Arlington, TX (Sports Network) - Jay Cutler threw for 277 yards with three touchdowns and the Chicago Bears spoiled Dallas' home opener with a 27-20 win at Cowboys Stadium.
Cutler was 21-of-29 for the Bears, who are off to their first 2-0 start since 2006, a year in which the franchise represented the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Dallas quarterback Tony Romo completed 34-of-51 passes for 374 yards with one touchdown. However, he was picked off twice by Chicago cornerback D.J. Moore.
Miles Austin posted 142 yards on 10 receptions for the Cowboys, who hadn't opened a season 0-2 in nine years.
David Buehler kicked a 28-yard field goal to trim Dallas' deficit to 20-17 in the third quarter, but hooked a potential game-tying 44-yarder wide left midway through the fourth.
"(Chicago) made the plays and we didn't," said Dallas head coach Wade Phillips. "We had some opportunities, but we didn't make plays. The missed field goal (really hurt us). I thought we had a letdown. We went out on the field after the missed field goal with our heads down."
The Bears extended their lead to 10 with a quick jaunt to the end zone. After a pair of completions put the ball the Dallas 41, Devin Hester caught a short pass, eluded a defender and raced 38 yards. Cutler and Matt Forte hooked up on the next play to give Chicago a 10-point lead with 5:16 remaining.
Romo led Dallas into Chicago territory, but a Roy Williams fumble derailed the drive.
The Cowboys got the ball back after a punt and Buehler made a 48-yard field goal with 1:17 left, but the comeback fell short when Chicago hauled in the onside kick.
"We knew what type of team we were seeing," said Chicago head coach Lovie Smith. "Coming off a loss, you normally get the best effort from the team on the other side. We had good practices this past week and felt like we had some good matchups offensively against their defense."
Romo was picked off by Moore on Dallas' first possession. Charles Tillman drilled Austin and Moore was able to corral the ball before it hit the turf. The turnover led to a 38-yard field goal by Robbie Gould.
Rookie Dez Bryant returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown to give Dallas a 7-3 lead with 2:44 remaining in the first quarter, but the Bears answered less than two minutes later after the Cowboys' decision to attempt an onside kick backfired and gave Chicago great field position.
Cutler ended the three-play, 58-yard drive by hitting Greg Olsen on a toss over the middle and he took it 39 yards for a score to put Chicago up 10-7 with 69 seconds left.
Dallas regained the lead on its next series, with a one-yard TD pass from Romo to Chris Gronkowski off of play-action, capping a 13-play, 73-yard march.
The back-and-forth action continued as the Bears responded on the ensuing drive. Facing a 3rd-and-15 from his own 21, Cutler hit Johnny Knox in stride for a 59-yard gain. Three plays later, Hester made a nifty one-handed grab in the back corner of the end zone for a nine-yard TD with 3:38 to play in the second quarter.
Moore hauled in another deflected ball on the Cowboys' next series. This time, it was tight end Jason Witten who couldn't reel in a pass from Romo. The Bears took over at Dallas' 47, and Gould converted a 40-yarder to give Chicago a 20-14 halftime lead.
Game Notes
Marion Barber was limited to 31 yards on 11 carries for Dallas...Knox caught four passes for 86 yards, while Hester had four receptions for 77 yards...The Bears snapped a three-game losing streak in Dallas, winning on the road in this series for the first time since a 24-10 decision over the Cowboys in the 1986 regular-season finale...Bears left tackle Chris Williams left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return...Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins suffered an injury to his right knee and will have an MRI on Monday.