Grades: Cardinals Put Together Best Performance vs Bears

The Arizona Cardinals stacked their third win in a row on Sunday with a great defensive performance and unstoppable ground game.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) and Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) shake hands after the Arizona Cardinals beat the Chicago Bears 29-9 at State Farm Stadium on Nov 3, 2024, in Glendale. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Who saw this one coming just a few weeks ago? The Arizona Cardinals are atop the NFC West with a 5–4 record after taking care of business against the visiting Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Their 20-point margin of victory left no doubt as to who the better team was in a homefield matchup that felt like an away game with so many Bears fans in attendance.

Still, the Cardinals sent many of those visitors packing early in the fourth quarter through a thoroughly dominating performance that might be the best top-to-bottom game they have put together in the 2024 season.

So, how did each position group perform in this one? Maybe not surprisingly, pretty well.

Offense

Quarterback: B+

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) walks off the field after beating the Chicago Bears 29-9 at State Farm Stadium on Nov 3, 2024, in Glendale. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This grade for quarterback Kyler Murray really has less to do with the play he put out on the field, but with the fact that he did not have to play hero ball for the Cardinals to get a convincing win.

Perhaps that in of itself is worthy of a higher grade, but Murray had a rather pedestrian outing and his team still dominated their opponent which speaks well of the entire squad’s growth.

Murray was decently efficient, completing 65% of his passes for 154 yards and was mostly a nonfactor on the ground with only 6 rushing yards on two attempts.

Offensive Line: B+

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals guard Hjalte Froholdt (72) against the Washington Commanders at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The offensive line for the Cardinals continues to play above preseason expectations, especially considering the amount of injuries the position group has sustained.

They did break their no-sacks allowed streak this weekend and Murray was counted down three times in this contest for a loss of 17 yards.

One sack in particular was memorable as Murray ran into his own center, Hjalte Froholdt.

Tight End: B+

Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride (85) hits the turf after scoring Chicago Bears safety Kevin Byard III (31) during the first quarter at State Farm Stadium on Nov 3, 2024, in Glendale. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coming off a monster, 124-yard performance last week tight end Trey McBride had a quiet evening although he still led the team in receptions with 3 for 35 yards.

McBride still doesn't have a receiving touchdown this season, but offensive coordinator Drew Petzing drew up some trickery and gave him a goal line carry that resulted in a rushing touchdown on his stat sheet.

Elijah Higgins contributed a couple of important catches as well, nearly matching McBride's yardage with 34 of his own.

Running Back: A+

Arizona Cardinals running back Emari Demercado (31) runs past Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) during the third quarter at State Farm Stadium on Nov 3, 2024, in Glendale. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If any position group truly shone on Sunday, it would have to be the running backs.

The three top dogs, James Conner, Trey Benson, and Emari Demercado put up 203 rushing yards with Conner leading the pack with yet another 100+ afternoon.

The shoutout of the week, however, goes to Demercado who took what was meant to be a short rush to get Chad Ryland onto the field to end the half with a field goal into a house call. His 53-yard touchdown run to end the first half gave the Cardinals a 12 point lead and all the momentum.

Rookie Trey Benson had a fine day of his own with 37 yards on 8 carries and the first touchdown of his young career.

Wide Receivers: B

Nov 3, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Chicago Bears cornerback Reddy Steward (27) forces a fumble by Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) in front of Chicago Bears safety Elijah Hicks (22) during the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Similar to the Murray situation, the wide receivers get a lower grade simply because they didn't do much on Sunday.

In what is becoming a slightly concerning pattern, wide receivers were only targeted a grand total of seven times with five of those going towards rookie Marvin Harrison, Jr.

In another semi-concerning pattern, Harrison, Jr. only managed to catch two of those five targets for a pretty lackluster 34-yard performance.

Not only was the yardage less than stellar, Harrison, Jr. fumbled the ball and gave a possession away to Chicago and had another pass popped out of his hands by a Bears defensive back. Not yet cause for concern, but the rookie is looking like just that, a rookie.

Defense

Defensive Line: A

Nov 3, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws while being chased by Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Dante Stills (55) during the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

After a disappointing performance against Miami last week, the Cardinals' defensive line came back to State Farm Stadium motivated to play.

Sophomore player Dante Stills made his presence known and had his third straight game putting a sack on his stat sheet, a half sack this time but potato potato.

The Bears were held to only 69 yards on the ground and the defensive line did an admirable job penning in a mobile rookie quarterback and not allowing him to get his ground game going.

Linebacker: A

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) is sacked by Arizona Cardinals linebacker Zaven Collins (25) during the fourth quarter at State Farm Stadium on Nov 3, 2024, in Glendale. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Another stellar performance from the linebacker room contributed massively to keeping the Bears' offense in check.

They also stepped up in the pass rush department on Sunday, getting to the quarterback for a total of 5 sacks between Zaven Collins, who had two on his own, Kyzir White, Jesse Luketa, and rookie Xavier Thomas.

This might have been a breakout game for Thomas who is stepping into a larger role in the absence of Dennis Gardeck and who showed off his elite edge speed in getting in behind Caleb Williams for a key second half sack.

Secondary: A-

Nov 3, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze (15) makes a catch against Arizona Cardinals cornerback Max Melton (16) during the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

This young secondary played lights out in the absence of veteran Sean Murphy-Bunting.

Rookie cornerback Max Melton once again saw a fair number of balls go his way but he showed massive growth even from last week's Miami performance.

Second year corner Garrett Williams progresses week to week and looks like he could well be developing into a star player and cornerstone at the position for the Cardinals defensive rebuild.

Starling Thomas V is also a young cornerback to keep an eye on with the second most tackles on the team and following savvy veteran Keenan Allen for large stretches of the game only allowing four catches for 36 yards.

Veteran safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson continued to do what they do, Baker leading the team in tackles with 12 on the afternoon.