Instant analysis of Bears’ brutal 33-22 loss vs. Cardinals
The Chicago Bears hosted the top-seeded Arizona Cardinals Sunday at Soldier Field in a game that was wild from start to finish. But ultimately, the Bears committed too many mistakes and handed a 33-22 victory to the Cardinals.
No one gave Chicago a chance to beat Arizona, myself included. And yet, they were still in the game in the fourth quarter. With no help from the Bears’ offense, which committed four turnovers — all Andy Dalton interceptions — that led to 23 points for the Cardinals.
Much like Chicago tried to hand last week’s game to the winless Lions, Arizona tried to give this game to a bad Bears team, who committed too many mistakes to even stand a chance.
While Chicago’s defense had their share of struggles, they weren’t the biggest issue as their offense put them in bad situations all afternoon. All four of Dalton’s interceptions gave the Cardinals the ball inside Chicago’s 30-yard line.
Dalton silenced any potential quarterback controversy with a brutal outing against the Cardinals, where he threw four interceptions that led to 23 of Arizona’s 33 points. Dalton completed 26-of-41 passes for 229 yards with two touchdowns and those four picks for a 54.9 passer rating.
Despite a brutal loss, there was a bright spot on offense with running back David Montgomery, who had 21 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown. And perhaps receiver Jakeem Grant, who led the Bears with five receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown. But aside from that, it was ugly.
As quarterback Justin Fields nurses cracked ribs, the hope is the rookie will be ready to go against the Packers next Sunday night. With Chicago at 4-8, the only thing that matters right now is Fields’ development.
This isn’t the kind of game that will silence those “Fire Nagy” chants or do anything to salvage Nagy’s job at this point. And it won’t get any easier next week when the Bears head to Green Bay to battle the Packers on Sunday Night Football.
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