4 bold predictions for the Cowboys vs. Bears Week 8 NFC battle
2. Sack Party
The Chicago offensive line is a bit banged up but that is the least of their concerns at the moment. The offensive line has actually done a decent job in pass protection, but it’s been Justin Fields who’s been the issue in terms of the sack numbers. The time it has been taking him to get through his progressions allows defenses to get home and get those big shots on him we’ve been seeing all season.
Justin Fields' high sack rate is mostly on him, not the Bears' offensive line.
— Seth Walder (@SethWalder) October 18, 2022
Left: Fields' astronomical sack rate comes despite a strong Bears pass block win rate.
Right: Fields takes sacks late. He has only taken 5 sacks this year under the median sack time (4.29s). pic.twitter.com/Px1hct917q
The young quarterback has seen his time in the pocket increase from last season going from 2.4 seconds to 2.6 seconds and yet his sack and pressure numbers are up despite seeing fewer blitzes compared to last season.
This plays right into the Cowboys’ strength, and with Micah Parsons, Dorance Armstrong, and DeMarcus Lawrence on the prowl, the young quarterback is going to be in for a long day. Fields isn’t going to be able to predict where the rush will be coming from thanks to the plethora of Dallas pass rushers and their ability to bring pressure from anywhere along the defensive line.
Forcing him to speed up that clock in his head and make poor passes or decisions that will play right into the Cowboys’ ball-hawking secondary’s hands.