LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) – The Bears (4-3) visit the Arizona Cardinals (4-4) on Sunday, with kickoff set for 3:05 p.m. CT at State Farm Stadium. Here are three storylines to follow in the matchup.
Response ready?
As the Bears got to work Wednesday, their focus wasn’t fully set on the Cardinals. Rather, it was largely about looking back and taking accountability.
The Bears’ 18-15 loss to the Commanders on a last-second Hail Mary on Sunday has lingered with them, as displayed in their comments in interviews over the past several days. There’s a clear sense of frustration.
Losses like that aren’t easy to respond from, but that will be the Bears’ challenge Sunday.
“Accountability is one of the main pillars of a successful organization, whether it’s football or any organization,” veteran safety Kevin Byard said. “You have to be accountable for yourself, and we all have to be accountable to each other. I think we are."
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus’ main challenge is keeping his team focused and engaged following a gut-wrenching loss. Eberflus didn’t publicly take accountability for his coaching miscues during the loss in Washington.
Has he done so behind the scenes with his players? That remains unclear. If not, keeping the Bears invested in his plan could be a taller task.
The Bears will face an upstart Cardinals team that’s playing well lately. Quarterback Kyler Murray is back to his best form, leading a team that has won three of its past four games and which ranks 12th in total offense.
On the other side of the ball, there will be opportunities for Chicago’s offense against an Arizona defense that ranks 27th in the NFL in yards allowed per game.
Stevenson’s status
Bears second-year cornerback Tyrique Stevenson’s role remains a question after his lack of focus and mistake on the game-deciding Hail Mary touchdown this past Sunday.
Eberflus hasn’t committed to Stevenson remaining in his starting role. Terell Smith, who has often rotated in at that position, is an option to start in Stevenson’s place.
“I’m not going to talk about Tyrique in terms of starting, not starting, all those things,” Eberflus said. “But I will say this. Tyrique has made a lot of plays for this group and for our defense and for our football team over the last couple of years, and he’s going to continue to do that. We’re behind Tyrique, and we’re with him all the way, and again, we’ll work through this as we go.”
Eberflus and the Bears could’ve pushed past the incident this week by stating whether Stevenson will start or face discipline in some manner. They didn’t do that, causing the question to linger.
Steven’s antics on the Hail Mary weren’t his first costly miscue Sunday. He was issued a personal foul penalty earlier in the game after he swiped his hand across the facemask of Commanders guard Sam Cosmi.
Caleb’s bounce-back
Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was just 10-of-24 for 131 yards Sunday as the Chicago offense managed just 307 yards.
Though there were many factors contributing to the final outcome, Williams took accountability for his personal struggles.
“You're furious that you just lost and you lost that way,” Williams said. “It's a tough way to lose. (But) there's obviously a sense of accountability that I have to take. Didn't play well first half. We had stalled drives, and that goes back to throughout the week. That goes through during that game, us not finding ways to put ourselves in position to be able to score, get three points, to keep multiple three points like they did on the other side.
“If we keep putting points on the board, if we keep doing our job, if I keep doing my job to the best of my ability, finding ways to get points and things like that, protect the football, we win a lot of games, especially with the defense that we have. That's an explosive offense that we just played.
Putting up 30, 40, how many ever points, and we hold them to 12 and we can't go out there and execute throughout the whole game to be able to play complementary football enough. I've got to do a better job, us leaders have to do a better job leading throughout the week and being on the details.
“The better teams I’ve been on, the players lead. That’s what we have here. Something I go by myself is that OK teams, nobody leads. Good teams, the coaches lead. And great teams, the players lead.”
Williams has thrown for 1,448 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions in the Bears’ 4-3 start. The challenge Sunday will be getting back on track.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.