Monday, October 19, 1998

Bears defeat Cowboys

By David Moore

The Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

CHICAGO - What had been an explosive offense fell silent Sunday.

The Cowboys fell right along with it.

A 13-12 loss to Chicago at Soldier Field was all about missed opportunities. The Cowboys' failure to execute inside the 20-yard line, an abysmal conversion ratio on third down, a flurry of penalties and an unsuccessful two-point conversion allowed the Bears to stay closer than they deserved. Jeff Jaeger took advantage of these infirmities to kick the game-winning field goal from 29 yards with 11 seconds left.

The loss left Dallas wondering about what might have been. A victory Sunday would have let the Cowboys roll into the bye week with momentum and a two-game lead in the NFC East.

Instead, this team faces two weeks of introspection and nagging doubts before it plays Philadelphia on Nov. 2. Cowboys coach Chan Gailey conceded he still doesn't have a handle on this 4-3 team.

"Right now, I think we're a team without a personality," Cowboys cornerback Deion Sanders said. "We need to find ourselves."

The Cowboys found themselves Sunday in a game that was deadening in its pace and appeal. The Bears took away the big plays that had propelled Dallas to victory the past two weeks by playing their cornerbacks deep.

Jason Garrett completed 14-of-26 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, but only one of his passes traveled for more than 20 yards. He couldn't beat the Bears deep and wasn't effective enough to beat them short.

It was a performance similar to the one he had in a 13-12 loss to Oakland in Week 4, minus two interceptions.

"As a quarterback, you are measured by wins and losses," said Garrett, who's expected to turn the keys to the offense back to Troy Aikman for the Eagles. "We won three and lost two. You want those losses back, but you just have to keep working and move forward."

Moving forward was a problem for Dallas this day, particularly inside the 20.

The Cowboys came away with two Richie Cunningham field goals and a touchdown on its three excursions deep into Chicago territory. Dallas ran six plays inside Chicago's 10-yard line in the first half and managed to scrape together just eight yards. The team's inability to stun the Bears with a touchdown or two early set the sluggish offensive tone for the afternoon.

"We know if we could have converted those threes into touchdowns," Dallas running back Emmitt Smith said, "it would have been a different ballgame."

It would have been a different game if the Cowboys displayed any proficiency on third down. Dallas failed to convert on 12 of its 14 opportunities. Throw in 11 penalties for 92 yards, many coming at crucial times, and this game took on shades of the team's performance last season.

"In some ways, it did," said tight end David LaFleur, who scored the Cowboys' only touchdown on a one-yard pass from Garrett late in the third quarter. "We don't want to revert back to what we did last year.

"But there was a resemblance."

It wasn't all about the offense, which entered the game ranked fourth in the NFL. A Dallas defense that had allowed only 26 points in the second half all season gave up 13 points. The Cowboys were beat on the final drive because middle linebacker Fred Strickland was unable to handle tight end Alonzo Mayes.

On top of all this, Gailey's decision to go for two instead of kick the extra point with six seconds left in the third quarter changed the complexion of the game. The failed attempt Garrett's pass was behind Michael Irvin left the Cowboys with a 12-7 lead.

It left them losers on the final drive. Instead of kicking for the tie and overtime, Jaeger was kicking for the victory.

"If that's in the second quarter or early in the third, you might not do it," Gailey said of his decision to go for two. "But later in the game, that's a decision you make."

The Cowboys were in total control of the first half. Control, however, is a relative term. Even though Dallas held the Bears to 67 yards in total offense, even though quarterback Erik Kramer found it difficult to hit the broad side of Soldier Field, the Cowboys' lead was only 6-0 at the half.

The Bears took their first lead with 7:44 left in the third when Kramer hit backup receiver Chris Penn between Kevin Smith and Omar Stoutmire for a 13-yard score. It ended an 11-game drought in which Chicago had failed to score in the third quarter.

Dallas regained the lead but couldn't hold it. A common theme that emerged from the Cowboys' locker room afterward was that the best team didn't win.

"We felt like we should have won," center Clay Shiver said. "We felt like we were going to come up here and take care of business and go home 5-2 into the break. That's not the way it turned out.

"It's very frustrating."

(c) 1998, The Dallas Morning News.

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