Over the last two weeks, Chicago Bears receivers have reeled in just 16 catches for 179 yards receiving.
Brandon Marshall led the team in receiving last week with five catches for 71 yards. Rookie Alshon Jeffery has reeled in six catches over the past two games.
Veteran Earl Bennett has just three catches for 32 yards during his past two outings. He really struggled against Green Bay in Week Two constantly running poor routes.
The Cowboys defense is ranked first overall in the NFL after three weeks.They have allowed the second fewest yards through the air per game (158.0), behind only Green Bay.
The Bears are certainly going to need their receivers to come through in this game.
One Bears receiver who is looking to step up this week is Devin Hester.
Hester has just two catches for 27 yards so far this season.
“It’s hard being one of the top electrifying players in the league and you’re not able to get your hands on the ball as much as you want,” Hester said via ESPNChicago.com. “They know I want the ball. I just have to keep working at it, keep my head up, and get better every day. And don’t let it distract me.”
Hester has had success on Monday Night Football scoring eight touchdowns (three punt return td’s, two kick return td’s, one receiving td).
The Bears will likely look to get big receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery the ball often. If Matt Forte can play in this game that will be huge for this offense, he is a big weapon as a receiver out of the backfield.
The Cowboys secondary hasn’t recorded an interception this season, but cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne have done a great job at really limiting opposing receivers.
Carr was a free-agent signing this off-season and Claiborne was taken as the sixth overall pick by the Cowboys in the 2012 NFL Draft.
The Cowboys safety tandem of Danny McCray and Gerald Sensabaugh isn’t fantastic, but they have been steady so far this season. They have a combined 15 career interceptions between them.
The Cowboys defense is similar to the Bears in the sense that they rely on pressure from their pass rushers DeMarcus Ware, Jason Hatcher and Anthony Spencer a lot.
The Bears don’t typically fair well against 3-4 defenses, but with already having played Green Bay this season, the Bears might have a better outing this time around.
It won’t be easy against a very talented defense in Dallas. The Cowboys cornerbacks don’t make many mistakes, but if the Bears receivers can get some separation it will certainly help quarterback Jay Cutler.
Tight ends Kellen Davis and Kyle Adams could be called upon for some key catches in the middle of the field, where some space should be.
The key matchup is the Cowboys cornerbacks against the Bears wide receivers. Monday night will certainly be a big test for the Bears offense.
Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.
