Did pregame hibernation doom Cowboys?

Associated Press

When ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters told us how much extra clothing the Dallas Cowboys had packed for Monday night’s bitter cold contest in Chicago, you knew the ‘Boys may have been thinking a little too much about the -9 wind chills they were facing at Soldier Field.

Brandon Marshall agrees. The Bears wide receiver told Chicago’s ESPN 1000 Tuesday he knew his team had the contest won when he saw only a few Dallas players on the field preparing before the game.

“There was only a handful of Dallas players,” Marshall said. “I looked around and I said, ‘Man, we’ve got these guys.’”

The temperature at kickoff Monday was 7 degrees Fahrenheit in Chicago, but it felt like -9 with the wind.

“The elements were already in their heads,” Marshall continued in his radio interview. “So pregame, I believe that we won. I’m pretty sure there [would have been] more guys out there if it wasn’t colder, but they weren’t out there. For us, once you start putting on sleeves and start doing things differently, you buy into the elements and the game is over.”

The Cowboys came out of the locker room hot, running all over the Bears defense for a quick score and a 7-0 lead. Dallas kept the game close for a while, but the Bears eventually ran off to 45-28 win.

-- cold --

Fantasy Snowball Fight

Fantasy football owners are having fits today because many star players failed to produce their regular big numbers in Sunday's bad weather games. Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Browns quarterback Derek Anderson are three of those fantasy letdowns from Week 15. What was Tony Romo's excuse? Oh, yeah. Maybe it was his post-game plans that caused him to throw three interceptions and zero touchdowns passes. Anyway, I'm not going to spend much time on fantasy football. (Did I mention my team is championship bound?) Instead, I'll send you to George Winkler of The Sporting News for in-depth fantasy analysis. George even delves into Brian Westbrook sacrificing six points for him and his fantasy owners. Slick move, Mr. Westbrook. Very slick!

By the way, Mike Francesa on WFAN in New York has been giving a verbal beat-down to fantasy football owners today who are complaining about Westbrook taking a knee at the one-yard line.

This is a milestone for the Rainout Blog. It's post No. 200.

That's enough for today. Enjoy the Bears at Vikings as much as you can enjoy an indoor football game.