Chicago Bears’ Week 3 statistical leaders, predicted—The Matt Eberflus Bowl

Bears/Cowboys isn’t a blood rivalry. But maybe it should be.

Since 1998, the venerable franchises have faced each other ten times, winning five apiece. Admittedly, few of these games were super-compelling—only two of the ten contests were decided by single digits—but a series split is a series split.

The Flus Is Loose

Chicago’s third game of the 2025 season will mark Matt Eberflus’ return to Soldier Field for the first time since the Bears whacked him has their head coach last November.

And the fan reception won’t be great.

Now one might think that Dallas’ new defensive coordinator would be able to utilize his knowledge of Chicago’s schemes and personnel to his advantage. Thing is, there will be nothing of his regime’s game plan to be seen—yay, Ben Johnson!—and the roster turnaround is such that if Flus goes to the home locker room to say hey (spoiler alert: he won’t), he’ll recognize about half of the faces.

And the other half will blow him off.

The question then becomes, which Chicago players at each skill position will be able to take advantage of a confused Eberflus?  

Running Back

We’re going outside of the box, here, and prognosticating that the Bears’ leading Week 3 rusher isn’t currently on the roster.

There are several intriguing free agent running backs still on the market—Nick Chubb and J.K. Dobbins have been very loosely tied to the Bears over the last month-ish—and we can all agree that the current RB room isn’t of Super Bowl quality, so additions need to be made.

If GM Ryan Poles can get Chubb on a reasonable deal, he’s the guy, so, going out on a limb, let’s say the University of Georgia product will approach 90 yards and punch in two touchdowns during his first start in a Chicago Bears uniform.

Wide Receiver

If Micah Parsons is fully healthy, Dallas’ pass rush is scary, so quarterback Caleb Williams might be making his fair share of hot reads. And who benefits from hot reads? Slot receivers, that’s who.

So look for rookie Luther Burden III to catch a slew of short passes, while Rome Odunze breaks off a long one in the fourth quarter.

Tight End

The chances of Cole Kmet ever again topping Chicago’s weekly tight end statistical tote board are slim to nil, because A) he’s not as good as incoming rookie TE Colston Loveland, and B) Kmet wasn’t drafted by the current Bears regime, so they won't be compelled to, y'know, draw up plays for him.

Kmet and Caleb didn’t have it. Colston and Caleb will. Each and every week.