CHICAGO (Sporting Alert, Box Score) — Quarterback Tony Romo and running back DeMarco Murray helped the Dallas Cowboys beat the Chicago Bears 41-28 in Thursday Night Football.
Romo completed 21 of 26 passes for 205 yards and threw for three touchdowns for the Cowboys (9-4), which improved to 6-0 on the road this season.
DeMarco Murray, who came into the came as the NFL’s leading rusher this season, carried the ball 32 times and finished with a season-high 179 yards and a touchdown. The four year pro also had nine catches for 49 yards.
“He did a good job being persistent,” Dallas coach Jason Garrett said. “Like a lot of great backs through the years in this league, oftentimes these guys get better the more touches they get,”
“I think he’s demonstrating that. He just has such a good feel for running the football.”
Cole Beasley also caught two touchdowns from Romo for the Cowboys, who clinched its first winning season in five years.
Jay Cutler was 32 of 46 for 341 yards and two touchdowns for the Chicago Bears (5-8), which lost star wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who left the game in the second quarter with a rib injury.
“We all worry for him,” Bears coach Marc Trestman said. “We’ll see, and we’re hopeful it’s nothing too serious. But at this point, he is under evaluation.”
Dallas went into the halftime break with a 14-7 lead and then scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to setup the road victory, which helped them rebounded from the 33-10 blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving Day.
The Bears rallied to score 21 points in the fourth quarter, but by then the competition had already gotten away from them.
Martellus Bennett finished the game with a career-best 12 receptions for 84 yards, but Chicago, who was dropping its second successive game and seventh in the last 10, struggled on the night and was held for just 35 rushing yards.
“We’re making too many mistakes, too many penalties in all three phases, certainly tonight, which debilitated us,” Trestman noted.
Matt Forte had 13 carries for 26 yards and a touchdown, while Alshon Jeffery caught the ball six times for 95 yards and a touchdown in the defeat.
