Bears dominated in all 3 phases by Cardinals in a 29-9 loss that drops them to 4-4

Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune on Nov 3, 2024

Published in Football

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GLENDALE, Ariz. — A rough week for the Chicago Bears got considerably worse Sunday evening in the desert as the Arizona Cardinals looked superior in all phases in a 29-9 victory.

A Bears defense that was missing three starters — defensive end Montez Sweat (shin), safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and nickel back Kyler Gordon (hamstring) — became worn down by the Cardinals running game.

James Conner rushed for 107 yards on 18 carries, Trey Benson added 37 yards and a touchdown and Emari Demercado broke off a 53-yard touchdown with four seconds to play before halftime to stake the Cardinals to a 21-9 lead.

The Cardinals finished with 213 rushing yards, while quarterback Kyler Murray threw for 154 yards on 13-of-20 passing.

Meanwhile, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams spent too much time scrambling for his safety behind a banged-up offensive line missing left tackle Braxton Jones. Right tackle Darnell Wright also went out with a knee injury in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals (5-4) recorded a season-high six sacks of Williams, who at one point was sacked on three straight plays over two drives in the fourth quarter.

The Bears offense started slowly again and never really warmed up. Williams completed 22-of-41 passes for 216 yards. D’Andre Swift led the running game with 51 yards.

The Bears (4-4) never found the end zone, settling for three Cairo Santos field goals and getting shut out in the second half. They were 3-of-14 on third down.

The Bears had a tumultuous week leading up to the game — at least from a public perception standpoint — as players openly questioned coach Matt Eberflus’ in-game decisions in Week 8 and the team dealt with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson’s viral lapse in focus on the Washington Commanders’ winning Hail Mary.

Eberflus said Friday he thought the players put together a strong week of practice while bouncing back from the ugly loss. But not much went right for the Bears.

After the Cardinals went into halftime up 21-9, Chad Ryland pushed them further ahead with a 29-yard field goal on a 13-play, 69-yard drive that took 7:54 off the clock.

On the Bears’ next drive, Williams completed a 6-yard pass to Keenan Allen on fourth-and-4. But he was off the mark on the next two throws to DJ Moore and then took two sacks, including for a 16-yard loss on fourth-and-11. That gave the Cardinals the ball at the Bears 40.

They went up 27-9 on Ryland’s 55-yard field goal, then got a safety on D’Andre Swift’s chop block in the end zone for the final margin.

The Bears lost cornerback Terell Smith to an ankle injury in the first half and defensive tackle Andrew Billings to a chest injury in the third quarter.

Smith started in place of Stevenson, who was benched for his actions on the Hail Mary last week. Stevenson rotated in on the Bears’ third defensive series..

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