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After the Chicago Bears' 27-20 victory Sunday at the Dallas Cowboys, here are three issues that merit further examination:

Kevin SeifertThe Chicago Bears take their turn in the examination room after beating Dallas.
1. Quarterback Jay Cutler hardly flinched at a sluggish start that suggested he might leave Dallas pelted with bruises. Anthony Spencer sacked him on his first dropback. DeMarcus Ware delivered a post-throw wallop on his second. Left tackle Chris Williams departed with a hamstring injury after the second series, and Cutler was hit seven times in the Bears' first three possessions. But Cutler hung in and produced what must be considered a signature game within the Mike Martz offense. He made big plays, finding tight end Greg Olsen for a 39-yard touchdown. He threw beautiful passes -- most notably a 59-yarder to Johnny Knox and a 9-yard touchdown to Devin Hester -- that only a handful of NFL quarterbacks could throw. Those passes more than compensated for the Bears' ungainly 1-for-15 conversion rate on third down. All in all, Cutler completed 77.8 percent of his passes, didn't commit a turnover and wasn't sacked after that first play. That'll get 'er done.
2. For the second consecutive week, the Bears handled an opposing offense with a limited number of blitzes. According to ESPN's Stats & Information, the Bears blitzed on only nine of Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo's 51 attempts. On 42 attempts against the Bears' four-man rush, Romo threw two interceptions and had a 71.7 passer rating. The Bears didn't have a sack, and they gave up 410 yards along with 23 receptions. But they created three turnovers and should be more than satisfied after holding the Cowboys to 20 points. This trend bodes well for the Bears' immediate defensive future. They blitzed 30 percent of the time in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions, and 17.6 percent Sunday. If they can maintain those low numbers over time, allowing them to show a balanced front to opponents, it will give them a huge advantage.
3. As you might recall, I wasn't a big fan of the Bears' chest-beating after their 19-14 victory against the Detroit Lions in Week 1. But from what I can tell, they were much more humble in Sunday's victorious locker room. "It's one game," said middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. Center Olin Kreutz said he was worried only about "being 2-0 and playing Green Bay next." As much fun as it can be for the media and fans, the good teams let their play speak for themselves. It appears the Bears made a sensible shift in that direction.

And here is one issue I still don't get:

How in the world did Cutler and the Bears survive with Frank Omiyale (!) playing most of the game at left tackle? Omiyale was a bust as a left guard last season and hasn't exactly proved himself at right tackle this year. But when Williams was injured, the Bears eventually decided their best option was to move Omiyale over and insert Kevin Shaffer at right tackle. Credit goes across the board for making this work, starting with Omiyale and Shaffer. Martz adjusted his play-calling to include shorter dropbacks, and offensive line coach Mike Tice patched it together from there. I guess. I mean, really. If someone had told you last month that Frank Omiyale would play left tackle for the Bears in a victory at Dallas, what would you have said?

AFC: Jets-Chargers: Graham | Williamson » Colts-Ravens: Kuharsky | Walker
NFC: Cowboys-Vikings: Mosley | Seifert » Saints-Cardinals: Yasinskas | Sando

Three nuggets of knowledge about Sunday's divisional playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) and Minnesota Vikings (12-4).

1. We’ll find out if Minnesota left tackle Bryant McKinnie is worthy of his Pro Bowl status. McKinnie started this season well but struggled against good pass-rushers in the second half. Sunday, he will face one great pass-rusher in DeMarcus Ware and another really good one in Anthony Spencer. McKinnie admittedly was hobbled by several minor injuries in December, but he’s had two weeks to get his body right. The Vikings will help him when they can with chips and protection slides, but it will have to be on a limited basis. Rookie right tackle Phil Loadholt will need help as well. A Pro Bowl left tackle should be trusted to protect a quarterback at all times, even from elite pass-rushers. The Vikings gave McKinnie a $48.5 million contract in 2006 for games just like this one.

2. The nation has spent this week discussing the Ware-Spencer dynamic, and for good reason. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Cowboys had the third-most sacks (27) this season when lining up in their base defense (four or fewer pass-rushers). Any guesses as to which team ranked No. 1 on that list? That’s right. The Vikings had 32 sacks when only rushing four men. The Cowboys aren’t the only team that has at times dominated offensive lines this season. All-Pros Jared Allen (14.5 sacks) and Kevin Williams (6 sacks) could make a huge impact on this game as well. I’m guessing that Allen knows that Dallas left tackle Flozell Adams, an excellent blocker, has also been called for six false start penalties this year. Allen will do everything he can to capitalize on that dynamic. On the other hand, Dallas is well-equipped to handle aggressive fronts. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Cowboys called more draw plays (105) than any other NFL team. They also ranked first with 547 yards on those plays.

3. But if they can’t get pressure on Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, the Vikings will be in trouble. Their tackling has been substandard since two key players suffered significant injuries, and the Cowboys have at least one player -- receiver Miles Austin -- who will capitalize if given the opportunity. The loss of middle linebacker E.J. Henderson has made an impact, as has the foot injury of cornerback Antoine Winfield. Although Winfield has returned to the field, he clearly isn’t at full capacity. Normally one of the NFL’s best tacklers, he hasn’t always been in good position since returning. Austin led NFL receivers by gaining an average of 7.3 yards after the catch this season. Austin will eat up a poor tackling team.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Take a look at Minnesota's offensive stat sheet sometime. You'll notice Sidney Rice led the team in receptions. But slot man Percy Harvin was the Vikings' top target on third down and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe was their leading scorer.

More than anything else, quarterback Brett Favre's first season in Minnesota has been characterized by an egalitarian approach that spread the ball more evenly than all but one team in NFL history. It has generated and elevated six legitimate targets, a number that represents the Vikings' biggest advantage in Sunday's divisional playoff game against Dallas.

To this point, pregame discussion has centered on the Cowboys' pass rush: Will DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer overwhelm the Vikings' offensive line? Favre himself acknowledged that dynamic this week, noting: “We have to block [them] to have success.”

But there is a reason the Cowboys' pass rush is so critical; when given time this season, Favre has used his array of weapons to pick apart defenses. The Vikings are one of two teams in league history to boast six players with at least 40 receptions, the product of several factors that will place dramatic urgency on the Cowboys' ability to rush the passer.

“My favorite receiver is the one who is open,” Favre has said many times this season. He has thrown most often to Rice, who caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards. But he hit Harvin on more third-down throws (40) than any other target, while Shiancoe caught all 11 of his team-leading touchdowns in the red zone.


From what I can tell, this dynamic has evolved from three factors: Favre's 19-year knowledge of NFL passing trees, predominantly single coverage from defenses, and continuing (if unfounded) fear of the Vikings' running game.

Let's start from the top. Favre entered the NFL in 1991 and has played in a version of the Vikings' offense for 17 seasons. Terminology has changed and some adjustments have occurred, but as coach Brad Childress said: “He knows his way around this system and knows where the backside No. 4 [receiver] is.”

Childress continued: “That is a huge thing, to be able to progress. It sounds easy, but young quarterbacks typically get stuck on the No. 1 and No. 2 [receiver]. They can't come back to the backside No. 4. As I always say, [Favre] knows where all the bones are buried.”

Examples have punctuated the Vikings' season. Rice was Favre's fourth read on a 58-yard reception Oct. 18 against Baltimore, one that set up Ryan Longwell's game-winning field goal. A number of Shiancoe's touchdowns have come only after Favre checked Rice's status. A combined 86 receptions between tailbacks Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson -- for an average of 9.5 yards per catch -- point to multiple reads as well.

“The key for any offense is being able to utilize all of those means or a mixture,” Favre said. “To equally … mix it up to guys is very difficult to do within the framework of a game. It's not so much about keeping people happy as it is about winning. I think we have proven we can do that.”

But as we have discussed recently, defenses have rarely adjusted to compensate for what Childress termed “equal-opportunity throwing.” With a few exceptions, Rice and Harvin faced mostly single attention in man coverage. Shiancoe has been allowed to roam the seams in zone calls.

You can measure true respect from defenses by noting where their “extra man” is allocated. For the most part, Vikings opponents routinely devoted an eighth player to the line of scrimmage to help defend Peterson. There are many versions of the so-called “eight-in-the-box” approach, but Peterson recently said the Vikings saw one of them on 98 percent of their plays this season.

By rule, that approach makes it impossible to adequately account for more than three legitimate threats in the passing game.

“We really didn't see [opponents] legislate against a particular receiver,” Childress said. “I think the thing that was constant was that they were going to always come in and play to defeat the run, but you didn't see a lot of matching Sidney Rice running around, or Bernard Berrian running around. … You saw the same things: The run principles to take away the run.”

The exceptions have been notable. According to Favre, both Arizona (Dec. 6) and Carolina (Dec. 20) dropped their extra man into coverage because their base defensive lines were stopping the run and getting more than adequate pass rush.

In those games, Peterson combined for 56 yards on 25 carries. As a result, Favre said, the Cardinals were able to roll a second man in coverage toward Rice on some occasions and Harvin on others, especially on third down.

“It was a hard adjustment for us to make,” said Favre, who was sacked seven times and threw three interceptions in those games.

Which brings us, in my mind, to the crux of Sunday's matchup. If the Cowboys can get pressure with their aggressive front line, they'll have enough bodies to cover the Vikings' targets. If they can't get pressure, however, Favre has routinely demonstrated the capacity to find the open receiver.

“[Arizona and Carolina] didn't have to pressure from the secondary or the 'backers or anything,” Favre said. “They could play whatever coverage in the back end and just rush three or four, and there's not a lot of windows to throw in. That, more than anything, is what the Cowboys thrive on.”

Here on the ESPN Blog Network, we’re bracing ourselves for quite possibly the biggest divisional playoff game in the history of the 2010 postseason. Come Sunday afternoon at the Metrodome, Dallas and Minnesota will reprise a storied postseason rivalry -- sans (hopefully) whiskey bottles, push-offs and Hail Marys. (Well, at least the push-offs.)

ESPN.com's Matt Mosley and Kevin Seifert have spent most of the week buried in the film room -- er, basement -- refining the blogging plan for the rest of the week. As now they’re ready to start breaking down this most critical game.

Kevin Seifert: Greetings from the North Pole, Matt. Actually, you’re going to get lucky this weekend. We’re expecting unseasonably warm temperatures here this weekend, with highs in the 30s. Normally we call that “May” in Minnesota. Usually at this time of year, you can get frostbite on half your hand while walking from the parking lot to the media entrance at the Dome.

Matt Mosley: I will look for any excuse to visit Minneapolis in mid-January and this game is as good as anything else I might come up with. Sid Hartman and I have been waiting on this postseason matchup for years. Jerry Jones tried to capture the "charm" of the Metrodome in his new Cowboys Stadium, but I'm not sure things worked out. And by the way, Drew Pearson told me to pass along his best wishes to Vikings fans.

KS: OK, Matt. Let’s get down to it. Everyone in the world thinks the Cowboys are going to win this game. Even ESPN’s Trent Dilfer is convinced of it. You’ve been close to the Cowboys this season. Are they as hot as everyone says they are?

MM: Kevin, in my eight years of covering the team, I've never been around a more confident bunch of players. I think they're the hottest team in the NFC right now because of something that took place last month in New Orleans. The players got sick and tired of all the talk of their December failures and went out and overwhelmed a Saints team in the Superdome. That game did wonders for the Cowboys' confidence. No quarterback in the playoffs has performed as well as Tony Romo over the past six games and he benefits from having a dominant defense. So yes, I think the Cowboys are as hot as everyone at the Mall of America is indicating.

KS: Actually, Matt, you need to be more specific. We now have Mall of America Field here in addition to the Mall of America. At Mall of America Field, the conversation is revolving around two things: Are the Vikings willing to accept that they are a pass-first offense? And can their tackles, Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt, keep DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer at bay long enough for Brett Favre to get the ball downfield?

If they come out of the gates aggressively and use their full array of offensive weapons, I think they can put up some serious points against the Cowboys' defense. The Vikings are one of two teams in NFL history to have six players catch at least 40 passes. That’s too many receivers for any defense to keep track of if the pass protection is there.

What’s your take, Matt? Do you think Ware & Co. can be slowed down?

MM: I agree with the aforementioned Dilfer that Loadholt and McKinnie are outmatched by the Cowboys' outside linebackers. Since the last time you saw this team, Spencer has become a force. Cowboys defensive coordinator/head coach Wade Phillips even lines them up next to each other at times. Donovan McNabb didn't have a chance against the Cowboys' pass rush and you can argue that Jason Peters and Winston Justice are superior offensive tackles to what the Vikings have to offer. The Cowboys' plan is to make sure Favre has to test those 40-year-old legs. The last time he saw this defense, he completed 5 of 14 passes and was intercepted twice before being knocked out of the game at Texas Stadium. He was of course with a 10-1 Packers team at the time in '07. Keith Brooking told me Tuesday that the Eagles and Vikings have similar offenses, but he alluded to the fact that Brad Childress is much more likely to use the running game than his mentor, Andy Reid. Of course, that's a lot easier to do when you have the pride of Palestine, Texas, Adrian Peterson, in your backfield. It's been quite a while since a team has put up points on this defense -- and that includes a Chargers team that was held to a season-low in points. I don't think we'll have a shootout on our hands, but Sid might have other ideas.

KS: I'll check with Sid when I see him. In the meantime, Matt, we have two elephants crowding the room for this game: The head coaches. In Minnesota, there is an unspoken fear that Brad Childress will get in the way and try to force his power running game on the Cowboys. Prior to Favre’s arrival, and at times this year, that has been Childress’ preference. Childress also made a couple of questionable game-management decisions in last year’s playoff loss to Philadelphia.

On the other side, however, is Phillips. Do Minnesota fans have anything to fear in this matchup?

MM: Calling Phillips an elephant is a low blow, Kevin. The man might fill out a pair of Russell coaching shorts, but he deserves better from you. And yes, there's reason for Vikings fans to fear The Wade. No matter what you say about his head-coaching credentials, he's always been an excellent defensive coordinator. He puts players in position to succeed and he does a superb job of exploiting weaknesses. From reading your fine work on a regular basis, I'm aware that Vikings center John Sullivan isn't a large man. He'll be facing one of the best nose tackles in the game in Jay Ratliff. From time to time, the behemoth-type centers give Ratliff a little trouble. But he's been known to destroy the guys who are close to his size. Everyone's focused on the offensive tackles, but I could see the "Ratt" having a big game in the middle. It all starts with him in this defense.

KS: Interesting. OK, Matt. This was great but is only a step in our coverage plan for this week. Keep checking back on the NFC East and NFC North blogs through Sunday.

MM: Just to be honest, my coverage plan for Saturday is a little weak because of travel. But I've thoroughly enjoyed this tremendous show of synergy within the NFL Blog Network. Kevin, I arrive at 8:10 local time on American, so please pass that along to my driver. Peace and courage from the Beast.

In this video, ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer says Minnesota offensive tackles Bryant McKinnie and Phil Loadholt face a “total mismatch” against Dallas pass rusher DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer. As a result, the Cowboys will win Sunday at the Metrodome, Dilfer adds, and continue on to the Super Bowl after that.