, whose sack last week was his first in 23 months. "Third-and-long, he's blitzing us. Second down, we're blitzing quite a bit. So he gives us a chance to make plays in the backfield."

Offense trumps defense: After two weeks, the Cowboys had the NFL's highest-scoring offense, fifth in passing yards and seventh in rushing yards. The Bears had the No. 3 defense in yards allowed and were tied for fourth in points allowed.

"It's a measuring stick to see how good we are on defense vs. the run and the pass," said cornerback Ricky Manning Jr.. "They're going to mix it up. They've got great guys to do that with."

The Cowboys were unable to run on the Bears, totaling just 39 yards through three quarters, but finishing with 131, including a 54-yard run by Marion Barber late in the game. They had 300 passing yards.

Injury report: Linebacker Lance Briggs left the game with a groin injury in the second quarter, and cornerback Nate Vasher was also lost with a groin injury in the third quarter. Neither player returned; Briggs was replaced by Jamar Williams, while rookie Trumaine McBride took over for Vasher.

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter and didn't return.