Former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus will return to Chicago as defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, and not everyone is glad to see his unit.
“Make no mistake about it, (Dallas) was one of the more challenging defenses we faced when I was in Detroit,” first-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson said on Wednesday. “We struggled to run the ball at times. Really good red-zone defense. We’ve got to be on our stuff this week.”
The Bears (0-2) prepare for the Cowboys knowing there are few details about Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams that Eberflus doesn’t know. Johnson said the inside knowledge works both ways.
Eberflus is in his second stint with the Cowboys (1-1). He was a linebackers coach in Dallas before being hired as Colts defensive coordinator, which predated his hire as Chicago’s head coach in 2022. Eberflus was fired after seven months working closely with Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, when the team got off to a 4-8 start last year.
“I feel like we know what he knows. We’ll be just fine there,” Johnson said.
When it comes to slowing down the Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott, Johnson and the Bears might have major cause for concern. Dallas scored 30 points after halftime last week to escape an upset bid by the New York Giants, prevailing 40-37 in overtime.
“So many guys that we got, and it kind of got put on display in the last game,” wide receiver George Pickens said of the Dallas passing game. “You got so many guys and I feel like that’s how offense is supposed to be. I don’t want to say you can’t stop us, but we’re definitely going to come out and dominate.”
Chicago’s secondary is not at full strength. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson (groin) left last week’s game after missing Week 1, and defensive backs Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Jones did not practice on Wednesday due to hamstring injuries. Linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring) and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee) are also banged up.
That’s tantalizing news for Prescott, who ranks fifth in the NFL with 549 passing yards, and an offensive line group that is performing well. The Cowboys are working with a new blend of bodies on the front five without center Cooper Beebe. He was placed on injured reserve with a foot and ankle injury on Monday. Offensive tackle Tyler Guyton (shoulder) was limited in practice on Wednesday.
Prescott has been challenged by a Dennis Allen-run defense four times in his career and is 2-2. Allen is Chicago’s defensive coordinator, and he designed the Saints’ defense that recorded two picks and three sacks of Prescott last season.
Getting Prescott behind the sticks is no guarantee of success. He leads the NFL with 15 third-down completions and a league-best 11 completions for first downs. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb shook off a drop-heavy opener and carries a streak of four consecutive 100-yard games into this week. Pickens has 98 yards and a TD catch in his first two games with the Cowboys.
“I think he’s playing how we would expect him to play. We have a high standard for Dak and the way he’s supposed to perform,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “I think there’s a confidence about him right now, which is great.”
The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions tipped the Bears with an aggressive pass rush to keep Williams unsettled in the pocket. The Lions sacked him four times.
The Cowboys have four sacks in the first two games. Jadeveon Clowney, who has 58 career sacks, signed Monday and is expected to debut on Sunday as the Cowboys shake up a front seven still working through the loss of pass rusher Micah Parsons in a trade with the Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys are allowing quarterbacks to complete 76.6 percent of their passes and average 301 gross passing yards per game.
Giants quarterback Russell Wilson connected on completions of 48, 50 and 52 yards last week, but the Cowboys intercepted him in overtime to set up the winning field goal. Wilson’s final numbers: 30 completions, 450 yards, three TDs.
Cowboys cornerbacks DaRon Bland (foot) and Trevon Diggs (illness) were not available for practice Wednesday. To aid recovery and reward players for “70 minutes of kick-ass football,” Schottenheimer held a light walkthrough rather than a full practice and kept the attention on recovery with a goal of being fresh when kickoff comes at Chicago.
“I think we have a responsibility to kind of trust the numbers and see what they say,” he said. “I told the guys from Day 1, if they go all out for us, we’ll take care of them.”
A collective exhale for the Bears might be due following a 52-21 rout at Detroit. The Lions scored seven touchdowns and made a field goal on 12 total drives, averaging 8.8 yards per play.
Chicago has allowed an NFL-high 79 points in two games. Opposing quarterbacks are completing 75 percent of their passes with seven TDs.
Ben Johnson said the greater process doesn’t change despite dire results. He is not having any talk of light practices or tapping the brakes.
“I think our practice habits are yet to reflect a championship-caliber team,” Johnson said. “We should be going to the football, finishing hard. Our fundamentals, our finish and our technique.”
