Dallas rolls behind 21-0 run
COWBOYS 41, BEARS 28
chicago » TheDallasCowboys look like a team that’s ready for another first-place showdown.
DeMarco Murray ran for a season-high 179 yards and a touchdown, TonyRomothrewfor three scores, and the Cowboys beat the Chicago Bears 41-28 on Thursday night.
The Cowboys made it look easy for most of the night against a struggling team that lost star receiver Brandon Marshall to a rib injury. Dallas clinched its first winning season since 2009, but is looking for more, with an NFC East title and first playoff appearance in five years in sight.
The Cowboys took a 14-7 halftime lead and scored 21 unanswered in the third quarter before the Bears rallied in the fourth.
Romo, who has been bothered by a bad back, kept checking down and completed 21-of-26 passes for 205 yards.
Murray, the league’s leading rusher, carried 32 times. He also had 49 yards receiving. Dez Bryant had six receptions for 82 yards, and Cole Beasley caught two touchdown passes.
For the Bears, Marshall’s injury was another low in a disappointing season that will likely end with them missing the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.
Hewas hurt taking a knee to the right side from theCowboys’ Barry Church following a reception in the second quarter. That happened moments after he made a spectacular 42-yard catch, juggling the ball with his right hand, to help set up a touchdown.
He stayed down for severalminutes and gingerly walked off the field before heading to the locker room. TV cameras showed him leaving Soldier Field in an ambulance, and Marshall later tweeted, “Thanks for the Prayers. I’m Good.”
Jay Cutler was 32-of-46 for 341 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bears had trouble sustaining any drives.