Cowboys 2025 opponent preview: X-factors for the Chicago Bears

Don’t sleep on these Bears in Week 3 

When the Dallas Cowboys travel to take on the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, many will deem this game a “trap game”. On the surface, that is a valid point. The Bears finished 5-12 last season, fired their head coach during the season during a Thanksgiving Day loss to the Detroit Lions, and for the most part, appeared disjointed for the remainder of the season. That said, the Bears boast a lot of talent on their roster that with the proper coaching could become a formidable sleeper in the NFL.

Chicago brought in former Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to take the reins of the franchise and guide them into a new era of playing in a fiercely competitive NFC North division. The Bears could catch the Cowboys by surprise. Remember that at this point in the season, the Cowboys would have played two pivotal games against the NFC East. Let’s hope the Cowboys are ready for the Bears and prepared for these X-factors that could decide the game.

Caleb Williams

Fair or unfair, but the entire franchise hinges on the development of Caleb Williams, which includes the job of general manager Ryan Poles. On paper, Williams has a lot of weapons to work with but needs to put it all together. Armed with a supporting cast of D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift, and Cole Kmet, there are a lot of options for the Cowboys’ defense to account for.

Outside of the pocket, Williams is a very accurate passer that puts the ball on a rope to his receivers. Although he’s a scrambler, he’s primarily looking to drive the ball down the field versus running for yards. The Bears hired Declan Doyles as their new offensive coordinator under Ben Johnson in hopes of helping Williams take a leap forward in his sophomore season. With what’s around him and Ben Johnson’s pedigree as a playcaller, that’s possible. The best chance the Cowboys have at slowing down Williams is keeping him in the pocket and forcing him to make full-field reads and deliver the ball on time. His offensive line was atrocious last season and surrendered 68 sacks. Look for Dallas to use zone coverages to force Williams to hold the ball a little longer to buy time for the defensive line to get to Williams.

Gervon Dexter

As bad as the Bears offense looked at times, the defense didn’t fare much better. The Bears allowed the sixth most yards per game on defense last year with 354.2 yards per game. Current Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus oversaw the Bears’ defense, and his unit struggled to communicate and get on the same page, as infamously seen during the Hail Mary they surrendered against the Washington Commanders last year. However, one big bright spot was Gervon Dexter. Dexter has a massive frame at 6’6”, 326 lbs. and despite his size, he moves very well.

Dexter is agile enough to effortlessly move from one gap to the other on twists and stunts. Although he doesn’t have a lot of moves, he has a good motor to get off blocks and continue his path to the quarterback. How well Tyler Booker and Cooper Beebe communicate to handle the games up front played by the Bears will be important to limit Dexter’s impact on the passing game.

Kevin Byard

At one point in his career, Kevin Byard was known as one of the premier ballhawks in the NFL, totaling 23 interceptions over his first six NFL seasons despite having zero his rookie season. Byard’s career took an awkward turn after being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles halfway through the 2023 season. While with the Eagles, Byard didn’t look like himself and struggled to find his footing playing for his hometown team. However, he bounced back in a major way in 2024 despite playing for a less-than-stellar Bears defense. Last season, Byard set career-highs in tackles, sacks, and fumble recoveries. Alan Goldsher of SI.com has Byard as one of the most underrated Bears coming into this season with some added context:

The 11-year veteran isn’t underrated so much as he’s taken for granted. Last season, he played every snap in 15 of Chicago’s 17 games, he led the team in both tackles (130) and assists (50), and he committed a grand total of one penalty. It’s possible that his relatively advanced age (31) has colored our view of him, but when you look at the numbers, you can’t deny that the dude’s a stud.

While his interception numbers have decreased, he’s still a viable option in pass coverage and has immensely improved in run support. He could be the defense catalyst to sway the game in the Bears’ favor.