Two teams heading in the opposite direction meet at Soldier Field as the Dallas Cowboys visit the Chicago Bears. Dallas leads the NFC East with a 6-6 record by one game over the Philadelphia Eagles while Chicago is also at 6-6, but trail the Green Bay Packers by three games in the NFC North and the Minnesota Vikings by two games for the last NFC Wild Card spot.

The two teams are heading in opposite directions with Dallas having lost two in a row to the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills, scoring a combined 24 points while Chicago was won their last two over the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions.

Key Thursday showdown for NFC playoff contenders

This is the second consecutive Thursday game for both teams as each played last week on Thanskgiving, the Cowboys losing 26-15 at home to Buffalo while the Bears claimed a 24-20 victory in Detroit. This is the 27th all-time meeting between the two franchises with Dallas leading 15-11.

The Cowboys have won the last two over the Bears, their last game in 2016 as Dallas emerged 31-17 winners. The Cowboys are 3-2 on the road in 2019 while Chicago is 3-3 at home. "We've talked a lot", said Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. "We've talked a lot and got ourselves right to where we are. In a moment like this I say to hell with talking and i'm going to do more."

Amari Cooper will be key for Dallas' chances as the wide receiver is fifth in the league with 971 receiving yards and tied for fifth in touchdown receptions with seven, but just 213 of those yards and two of those touchdown catches have come on the road. "It's just like basketball", he said. "You shoot the ball more, you're going to have more points. If you only have two shots, then you only score four points."

For Chicago, signal-caller Mitchell Trubisky has improved his play over the last four games, completing 94 of 145 passes for 979 yards with eight touchdowns, four interceptions and a 91.1 quarterback rating. Anthony Miller could be vital to Trubisky's success as he has caught 21 passes over his last three games.

The Cowboys will be without linebacker Leighton Vander Esch due to a neck injury, the fourth consecutive game he has missed while Bilal Nichols was limited in practice with a knee injury. The Bears will be missing four players, including wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (concussion) and linebacker Danny Trevathan (elbow). Cornerback Prince Amukamara is questionable with a hamstring injury.