5 big takeaways from Chicago Bears’ uninspiring blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Despite Chicago Bears fans flocking in huge numbers to Arizona to watch their team take on the Arizona Cardinals, the stands were quiet as could be during the second half Sunday.

The Cardinals, who lead the NFC West, blew right through the Bears on Sunday at State Farm Stadium. Arizona won easily, 29-9, and dominated in all phases of the game. Head coach Matt Eberflus’ team looked as if it were still down from the shock of last week’s Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders.

The Bears dropped to 4-4 on the season, with top squads like the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions looming on the schedule.

Here are the five big takeaways from Sunday’s loss in Arizona.

1. A big score before halftime

It’s hard to say a game is over at halftime, but Sunday’s game felt like it ended the moment the Bears gave up a 53-yard touchdown run in the waning seconds of the first half.

The Bears had scored a field goal to cut the Arizona lead to five points, 14-9. The defense was focused on keeping the Cardinals out of field goal range. On third-and-5 near midfield, Arizona handed off to running back Emari Demercado. On some level it felt like Arizona was waving a white flag, but then Demercado found space.

“I don’t know what his 40 time was but he was rolling,” Bears safety Kevin Byard said.

He ran right through the second level of the defense and found a lane along the sideline. The game wasn’t over – Arizona led 21-9 at halftime – but it sure felt over at that moment. Eberflus took the blame for having his defense in a blitz look, expecting a pass. In retrospect, the Cardinals had the perfect play called.

“You definitely don’t want to give up points right there,” Byard said. “Good play call by them. Obviously, they got us in the blitz right there, so he was able to come through the line untouched.”

2. Where is the offense? Did Caleb Williams get hurt?

On paper, the Cardinals defense is one of the worst in the NFL against the pass. While the Bears offense hasn’t been elite, by any means, it has beat up on bad defenses this season. It did so during a three-game win streak in October.

But the offense that was rolling against Jacksonville in London is nowhere to be seen right now.

Williams completed 22 of his 41 pass attempts, totaling 217 yards. He was sacked six times. The Bears were playing with a backup in Larry Borom at left tackle (plus starting right tackle Darnell Wright left the game late with a knee injury). Running back D’Andre Swift rushed for 51 yards on 16 carries.

Overall, there was just no flow for this offense.

“It just came down to energy and going out there and having the confidence and execution, having that drive to make the comeback and make it happen,” receiver Rome Odunze told the Shaw Local News Network. “We’ve got to be able to play the game for four quarters and believe that we can win the game, regardless of what’s going on.”

Odunze caught five passes for 104 yards, including a big 44-yard gain that led to one of the Bears’ three field goals.

Williams appeared to suffer an ankle injury in the final moments of the game. He said he tweaked his ankle on the second-to-last play, then a defender rolled over it on the final play. It’s fair to question whether Williams should’ve been in the game with his team down by 20.

Williams said he’s fine, but Eberflus noted that the training staff will take a closer look at it Monday morning.

“Yeah, I’m OK,” Williams said.

3. Bears bench Tyrique Stevenson

Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson needed a moment to collect himself when his coaches told him on Wednesday that he would be benched. Stevenson lost his starting spot for his lack of focus during last week’s Hail Mary play.

Jay Glazer reported on “Fox NFL Sunday” that Stevenson exited practice when he learned he would be benched, but it doesn’t appear to be anything malicious. The 24-year-old simply needed a moment.

“I feel like we’re all human,” Stevenson said. “If you hear something that you don’t want to hear, I feel like everybody has the opportunity to walk away, collect themselves.”

Stevenson wound up playing most of Sunday’s game anyway. Backup Terell Smith started the game, but injured his ankle in the first half and did not return. Stevenson led the Bears with seven combined tackles and two passes defended.

Stevenson knows last week’s blunder is never going away. He has to live with that.

“Honestly, you don’t put things like that aside,” Stevenson said. “You take them as you go and you just add them to the resume. I feel like this is going to be on my resume to always keep me locked in every game to the end of the game.”

4. Is Matt Eberflus in trouble?

It wasn’t so much the fact that they lost the game, but how they lost the game. The Bears showed no fight in the second half. Are they banged up? Sure. Starters Montez Sweat, Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker all sat out Sunday’s game due to injury. Left tackle Braxton Jones did too.

But nobody expected this game to be a snoozer in the second half, the type of blowout that probably had fans changing the channel in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got to fight back,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “We’ve got to find and take pride in what the Hell we’re doing out here. I think it was uncharacteristic of us, especially on defense. Three touchdowns in any game is unacceptable, but in the first half is crazy.”

The defense is Eberflus’ domain. His defense gave up a 52-yard Hail Mary a week ago. His defense gave up a 53-yard score before halftime on Sunday. The offensive coordinator who he hand-picked couldn’t get this offense into the end zone Sunday.

“Full responsibility for that,” Eberflus said when asked about the offense. “We’ll work with the offensive staff tomorrow morning as we watch this tape, and we’ll find answers.”

Bears fans have to be questioning if Eberflus is the right coach to find those answers.

5. What’s next?

Life in the NFL moves fast. The Bears have another game in seven days. The New England Patriots are coming to Soldier Field. The last thing the Bears need on their resume is losses to both Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye, the No. 2 and No. 3 picks behind Williams.

“I think we definitely need a little bit of a reset here to look ourselves in the mirror and to look at the things that we’re not doing right and be able to execute on those things going forward,” Odunze said.

General manager Ryan Poles praised Eberflus’ ability to coach through adversity back in January when the team decided to keep Eberflus. The coach is facing as much adversity now as he ever has in this role.

But there are no easy fixes in this league.

“If we knew how to fix it, we would fix it,” Johnson said. “Each week is a different week. It’s not just one answer.”