Cowboys look to build on wild first win, while Bears try to bounce back from blowout loss

Audio By Carbonatix

CHICAGO (AP) — Brian Schottenheimer celebrated with his wife and kids over pizza and drinks after picking up his first victory as a head coach.

He hopes to make it two in a row when the Dallas Cowboys visit Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

The Cowboys went from dealing with spit and a weather delay in a tight season-opening loss to the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles to pulling out a 40-37 overtime win over the New York Giants last week. Brandon Aubrey kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired in OT after nailing a 64-yarder on the final play of regulation to cap a fourth quarter that included five consecutive lead-changing touchdowns.

Schottenheimer wasn't exactly breathing easy this week — not after the Cowboys let Russell Wilson throw for 450 yards. With Micah Parsons now in Green Bay following a trade before the opener, they weren't able to generate much pressure of front. And the secondary wasn't exactly locking things down, either.

“It was not the standard," Schottenheimer said. “I think there are a lot of things we can clean up. I think that’s what I’m excited about. This is not a multiple week thing. This is something that we think we can correct. I felt like it was a lot of different pieces, a lot of different parts.”

Chicago has issues, too.

The Bears got embarrassed at Detroit 52-21 after blowing an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter of their season-opening loss to Minnesota. It's not the sort of start they were looking for under new coach Ben Johnson.

Quarterback Caleb Williams looked good early in both games, only to fade after that. The defense nearly set a franchise record for points allowed while giving up more than 500 yards against Detroit, and star cornerback Jaylon Johnson might miss the rest of the season because of a groin injury after leaving the game.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus goes against the Bears for the first time since they fired him as head coach last November. He was 14-32 in two-plus seasons.

Eberflus said he “cherished” his time in Chicago. He said it didn't take long to realize he wanted to get back into coaching quickly rather than take a year off.

“I love coaching players," he said. "I love working with the players. And that’s something that I’ve always loved to do and I wanted to get back in.”

The Bears let him go the day after a Thanksgiving loss at Detroit, when he froze in the final seconds rather than call a timeout. The founding NFL franchise had never fired a head coach during a season before that.

"No. 1, he’s a terrific football coach,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s an incredible man. Strong Christian, just a good person. He and I have competed a lot, but I’ve loved getting to know his wife and his daughters. I think that’s important. But in terms of this week, it’s no different. He’s put together a hell of a plan with his defensive staff.”

Ben Johnson made some headlines this week when he called out his players' practice habits. The message seemed to resonate.

“It just lets me know that we’re going to work,” cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said. “At the end of the day, these coaches are here to make us good and we’re here to do the same thing with the play calling that they give us.”

Schottenheimer insisted the Cowboys believed “to a man” Aubrey would nail that kick at the end of regulation. And why wouldn't they?

Aubrey, a two-time Pro Bowler, joined former Cowboy Brett Maher as the only kickers in NFL history with four field goals of at least 60 yards. His 27 field goals of 50 yards or more are tied with Dan Bailey for the franchise record.

The Bears expect to get big production from their tight ends. It hasn't happened yet.

Veteran Cole Kmet has been targeted just six times and has three receptions for 60 yards. Colston Loveland, the No. 10 overall draft pick, has caught two of the three passes thrown his way for 12 yards.

Johnson said some of that has to do with his play calling. But Williams also blamed himself.

“Also, it’s me when I’m out there on the field being able to drop back, see the coverage and maybe pop the ball down to one of those guys,” he said. “Even when it’s one of those situations where we’re trying to fight back, get back into the game, it’s still just one play at a time and how you come back in games is taking it one play at a time.”

The Bears have allowed 73 points in the last five quarters. The 52 they gave up against Detroit were three shy of the franchise record and the most since a 55-14 loss to Green Bay in Week 10 of the 2014 season.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl