Bear Digest

Bears and Cardinals: Who Wins and Why

Team turmoil travels to the desert looking to regain the momentum stolen away by a Hail Mary pass and a week of the blame game. Can the Bears quickly forget this past week?

Gene Chamberlain

Kyler Murray gets off a pass before Dominique Robinson and Zacch Pickens can arrive on the scene last year in a Bears win.
Kyler Murray gets off a pass before Dominique Robinson and Zacch Pickens can arrive on the scene last year in a Bears win. / Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images
In this story:

Amid the backdrop of the botched Hail Mary and Shane Waldron's fascination with big men doing more than playing on the line of scrimmage came a voice from cyberspace, unwanted or otherwise.

Caleb Williams' father, Carl, tweeted out #accountability and #realcoach with a photo of Commanders defensive coordinator Joe Whitt saying "...I blame myself" for the way the Commanders gavie up the go-ahead drive to the Bears late in Sunday's 18-15 Chicago loss.

The obvious inference is the way the Bears coaches handled the aftermath of the Hail Mary, in which Tyrique Stevenson received obvious and deserved blame but Matt Eberflus stood by his own decision not to protect the sidelines on the previous pla.

Later, Williams talked to WSCR's Shane Riordan about the twee, which was later deleted, and Williams tried to walk it back or disconnect it from the Bears coaches.

"It's an innocent comment," Williams told WSCR. "I like what the Commanders are doing. I know a lot of guys over there. It's got nothing to do with the Bears."

Right.

The jeannie doesn't go back in the bottle once it's out on social media even if erased.

The mere fact the father of the Bears quarterback coach was tweeting strong support of the opposing coach after a loss like that is very telling.

So the Bears' week of turmoil continued long after the initial afermath with more people outside of Halas Hall chiming in and the team trying to get ready for the Cardinals.

Can the Bears overcome the off-field distraction? Talk about intangible advantages for Arizona. Wow.

It's the Bears and Cardinals in the desert Sunday at 3:05 p.m. Here's who wins and why.

Bears Passing vs. Cardinals Pass Defense

Arizona's pass defense is 26th in the league despite its creative use of safety Budda Baker in different spots. They can run hot and cold in the pass rush and rely extensively on linebackers Mack Wilson, Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck to stir up a rush.

CAN BEARS REBOUND FROM LAST WEEK'S DEVASTATING DEFEAT?

IF BEARS PUNISH TYRIQUE STEVENSON WHY NOT SHANE WALDRON TOO

BEARS SECONDARY HEALTH IMPROVES BUT O-LINE LOSES BRAXTON JONES

BEARS BEST POSITIONED TO DO DAMAGE TO CARDINALS

The Bears have an opportunity to burn Arizona's secondary for big plays but the question is whether they can block well enough with another makeshift offensive line, and whether Williams holds up to the blitzing he's sure to get after he has struggled so much against the blitz in road games. No Edge

Bears Running vs. Cardinals Run Defense

The Cardinals run defense has been bad. It's this simple. It's ranked 26th and 21st in yards allowed per attempt. The only teams not to run for at least 130 yards on them were the Rams, which is understandable because of their passing attack, and surprisingly the Chargers. Even the pass-happy Dolphins ran for 150. They lost Justin Jones early in the year and haven't had an adequate replacement. They're relying on former Bears like Bilal Nichols and Khyiris Tonga inside on the line. The Bears have the ability to get D'Andre Swift running, especially outside against a team giving up huge chunks on the perimeter. Even with Larry Borom taking over at left tackle, they should be able to run but they need consistent yardage and not just popping one in the third quarter like last week. Edge Bears

Cardinals Passing vs. Bears Pass Defense

They better not leave Tyrique Stevenson on the bench too long if they do bench him because Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr. and tight end Trey McBride are real threats, while receivers like Greg Dortch and Michael Wilson play good supporting roles. Running back James Conner also is  threat in the passing game. The Bears' status as No. 1 in passer rating against and No. 1 in the red zone will be severely tested by Murray's mobility and arm, and will need as many of their regular secondary pieces intact with Jaquan Brisker still out due to a concussion. The pass rush will be essential in this case, and Montez Sweat's injured shin isn't good news. No Edge

Cardinals Running vs. Bears Run Defense

Conner is a 6-foot-1, 233-pounder who can run like a beast if the Arizona line gets him room to get started. He'll breahk tackles and also has speed to break away. The Bears can't afford the breakdowns they've had on occasion in run defense. Murray gets used occasionally on planned runs, and backup running backs Emari Demercado and Trey Benson also add effectively to the attack with vital roles. They are seventh in rushing. The Bears run defense has stepped it up and pulled its ranking up to 14th after a poor start but they'll need to be even more stout to stop this ground game. Edge Cardinals

Special Teams

Former Seahawks player DeeJay Dallas gives the Cardinals a kick return threat like the Bears haven't shown they possess, at least once they no longer had Velus Jones Jr. in the picture. He's averaging 30.7 yards and backup kick returner Greg Dortch has also been close to that mark. Matt Prater has been perfect but used very rarely (6 tries) as the Cardinals have tried to become like the Eagles and possess the football while going for it more on fourth downs. Cardinals punter Blake Gillikin has been solid with 10 punts inside the 10 but nowhere near Tory Taylor's total of 15. And Taylor's punting has come in all conditions, not a dome where anyone can do it. No Edge

Coaching

Jonathan Gannon has quietly started to turn around the Cardinals. They beat the Chargers and Dolphins back to back and those are opponents few would have given them chances against early this year or last year. Matt Eberflus is at the center of coaching controversy and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron right there manning the oars. The Bears are terrible on the road and haven't beaten a good team. Edge Cardinals

Intangibles

The Bears always benefit from a big following at road games in Arizona but it's still the road and Williams hasn't been good away from home except when the Bears were home team in London. The biggest intangible of all is the effect of a week of turmoil after the shocking defeat by Hail Mary. The media and fans questioning the competence of players and coaches is one thing. Are the players and coaches doing it to each other? Edge Cardinals

Final Score: Cardinals 26, Bears 17

Too many variables work against the Bears in this one to think they can simply do what they did last year after they had a devastating loss to Denver that seemed to be a win they had locked away. They came back the very next week and routed Washington on the road. But there are other instances where they've had turmoil and it didn't go so well. Right after former defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned they were totally routed by Kansas City, and they played one of their worst games of the year in a loss to New Orleans during the week running backs coach David Walker was fired. Besides all of that, the Cardinals have played well against a much tougher schedule.

The Line: Cardinals by 1 1/2 (Over/under 44 1/2)*

Bears On SI Record in Bears Games: 6-1 straight up, 5-2 vs. the spread.

-Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.-Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

-If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER

*Betting lines from Draft Kings and Fan Duel

MORE BEARS VIDEO AND NEWS

Twitter: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.