The Cowboys got humbled at Soldier Field. A 17-point loss to the Bears left Dallas reeling and Brian Schottenheimer refusing to hide behind excuses. “We just didn’t play well,” he said bluntly after the game. “This can be a humbling business. If you don’t take care of business, you’re not going to win.”

That was the thread through his postgame comments. Accountability! Schottenheimer pointed to the two killers. Big plays allowed on defense and turnovers on offense. “It’s a bad formula,” he said. “We have to stop giving up big plays. We have to protect the football.” The breakdowns were everywhere. Trevon Diggs slipped on a flea flicker. A defender jumped a route and got beaten over the top. Chicago turned those mistakes into touchdowns while Dallas kept stalling. “That can’t happen,” Schottenheimer repeated.

Brian Schottenheimer’s criticism about “giving up big plays” and not being able to stop the explosive plays holds up when you look at how Chicago scored. In the 3rd quarter, the Bears drove 76 yards in 19 plays nearly 10 minutes, wearing down Dallas before Swift broke loose for an 11-yard run to put the Bears up 31-14. That drive showed sustained drives against the Cowboys’ defense, not just one or two broken plays.

Turnovers factored in. In the 4th quarter, Prescott threw an interception in the red zone while trying to complete a scoring drive. That killed a chance to cut the lead or shift momentum. Schottenheimer’s point about “you don’t win when you turn the ball over in the red zone” hits right.

Not only the coach, but even the QB noted the problems in their lineup.

Brian Schottenheimer’s QB also accepts their mistakes

Even their QB Dak Prescott admitted that they failed to play at their best. His frustration was visible. This wasn’t just a loss, it was another wasted offensive performance. “Six of those were field goals,” he pointed out, shaking his head. “Not acceptable, not to our standard, not anywhere what we believe in and what we’re capable of doing.” That was the moment the game got away.

The Cowboys had a chance to cut it back to 10 late and threw a red-zone pick instead. Turnovers made it worse. “We had a chance right there to cut it back to 10 and had a turnover in the red zone. That’s unacceptable,” Prescott admitted. A critical interception in the 4th quarter wiped out a scoring opportunity and effectively ended the comeback. And then came the inevitable question, losing CeeDee Lamb.

Dak didn’t deny how much it hurt. “Obviously, you lose a player like CeeDee, it hurts and it’s hard to substitute that,” he said. “Maybe it made their game plan a lot easier from their standpoint to double George, cloud George, what they did early. He was still able to make some plays. But it’s tough. It’s tough to win a game when you lose a player like CeeDee.” After Lamb’s injury, George Pickens and Jake Ferguson were forced into shorter, more predictable routes, allowing Chicago to limit explosive plays.

Lamb injured his ankle in the first quarter and walked out the game. He will undergo an MRI on September 22 to check the injury. But the WR provided a vital update to his fans. He claimed that he felt fine after some time and was ready to go back, but the medical team stopped him.

Also, this year is critical for the Cowboys. They haven’t won a Super Bowl or even reached the NFC Championship in 3 decades. Fans want the trophy. Can Dak Prescott and Brian Schottenheimer elevate their players to winning form? Stay tuned! The excitement will peak from here.