Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall has expressed his belief that the conditions during Monday night's win over the Dallas Cowboys defeated their opponents before the game had even begun.
The Bears ran riot at Soldier Field, making almost 500 yards on their way to thrashing the Cowboys 45-28 in freezing conditions that saw the wind chill drop to as low as -9°C.
Marshall remembers being alongside some of his teammates during the pre-match warm-up and looking around to see that many of the Cowboys had stayed indoors, leaving him in no doubt that they would go on to win the game.
"We beat Dallas last night before the game started. When it was [receiver] Alshon [Jeffery], myself, Earl Bennett and some of the other guys outside warming up pre-game, there was only a handful of Dallas players," Marshall told ESPN.
"I looked around and I said, 'Man, we've got these guys'. The elements were already in their heads. 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."
Marshall made a game-high 100 yards on six receptions as the Bears moved to 7-6 for the season, drawing level with the Detroit Lions at the top of the NFC North.
Barney Corkhill
