Bears pound Dallas, 34-18
ARLINGTON, Texas — Lance Briggs plucked the ball out of the air and started rumbling down the field. As the Chicago linebacker approached the end zone, he fully extended his right arm over his head with the ball in his hand.
Briggs and the rest of those 30-something Bears defenders showed Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys how much they can still play.
Charles Tillman, another of the five defensive starters in their 30s, also returned an interception for a touchdown in the Bears’ 34-18 victory Monday night.
“A lot of our older guys are playing really well right now because we understand everything so much more,” said Briggs, whose 74-yard run was his first interception return for a TD since 2005. “Whether we’ve lost a step or some people believe we’ve lost a step, we make up for it in knowledge.”
Though Romo was only sacked once, on the game’s first series, he was pressured relentlessly and threw five interceptions. That matched his career high, first done five years ago in his first full season as a starter.
“Just outstanding play by our defense,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “It seemed like everybody had a say in it. How about Lance Briggs? You guys didn’t know he could run that fast.”
Briggs’ interception came in a wild two-play exchange of turnovers midway through the third quarter.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was nearly flawless after halftime, when he completed 11 of 12 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns. That included a 34-yard score to Devin Hester to start the half and a 31-yarder to Brandon Marshall with 6½ minutes left.
Cutler was 18 of 24 overall for 275 yards. Marshall had seven catches for 138 yards.
Major Wright, who returned an interception for a touchdown in Chicago’s last game, had two of the five interceptions. D.J. Moore has nine career interceptions, three of them against Romo after getting another one Monday night.
“We have a pretty good feel for what their front is going to do, what their pressures were, what their coverages were,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “They’re just very good at it. It’s not very exotic.”
