Five things to watch in Cowboys-Bears game

The Dallas Cowboys make their prime-time debut by hosting the winless Chicago Bears at AT&T Stadium on NBC’s Sunday Night Football.

The Bears (0-2) will be without starting quarterback Jay Cutler, who has a sprained thumb. Brian Hoyer will replace Cutler in the lineup.

Dallas is coming off a 27-23 road win at Washington, which gave rookie quarterback Dak Prescott his first win.

Here are five things to watch:

Home woes

Jason Garrett and the players weren’t thrilled being peppered with questions about their struggles at AT&T Stadium. But the Cowboys have lost eight consecutive games at home, the worst active streak going in the league. The Cowboys have yet to develop home-field advantage, playing sub-.500 football in the $1.2 billion facility, and must get that turned around quickly.

Dak in prime-time

Rookie quarterback Dak Prescott feels as though every NFL game is prime-time, and he played in plenty of big-time games in college. But this is his national debut as a professional, and all eyes will be on him. Prescott prides himself in being ready for any moment and feels that no stage is too big for him. Sunday night will be another test of his poise and composure.

Ball security

Ezekiel Elliott coughed the ball up twice in the second half against the Redskins, losing one of them. That earned Elliott a spot on the bench down the stretch, and ball security took on even more importance throughout the week. Elliott can’t afford to put the ball on the ground again against the Bears. Instead, this would be a good game for Elliott to have a breakout game as the Bears’ defense is banged up and has allowed 114.5 rushing yards a game early on this season.

Security blankets

Jason Witten has always been a go-to option for Tony Romo, and has filled that role for Prescott. So has slot receiver Cole Beasley. Witten and Beasley have combined for 25 receptions through two games, and have established themselves as reliable underneath targets for Prescott. Even though Witten and Beasley have shined, wide receiver Dez Bryant is coming off a 100-yard receiving game and the Cowboys clearly have multiple weapons.

Defensive pressure

Establishing a pass rush has ranked as a top storyline all off-season and training camp, and continues to be a hot topic. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli is mixing and matching his defensive line as best he can, and for now that means Tyrone Crawford is expected to see more time at defensive end. Terrell McClain has emerged as a force as the three-technique tackle, allowing Crawford to move outside. That worked well late in the game at Washington, and needs to carry forward for a sack-starved team.

This story was originally published September 24, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Five things to watch in Cowboys-Bears game."