Bear Digest

Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals Week 9 Game Day Preview

A look at the key numbers and trends as well as individual matchups in Sunday's game between the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals.

Gene Chamberlain

Wide receiver Greg Dortch scored a touchdown against the Bears last season in the 27-16 Chicago win.
Wide receiver Greg Dortch scored a touchdown against the Bears last season in the 27-16 Chicago win. / Matt Marton-Imagn Images
In this story:

Chicago Bears (4-3) at Arizona Cardinals (4-4)

Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ.

Kickoff: 3:05 p.m. 

TV: CBS (Ian Eagle, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn)

Radio: ESPN AM-1000 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie)

ESPN (Mike Couzens, Max Starks, Courtney Cronin)

Spanish Radio: Latino Mix 93.5 (Omar Ramos, Mateo Moreno)

The Line: Cardinals by 1 1/2, over/under 44 1/2 (Fan Duel, Draft Kings)

Bears On SI Pick: Cardinals 26, Bears 17

The Series:  The 94th game, with the Bears leading the series 58-29-6. The teams split the last six. The Bears had won three straight games before that. The Bears have won the last three at Arizona, including the 2006 game when Arizona coach Dennis green said  "the Bears are who we thought they were," after a miracle 20-point comeback win by Chicago without help from an offensive touchdown. This is the NFL’s oldest series in terms of time, as it has gone on 103 years, 11 months and seven days. It was a crosstown series in Chicago until 1959 as the Cardinals played at the old Normal Park on Racine, and then Comiskey Park. The Cardinals played in Chicago until moving to St. Louis from 1960-87 and then Arizona.

The Coaches: Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 14-27 in his third season and 1-0 against the Cardinals. The win came on Christmas Eve last year, 27-16. The Bears have a 3-17 record under Eberflus in road games.

Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon has an 8-17 record in his second season and is 4-8 at home. He is 0-1 against the Bears, the loss coming last year in Chicago. Gannon is a former Eagles defensive coordinator.

The Teams: Both teams are trying to win for the fourth time in five games, but they’re coming into this matchup using very different paths. The Bears had the excruciating 18-15 loss via Hail Mary pass after they came back in the fourth quarter to take a 15-12 lead on a Roschon Johnson 1-yard TD run. The 52-yard Hail Mary TD pass ended a three-game Bears winning streak.

The Cardinals had an impressive 28-27 comeback win over Miami behind 307 passing yards by Kyler Murray a week after a stunning 17-15 comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers  when he threw for 145 yards but ran for 64, including a 44-yard TD.

Stat Leaders: Caleb Williams has completed 140 of 223 (62.8%) for 1,448 yards with nine TDs and five interceptions for a passer rating of 85.6. D'Andre Swift leads the Bears in rushing with 454 yards on 109 attempts (4.2-yard average) and is tied with Johnson for the rushing TD lead at four. DJ Moore leads the Bears in receptions with 33 and in receiving yards with 341. He and Cole Kmet each have three TD catches.  T.J. Edwards leads the Bears in tackles with 53 while Montez Sweat leads in tackles for loss with five. Gervon Dexter leads the Bears defense in sacks with four and Jaylon Johnson has a team-high two interceptions. Tyrique Stevenson leads in pass breakups with six.

Murray is 156 of 232 (67.2%) for 1,638 yards with 11 TDs and three interceptions for a passer rating of 98.0. James Conner leads the Cardinals in rushing with 557 yards on 129 carries (4.3 ypc) and four TDs. TE Trey McBride leads the Cardinals in receptions with 42 for 446 yards but no TDs. The TD catch leader is Marvin Harrison Jr. with five.

Safety Budda Baker leads Arizona in tackles with 79 while Dennis Gardeck and Dante Stills share the sacks lead with three each. Gardeck leads in tackles for loss with six. No one on the Cardinals has more than one interception.  Starling Thomas and Mack Wilson lead in pass breakups with three each.

Injury Report: For the Bears, T Kiran Amegadjie (calf), S Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and tackle Braxton Jones (knee) are out. T Larry Borom (ankle) is questionable and has been removed from injured reserve, so he’s expected to play. CB Kyler Gordon (calf) , guard Teven Jenkins (knee) and DE Montez Sweat (shin) are questionable.  G/C Ryan Bates (shoulder) hasnot yet been elevated to the 53-man roster from IR, although he is eligible.

For the Cardinals, DL Darius Robinson (calf) and LT Jonah Williams (knee) are out.  DT Roy Lopez (ankle) and DT Naquan Jones (thigh) are questionable.

Matching Up: The Bears rank 27th on offense, 28th in passing and 19th rushing. They are 15th in scoring. Chicago's defense is 11th overall, 11th against the pass and 14th against the run. They have allowed the fourth fewest points.


The Cardinals are 12th on offense, 22nd passing and seventh rushing. They are 18th in scoring. Arizona is 27th on defense, 26th against the pass and 26th against the run. They are 24th in scoring defense.

PRESEASON BEARS FAVORITE GETS ACTIVATED FOR FIRST NFL ACTION

IF BEARS PUNISH TYRIQUE STEVENSON WHY NOT SHANE WALDRON TOO

BEARS AND CARDINALS: WHO WINS AND WHY

BEARS BEST POSITIONED TO DO DAMAGE TO CARDINALS.

Of Note: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports Tevenson will not start as penalty for last week's Hail Mary pass completion. ... The Bears are plus-5 in turnover differential and Arizona plus-1. … Harrison had his best game in the league last week with six catches for 111 yards and a TD against the Dolphins. … The current Bears streak of holding teams to 21 points or less is 13 straight, the longest such streak since the Baltimore Ravens did it for 13 games spanning the 2019-2020 seasons. … The Bears defense is No. 1 in touchdown prevention within the red zone, allowing seven TDs in 19 opposing possessions. … Williams has been sacked 23 times, third most in the NFL … Murray needs one TD pass to move into sole possession of fourth in franchise TD passes at 105. He currently is tied with Carson Palmer. … Baker’s 79 tackles ranks No. 1 in the NFL for DBs.  … Bears punter Tory Taylor is tied for seven in the league in punts downed inside the 20 with 15.

Key Individual Matchups

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Cardinals WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

Harrison hasn't been bad but the fourth pick in the draft had a bit of a slow start until he struck for 111 yards on six catches against the Dolphins. He is fourth in his draft class among wide receivers in catches with 26, third in yards with 411 and tied for first in TDs with five. At 6-foot-4, Harrison will have an edge with his height but Johnson has faced taller receivers in the past without being burned. After being victimized a few times for catches last week, Johnson's passer rating against is up to 42.9, still a very low number. He's giving up 53.8% completions but hasn't allowed a TD.

Bears TE Cole Kmet vs. Cardinals S Budda Baker

Baker could pop up anywhere but most likely would wind up on Kmet or Gerald Everett or Keenan Allen in the middle of the field somewhere. He is the wild card in their defense and their top tackler and play maker. Kmet has eight inches on him and 65 pounds and Allen has four inches and 16 pounds. Baker hits like a linebacker at times and uses great quickness to be in position for the ball. Kmet is coming off a game when he was targeted only once so it's a safe bet there will be an emphasis on getting him the ball early to get things moving. Catching the Cardinals using Baker in the wrong place or gambling with some of their other players could lead to big plays. Kmet can be a key here, both as a blocker and receiver.

Bears LB T.J. Edwards vs. Cardinals RB James Conner

It's going to be tough and physical inside in the running game with the top Bears tackler taking on the Cardinals' 6-1, 233-pound starting back. Wrapping up and getting Conner to the ground is critical and Edwards has missed on only two out of 55 attempts this year, according to Stathead/Pro Football Reference. He has a 3.6% missed-tackle rate, second lowest of his career. But Conner breaks tackles. He has 16 to date and is on pace to pass his career high of 27 set last year. He has had 20 runs just twice this year because the Cardinals like changing it up with two other backs. He's best running downhill with power. Edwards will be waiting in the gap for him.

Bears WR DJ Moore vs. Cardinals CB Starling Thomas V

Moore has had 27 yards or less in three of the last four games and has gone over 78 yards only once. The Bears are looking for him to break out and the 5-10, 194-pound Thomas could present an opportunity as one of the less experienced and less effective defenders for Arizona. The second-year cornerback allowed 15.3 yards per reception and a passer rating against of 104.6 according to PFF. Moore's success, of course, depends on Caleb Williams in the end.

Bears DE Montez Sweat vs. Cardinals RT Kelvin Beachum

It's apparent from Sweat's totals and several minor injuries he's had that he's being hit with much more double-teaming now. He has 3 1/2 sacks but his 13 pressures is not too far off his pace for nine games last year of 19 for the season's second half. Sweat's shin injury doesn't seem like something that would keep him out of this game even if he is listed questionable. They can always pad up a shin. But it would have been good if he'd been healthy for the final play last week. He was able to go only 50% of the snaps. He's facing a player who is 35 years old. The 6-3, 308-pound Beachum has been fairly effective blocking on passes with a 73.0 pass blocking grade from PFF. Beachum is playing because draft pick Jonah Williams played in only the first game before an injury. He's not yet ready to return but soon.

Bears S Elijah Hicks vs. Cardinals TE Trey McBride

The Bears failed at covering Zach Ertz last week as he got open against the zone coverage for seven catches and 77 yards. Now they get to tangle with McBride, the leading Cardinals receiver. Hicks has a 123.2 passer rating against and has played 145 snaps as Jaquan Brisker's backup due to the concussion suffered by the Bears starter. Hicks has given up one TD according to Stathead. McBride broke through with 81 catches last year and is ahead of that pace now. He's leading the Cardinals in catches with 42 and is capable of getting downfield. The Cardinals basically will rely on him as an extra wide receiver. This might be the toughest matchup the Bears have because McBride has been far more effective against zone coverage than other Cardinals receivers, according to PFF.

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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.