Bears and Cardinals In-Game Blog

Live analysis and reporting from the Week 16 game at Soldier Field between the Arizona Cardinals and the Chicago Bears.

Fourth Quarter   

• Fields 15 of 27 for 170 and 71.5 rating.
• Herbert with 112 yards for a season high.

• Cairo Santos kicks a 29-yard field goal and Bears 27, Cardinals 16
•  Lost a yard. Bears will be 6-9, one win from the seven wins everyone seemed to be forecasting for them before the season. That's five straight games where the defense hasn't allowed more than 16 points at home.  They gave up 19 to Minnesota but one touchdown was by the  Vikings defense.
• Khalil Herbert's 108 yards rushing has made a huge difference for the Bears today. It's not easy to focus on Fields when the other back can also go all the way.
• Pretty risky passing there when a field goal ices the game and they can keep the clock running anyway.

• Fields to Moore completion locks it up for a first down at the 14.  TWO-MINUTE WARNING!!!!!
• A couple runs and the Bears face third-and-4 at the 21.

2:57

• Murray let it fly for Dortch, who fell down and tried to bait the official into a flag but not biting. Everyone wants to go home. It's Christmas Eve. Including the ref and Jonathan Gannon.
• Terell Smith with the PBU on a pass to Michael Wilson and Arizona going for it on fourth-and-7. Here's the game.
• Arizona patient with these 4-yard passes over the middle but they have to actually catch them. Murray threw low to Demarcado and left the Cardinals in third-and-7 at their 27.
• PBU by Stevenson on the sidelines. Bears can force a punt on third-and-3 but Emari Demarcado gains 7 on a run over right guard.
• Conner catches a short pass and gains 7 over the middle, breaking a tackle.

4:21

• Gill does his part and nails a punt to the 9 with no return. A 57-yard punt.
• Wildcat to Johnson and he fails to gain. A totally dumb decision on the part of Luke Getsy. You take away the threat of Fields in that case and the defense can focus totally on the wildcat QB. Bears must punt.
• A run for 4 and pass to DJ Moore for 5 and the Bears face third-and-1 at the 34.
• Numbskull decision on the two-point try no matter what a chart says. I think Gannon just wants to go back home and not play OT.

• Crowd of 59,978 here today. Bears 24, Cardinals 16
• Why on earth did they go for two? He threw it out of the end zone. 
• Dortch a 38-yard TD catch. Shorter throw at the numbers as the Bears blitzed and there weren't enough players back for the tackle with 6:37 left. Arizona going for two?
• They tried a cover-2 beater and had it open but Terell Smith got back and the ball sailed out of bounds anyway.
• Edwards drops McBride on a 5-yard catch as clock runs inside seven minutes with Arizona at the Bears 37.
• Murray overshoots McBride but officials flag Brisker for holding. Not sure on that one. The replay didn't show that.
• Murray scrambles on third-and-6 for 4 and no doubt they'll go for it on fourth-and-2.
• Here we are with Matt Eberflus' defense owning a chance to keep a team from making it a game. Sound familiar?
• Short dump-off Conner turns into a huge gain of 20 to the Az 44.
• Cardinals haven't given up the run. Conner for 3. Maybe someone should tell them its' time to give up the run.
• Az at the 20.
• That 39-yard run was the longest Bears run of the season. Wasted.
• A Fields special. Scrambles right fakes a pass and has Tyler Scott open if he wants but he just runs 39 yards to the 14.  Then another Fields special. He throws an interception in the end zone unnecessarily when they have a chip shot field goal waiting them to go up 17 points with 10:22 left.
• Nate Davis with a horrible penalty. Coming out of a timeout he gets a false start and leaves it at third-and-10.
• On third-and-4 from the Arizona 48, the Bears take a timeout with 11:22 left. A very good decision. They were going to be close to a penalty for delay of game and also it's a situation where they can end this if they go down and kick a field goal.
• Fields took one 4 out of bounds. That's not a bad thing to do now because the clock rolls anyway.  Then he gains 3 on what might have been a 30-second play as he scrambled around from one side to the other.
• Running game churning out the stuff inside, which is where the Bears usually are are at their worst. Two first downs and they're at the 47.

• A 54-yard punt into the wind. That's not bad from little buddy Gilligan, er, Gillikin.

• Cardinals preparing to punt. Will they? Desperate team here might want to fake it.

Third Quarter 

• Brisker with the huge hit on Dortch on second-down for an incompletion.  Then a dump-down to McBride and the Cardinals face fourth-and-10 at their own 25 as the quarter ends.
• Murray doesn't how lucky he was. Kyler Gordon with the slot blitz and sack but he was waiting for Murray to risk taking the ball back and was going to strip it but Murray didn't bite. The sack makes it second-and-18.
•  10-play, 49-yard drive was badly needed by the Bears offene.
• Herbert needs 14 yards for a 100-yard day.

1:04: Bears 24, Cardinals 10

• Didn't have a lot left on it when it got there but the $16 million man made it from 49. Bears 24, Cardinals 10.
• Johnson gains a foot on a short pass Fields threw as he scrambled and they'll try a 49-yard field goal into the wind.
• Fields escapes a sack as the blitzing continues and throws it away. Bears facing third-and-6 at the Cardinals 31.
• Robert Tonyan surfaces for a 14-yard catch on the scramble drill. He used to do that in Green Bay with Aaron Rodgers a lot.
• Then there's that. Fields for a big run around end for 10 and another first down. Could have had 5 more but wisely  went down and kept clock rolling without taking a hit.
• Two Herbert runs for another first down, this at the 41.  Eating up some clock. Now 4:10 left.
• A much-needed 9-yard pass to Herbert over the middle for the first down. Without Kmet and with Moore obviously hurting, it's going to need to come on the ground or short passes. No more big gainers.
• Herbert stopped for 1 yard. He keeps trying to get outside but he's losing yards that way.

• Flags on the top of south goal posts are completely still. Makes no sense. But at the north end they are whipping like it's a hurricane. Cardinals only have the wind til the end of the quarter.
• That wind must really be blowing now. Gillikin bombed one 77 yards to the end zone. A 55-yard field goal and a 77- and 76-yard punt going that way now. It was 8 mph earlier in the game.
• The defense rallies to the ball after a panic-driven short dump-off and Arizona punts.

• A second-down ankle shot by Gordon on Conner leaves the Cardinals in third-and-10. 

• Cardinals take over at their 23 after the punt.

8:48

Moore returned to the field and was blanketed and Fields forced it to him for a near pick on third-and-16.

• Jones  had at least 10 yards on an end around if he cut in but took it outside and gained 4. Then an incompletion made it third-and-16.
• Holding on a Fields scramble when he waited way too long to take off. He had Velus Jones wide open for 20 but didn't see him. But they were called for holding on Patrick anyway.

• 10. A five-play, 20-yard drive. Bears 21, Cardinals 10
• After Greg Dortch's 40-yard kick return, an 18-yard screen to Conner and the Ccardinals are in Bears territory.
• Cole Kmet's return is questionable with a knee injury. He had four catches for 107 yards.

Half

• This is easily a rout that could turn into a game if the Bears defense doesn't do its job to start the second half. Also, the Bears need to get the running attack going again. When it was working earlier, they were in command. Then they went away from it.

Second Quarter

• Bears 21, Cardinals 7 at the half. Fields 10 of 17 for 135, a TD and 103.8 passer rating. Murray the same stats except for 85 yards and 91.5 passer rating. Bears 252 yards, Arizona 147.
• Hail Mary time after an incompletion. Instead they throw a short pass out of bounds for 7 yards and time runs out. That was completely ridiculous. At least try for the Hail Mary or something like that. 
• A 22-yard completion with eight seconds left and Arizona has time left for maybe one play. Brisker made a big hit on Rondale Moore for the tackle and was shaken up. The guy gets knocked to the turf shaken up at least once every game it seems like. So Elijah Hicks is in for him with eight seconds left at the Arizona 42.
• As it turns out, the Cardinals will get nothing and like it. Gill bombs a punt all the way to the end zone. A 76-yard punt.
• Another Bears holding with 27 seconds left and it's declined as Fields runs for his life and eludes a blitz. Cardinals won't have much time to try and get something done.
• A very long play in terms of time for a short gain. Really what the Bears needed as Roschon Johnson broke a short pass and stayed in-bounds. The play took 11 seconds and the Cardinals use a timeout. 
• Braxton Jones was holding on a screen pass and with 46 seconds left the Bears have second-and-20 at the 24 with 46 seconds left.  Doesn't do them any good to run it because Arizona has three timeouts left.
• There's a new one. It was backwards for a loss of 8.  But it's also a penalty when the offense throws a backwards pass out of bounds inside 2 minutes. Penalty was declined. Since when is that a rule? Cardinals punt. 
• Murray tries throwing on the run sideways. A flag was thrown but  the ball went out of bounds incomplete. That play looks like a lateral and a loss of yardage.
• A couple short throws and Arizona faces third-and-3 at its 41.
• Cardinals net 14 yards on that exchange, getting it at the 34 now.
• Jaylon Jones penalized for leaving the field and then not coming in soon enough. So they will re-punt.
• Scuzzy looking punt barely gets off the ground but it worked. Bears downed it at the 20.
• You know Getsy doesn't want to be too conservative but they didn''t even try  a run on the drive. Now they're giving back the ball  and Arizona could conceivably be driving for the tying score to start the second half. It's fourth-and-5. Fake from their own 30? Doubtful.
• Three-and-out, exactly what they didn't want. TWO-MINUTE WARNING !!!
• Hamilton breaks up a Fields toss 20 yards downfield on the run to DJ and it's third-and-10.
• Great play by Jalen Thompson reaching out to knock dow a throw to Mooney at the sideline. He didn't even know the ball was coming until the last second.

• Important drive because they don't want to give Arizona another chance with the ball, and then another chance in the third quarter.

2:27: Bears 21, Cardinals 7

• Flus goes to the all-out blitz and Conner wide open on the flank for a 16-yard TD catch. Arizona saw that one coming a mile away. A nine-play, 75-yard drive in 4:45. Bears 21, Cardinals 7
• Rondale Moore ran around left end on the wildcat run for 6. He's so little the Bears couldn't see him. They had him stopped after 3 yards but he went around the other side and got 3 more.
• Sweat is out of the game and they broke a 16-yard run over the side where he would normally play. Conner on the run. 
• Rondale Moore for 8 on a short throw under the umbrella. 
• Murray on an option run for a first down but he throws it in the dirt a nd a Conner run around left end gets 4. Third-and-6 at the Bears 47. Arizona might want to consider going for it on fourth if they don't get it.
• Cardinals have to avoid being dejected. Teams come back all the time on the Bears.
• A positive Cardinals pass play. Murray to Elijah Higgins for a first down at the 37.
• Fields pulled everyone on defense off coverage by scrambling right on the play after his play-fake. The 39-year-old tight end had no one near him.  Lewis is in his 18th season.
• An eight-play, 54-yard drive in 4:41. Bears 236 yards, Cardinals 36.
• Hey Old Guy! Marcedes Lewis on scrambling throw for 1-yard TD. Santos PAT and Bears 21, Cardinals 0
• A 2-yard scramble as Moore is back on the field now. Roschon to the 1 on second down and the Bears face third-and-goal with 7:30 left.
• Collin Johnson getting time at receiver. Fields doesn't need wide receivers today. He has Kmet. A long ball to the 7 for 29 yards to Kmet as he is slow getting up.
• After a 5-yard throw to Kmet at the Arizona 49, Herbert plows forward for 3 and it's third-and-2. Enter the big man. Roschon Johnson up the middle for a first down at Arizona's 41. 
• Tyler Scott and Velus Jones in with Mooney this drive. 
• Feeble dump down loses 2 and the Cardinals avoid another sack and punt. Next drive begins at the Bears 46. Another good setup for a scoring drive. They have Moore out of the lineup this time. If he's hurting, no sense forcing the issue with a 14-0 lead.
• And as predicted, Murray has to throw it away because Justin Jones came barrelling in on him.
• Cardinals false start and now facing second-and-15 isn't good for Murray's health.
• The Tez Effect? This time a battled volleyball tip. Right in Murray's face.

• Decent crowd for Christmas Eve when the two combatants are like football versions of toys from the  Island of Misfit Toys.

• And the winner in the Donut race? Biggie Bagel!

• Bears 182 yards, Cardinals 38

12:54: Bears 14, Cardinals 0

Herbert really does have that burst back that Eberflus said was there. He exploded around left end and no one home. An 11-yard TD with 12:54 left in the quarter. An 11-play, 90-yard drive. Bears 14, Cardinals 0

• Oh Luke Getsy, what's in your head? Wide receiver screen to Mooney loses a yard. Why a wide receiver screen? Haven't we seen enough of those?
• On third-and-4 after a Herbert 6-yard run, Fields on the designed run around left end gains 24 yards to the Cardinals 10. Too many blockers for Arizona's terrible run defense on that one.

First Quarter

• Sharp Fields pass on exactly the kind of play they haven't been able to make. A third-and-3 for 6 going to the sticks out of bounds. But then he's officially sacked running out of bounds for no gain on first down as the first quarter ends.
• DJ Moore has returned and Bears ran around opposite end for 7. Face third-and-3.
• Another huge catch by Kmet on play-action 20 yards downfield coming across. Fields drilled that in a tight zone area.
• Herbert with the 15-yard explosive straight up the middle. Blocking by Lucas Patrick, Cody Whitehair and Nate Davis.
• Kyler Gordon breaks up Kyler Murray's third-down pass and Cardinals bring in Blake Gillikin to punt. Bears take over at the 10. Gordon was beat on the play but closed and waited until it reached Rondale Moore's hands before reaching out and knocking it out. 

• Pass breakup for Tyrique Stevenson on first down. He and Jaylon Johnson are neck and neck for the lead for the team in that category.

• Bootleg toss to McBride for the first down at the 44 with Jack Sanborn applying pressure to Murray.

• Trey McBride open at the sideline but Jaylon Johnson closes like lightning and knocks it away on first down. But the defense gives up a 9-yard run to Conner on second down.

• Cole Kmet getting deep isn't what I thought would happen today because he has a quad injury, and then he's diving like nothing is wrong and he's full health. would like to see Moore playing the rest of the season so they have a cleaner look at what Fields is

•  Third-down sack and Arizona's Starling Thomas got flagged for holding. So first-and-goal at the 3 and it's an easy scramble by Fields for a 3-yard TD. No one on the whole right side of Cardinals defense where he ran it in. This will be a real challenge for Fields if he doesn't have Moore the rest of the way. Bears 7, Cardinals 0
• Fields has to throw away a second-down pass rolling out and a flag thrown for illegal contact. was picked up because Fields was out of the pocket.
• Questionable return for Moore on ankle injury. He had injured his ankle against Detroit two games ago.
• On second down, Herbert shows more strength and burst than any time since his ankle injury in early October and breaks a tackle for 9 yards.
• Pure playground but it works as Kmet lunges for a 53-yard pass by Fields after the Bears QB scrambled left out of the pocket. Outstanding one-on-one work by Kmet.
• Velus Jones Jr. on the field instead of Moore as Bears take the ball for the second time.
• On third-and-14 from the 19 after a Justin Jones sack, Arizona more or less decides its punting and runs up the middle, where Montez Sweat gets the tackle after 3 yards. So Bears will get it back.
• DJ was standing by himself by the sideline, not on the bench, but he doesn't have his helmet on.
• Arizona continues the drive with an easy gain up the middle to the 23. Cardinals had some solid run blocking on first three plays.
• Conner makes two runs and leaves Arizona in third-and-2.
• Gill backs one up to Travis Homer to down at the 8. Nice wedge shot on a 44-yard punt.
• On third-and-2 Fields threw a terrible pass to Cole Kmet, who wasn't open. Hamilton should have picked it off. So Bears punt. Bigger issue is what's up with DJ?
• DJ Moore got injured on the second play and is being assisted as he leaves the field slowly. He got drilled from behind as he caught a 6-yard pass and is in the tent.
• First play up the middle for 13 to Khalil Herbert. Arizona has more teams run up the middle on them than any team in the league. 
• Bears from the 26 after Velus took it to the 26 from the goal line.
• Team taking the ball away with regularity and playing good in third quarters doesn't want the ball to start the second half? That's the first second-guess of the day.
• Bears won the toss, but they're going to receive??
• We'll need to check it out but I believe Seattle winning and Atlanta winning eliminates the Bears.

• Bears starter announcements have both tight ends and fullback Khari Blasingame. They're going to load up the running game.

Pregame

• Packers win 33-30 to help Bears with the draft scenario. Time ran out on Bryce Young before he could spike it for a long field goal try to tie.
• Seattle has come back to lead Tennessee which is also a Bears problem. 
• 51 degrees and 8 mph wind hardly a factor.
• The Packers have blown the two-touchdown lead. They might be throwing the Bears' first pick in the draft right out the window. Still 4:05 left in that game.
• Packers cooperating with the draft scenario, unless you're a guy who thinks they need to ignore Caleb Williams and keep Justin Fields.  Lions pulling away from Vikings too, but the Falcons winning is going to be problematic for Bears.

• Grass is so green and healthy at Soldier Field that they were actually mowing it before the game. When was the last time you saw that for Christmas. Like, never? Bears' Kenny Mrock deserves lots of credit, even the much-maligned Chicago Park District and also Matt Eberflus for the field being so good with the Bermuda grass and way it's being treated.

• Another opponent who did something against the Bears illegally has been penalized by the NFL. Browns edge rusher Za'Darius Smith was fined $16,391 for hitting Justin Fields after he threw the Hail Mary pass to end the first half.  Fields had been standing after throwing the pass and Smith made a run at him and knocked him to the turf while he was standing near the official but no penalty was called. Fields this past week said the official gave an explanation why no flag was called but it still wasn't clear to him then what the reason had been for not throwing the penalty flag. If the 15-yard penalty had been assessed, the Bears would have been well within Cairo Santos' field goal range, as the line of scrimmage had been the Arizona 38.  The Bears eventually lost 20-17.  The previous week, Detroit's Alex Anzalone was fined for a late hit on Darnell Mooney, but the Lions linebacker was penalized on that hit. 

Browns defensive end Za’Darius Smith was fined $16,391 for his hit on Bears QB Justin Fields at the end of the first half in last Sunday’s game.

— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) December 23, 2023

• Pretty funny how the draft and first pick potential is affecting Bears fans, particularly today with the Packers game. It has to be tough for Bears fans to root for the Packers to win this one. The Justin Fields fans want to Panthers to win now.

It appears the pro Fields people are now pivoting a rooting for the Panthers against the Packers.

They really don't want the Bears to get that pick.

— Magnetic Curses (Sulley) (@KangintheNorth) December 24, 2023

• DJ Moore definitely in the holiday spirit. Some Bears were running pass routes in warmups with Santa hats on rather than a customary stocking hat but they really needed none. It's perfect weather for a late December game. 

Festive threads by DJ Moore.
(photo from @ChicagoBears) pic.twitter.com/Rwotn9fRF0

— Barroom Network | Aldo Gandia (@BarroomNetwork) December 24, 2023

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven