Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals: Live updates from Soldier Field

CHICAGO – The Bears are back in action Sunday with a Christmas Eve matchup against the Arizona Cardinals at Soldier Field.

Head coach Matt Eberflus’ team will look to rebound from a tough loss to the Cleveland Browns last week. Quarterback Justin Fields and the offense should have an opportunity to score some points against a Cardinals defense that ranks near the bottom of the league.

Shaw Local Bears beat writer Sean Hammond is at Soldier Field for the game. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @sean_hammond, on Instagram at @bears_reporter and on Threads at @bears_reporter. Shaw Local reporter Jake Bartelson also will be reporting from Soldier Field. Follow him on X at @JakeBartelson. Shaw Local Bears analyst Marc Silverman will provide his thoughts and insights on X at @WaddleandSilvy.

Below is everything Bears fans need to know ahead of the game. Stay here all game long for live updates.

Bears win, 27-16

The Bears closed out a victory, 27-16, over the Arizona Cardinals. The Bears improved to 6-9 on the season.

The Bears rushed for 250 yards as a team. Khalil Herbert totaled 112 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Justin Fields ran for 97 yards and one touchdown on nine attempts. Tight end Cole Kmet left the game at halftime with a knee injury and did not return.

Bears come up with fourth-down stop, add field goal

The Cardinals got the ball back with a chance to drive down and tie the game, but their fourth-down try with about three minutes remaining in the game fell incomplete. The Cardinals went for it on fourth-and-6 from their own 27-yard line, even with three timeouts in their pocket and the two-minute warning still remaining.

On fourth down, Kyler Murray threw a deep ball intended for Greg Dortch that fell incomplete. Bears cornerback Terell Smith played nice coverage on both third and fourth down to cause incompletions.

On the following Bears possession, kicker Cairo Santos made a 29-yard field goal with 1:05 to go in the game. The Bears lead, 27-16.

Cardinals make it a 1-possession game

The Bears had a fourth-down stop after Kyler Murray threw an incompletion, but a flag came in late. It went as a defensive holding call against Bears safety Jaquan Brisker and it gave the Cardinals a first down.

Later, Arizona receiver Greg Dortch ran circles around Bears’ defensive backs Tyrique Stevenson and Eddie Jackson on his way to the end zone. Dortch was wide open on a 38-yard touchdown reception, and he beat both the men closest to him.

The Cardinals went for two, but failed to convert. The Bears lead, 24-16, with just over six minutes remaining in the game.

Fields picked off in end zone

Justin Fields threw an interception in the end zone with 10:22 remaining in the game. The Bears were trying to score again and extend their lead to three possessions. Instead, Fields lofted a ball for running back Khalil Herbert that was picked off by safety Jalen Thompson. The Bears lead, 24-10, but were looking to put this game away.

Moments before the interception, Fields had scrambled for a 39-yard gain to get the offense into the red zone.

Cairo Santos makes 49-yard field goal try

Bears kicker Cairo Santos made a 49-yard field goal try late in the third quarter. The Bears lead, 24-10, with just over a minute to go in the third quarter.

The Cardinals defense came up with stops on second and third down to stall out a Bears’ offensive possession. On third-and-6, the Cardinals rushed only three and dropped eight into coverage. Justin Fields dumped the ball to running back Roschon Johnson, who was stopped for no gain. It went for a 10-play, 49-yard scoring drive.

Cardinals add field goal; Cole Kmet doubtful

On the first possession after halftime, Cardinals kicker Matt Prater made a 55-yard field goal. The score cut it to an 11-point game, with the Bears leading, 21-10.

The biggest news out of halftime, however, was that Bears tight end Cole Kmet is doubtful to return with a knee injury. Kmet appeared to tweak something when he made his last catch, which put him over 100 receiving yards. He remained in the game until the end of that possession, then spent some time in the injury tent.

Kmet was not on the field for either of the Bears two last possession in the first half. After halftime, Kmet did not appear to be on the team bench.

Bears lead, 21-7, at halftime

The Bears hold a two-score lead at halftime, 21-7. Neither team could find any points in the final two minutes of the second quarter.

In the first half, Bears tight end Cole Kmet set a career high with 107 receiving yards. Justin Fields totaled 135 passing yards on 10-for-17 passing with one touchdown and no turnovers. Running back Khalil Herbert has 62 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Cardinals find an answer

The Cardinals are finally on the scoreboard. Running back James Conner scored a 16-yard touchdown on a pass from quarterback Kyler Murray. It went as a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive for the Cardinals.

The score cut into the Bears’ lead, 21-7, with 2:27 to go before halftime. It marked the first Cardinals possession of the afternoon that didn’t end in a punt.

Marcdes Lewis catches 1st touchdown with Bears

The Bears put together their third consecutive touchdown drive midway through the second quarter, giving themselves a lead, 21-0, with 7:12 remaining in the second quarter.

This time, it was 39-year-old veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis who caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Fields. It marked Lewis’ 40th career touchdown grab, and his first as a member of the Bears.

In total, it was an eight-play, 54-yard scoring drive for the Bears. Along the way, tight end Cole Kmet surpassed his career high in receiving yards. Kmet is up to 107 receiving yards on four catches in the first half of Sunday’s game. His previous career high was 87 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021.

Khalil Herbert scores touchdown, Bears lead 14-0

The Bears made it look easy on their second touchdown-scoring drive of the afternoon. Justin Fields led the offense 90 yards on 11 plays. The Bears scored on an 11-yard touchdown run from running back Khalil Herbert. It marked Herbert’s first rushing touchdown of the season, and his second touchdown overall.

The touchdown was set up by a big run from Fields himself, who scampered 24 yards along the left sideline on a designed run to pull the offense into the red zone. Earlier on the possession, Fields connected with tight end Cole Kmet for a 20-yard gain.

The Bears lead, 14-0, with 12:54 remaining in the second quarter at Soldier Field.

Justin Fields runs for 3-yard touchdown

On their second offensive possession of the afternoon, the Bears drove 74 yards down field and scored on a 3-yard run from quarterback Justin Fields. Fields completed a 53-yard pass to tight end Cole Kmet along the way on the scoring drive.

The Cardinals had Fields wrapped up for a sack on third-and-goal from the 6-yard line, but a defensive holding penalty negated the play. The Bears had a new set of downs. On first down, Fields escaped the pocket and scrambled to his left, where he found room to run in the score.

The Bears took the lead, 7-0, with 6:16 to go in the first quarter. Receiver DJ Moore, who injured his ankle earlier in the game, reentered the field of play for Fields’ touchdown run.

Bears WR DJ Moore suffers injury, but later returns

The Bears won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. On the second play from scrimmage, Bears receiver DJ Moore caught a pass for a 6-yard gain. Moore was in pain after being tackled and took a long time to get up off the field.

With the help of the Bears’ medical staff, Moore walked to the Bears bench and went directly into the team’s medical tent. Moore emerged several minutes later and went back to the bench with his teammates.

When the Bears’ offense went back onto the field, Moore was not with his offensive teammates. He remained on the bench, standing with no helmet. The training staff appeared to be working on his right foot or ankle with an elastic band.

The Bears officially listed Moore as questionable to return with an ankle injury. Moments later, however, Moore returned to the game for a Bears play in the red zone.

Bears announce inactives

Tight end Cole Kmet will play, despite dealing with a quad injury this week. Running back D’Onta Foreman, however, is inactive and will not play. Foreman has been dealing with a personal matter this week.

Here are the other inactives for the Bears on Sunday: quarterback Nathan Peterman, linebacker Noah Sewell, receiver Equanimeous Brown, safety Quindell Johnson and guard Teven Jenkins. Peterman will be the emergency quarterback if both Justin Fields and Tyson Bagent suffer injuries.

The latest injury news

The Bears know they will be without starting left guard Teven Jenkins, who remains in concussion protocol. Jenkins suffered a concussion last week against the Browns. Look for veteran Cody Whitehair to take Jenkins’ place as the left guard.

Additionally, receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (pectoral) and linebacker Noah Sewell (knee) have already been ruled out.

Tight end Cole Kmet (quad) is questionable and was a limited participant in practice on Friday. Running backs D’Onta Foreman (personal) and Travis Homer (hamstring) are also questionable for Sunday’s game.

Foreman missed practice Thursday, but returned and was a limited participant on Friday. He served as one of the primary running backs last week in Cleveland.

Bears extend Cairo Santos

The Bears on Saturday extended the contract of veteran kicker Cairo Santos. Santos inked a new four-year deal worth up to $16 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The deal is worth a guaranteed $9.5 million.

Santos has made 104 of 114 field goals (91%) since signing with the Bears in 2020. Including a brief stint with the team in 2017, Santos is the most accurate field goal kicker in team history – even more accurate than Robbie Gould.

This season, Santos has made 27 of 29 field goal tries (93%), including all six of his tries from 50 yards and beyond.

“It is great to extend Cairo for another four years,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said in a statement released by the team. “His consistency and dependability will help us continue to elevate.”

Santos originally joined the Bears for two games in 2017. Injuries, however, hampered his 2017 and 2018 seasons. In 2019, he had a game as a member of the Tennessee Titans where he missed all four field goal tries and was cut the following day. At that point, he thought his NFL career might be over.

But Santos signed a one-year deal with the Bears in 2020 and quickly replaced kicker Eddy Pineiro when Pineiro went on injured reserve. Santos had a record-setting 2020 and signed an extension with the Bears the following offseason.

What to expect from Cardinals vs. Bears

At 3-11, the Cardinals are one of the few NFL teams with fewer wins than the Bears. Quarterback Kyler Murray returned from an ACL injury about a month ago and has played five games this season.

Here are the five biggest storylines to watch ahead of Sunday’s game.

Silvy doesn’t believe the Bears should keep Eberflus simply for the sake of continuity. Read Silvy’s latest column here.

Eberflus said the Bears will not be re-evaluating the offensive coordinator position until after the season. For now, Luke Getsy will remain the team’s play caller.

What else did I miss this week?

Here’s what else was happening at Halas Hall this week.

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[ 3 things Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Monday after loss to Cleveland Browns ]