(670 The Score) The Bears are back in their cozy, familiar noon slot this Sunday, with a really good Cardinals team – not to mention some lovely 40-degree rainstorms – coming in town. Given how both teams have looked for most of the season, the game should fall somewhere “more interesting than last week” and “less interesting than most of your Spotify Wrapped’s.” Don’t forget that the Bears are in the hunt! People get so caught up in the fact that the Bears are the (checks notes) third-worst team in the NFC that they forget how *in* the hunt the Bears still are. They act like jumping six teams in six weeks is difficult! For this week, here are matchups to keep an eye on while the Bears stay in the hunt.
Bears QB Andy Dalton vs. Cardinals S Budda Baker
Most of Arizona's best defensive players suffer from a classic case of Playing For The Cardinals, so don’t beat yourself up too much if you didn’t know a whole lot about the lethal Baker-Jalen Thompson combination that the Cardinals have at safety. Baker has a little more name recognition – he’s the classic player who’s so consistently named on most underrated lists that he’s probably now properly rated. After a strong start to the season, Baker’s play has tailed off a bit in the second half – he's ranked No. 44 out of 91 safeties, per Pro Football Focus. Still, Arizona’s defense – especially against the pass – is elite. The Cardinals rank No. 3 in DVOA, have allowed the third-fewest passing yards (2,244) and the second-fewest plays of 20 yards or more (22). Their secondary doesn’t create a lot of turnovers, but they’re a stingy red-zone defense that gets to the passer quite a bit. Best of luck to Dalton and then, three plays later, best of luck to Pat O’Donnell.
Bears edge rusher Robert Quinn vs. Cardinals QB Kyler Murray
This is maybe *the* matchup of the game? Quinn’s resurgence has already exceeded anyone’s expectations, as he won the NFC Defensive Player of the Month honor for November, an award he’ll surely cherish. The Bears are a weird pass rushing team – they currently rank 21st in ESPN’s pass rush win rate and Quinn isn’t among the 10 best individual pass rushers, according to the same statistic. Still, Quinn is fourth in the NFL in sacks, which feels pretty impressive, even if sacks are overvalued as a stat. (Whatever! They’re exciting!) Murray is an MVP-caliber player when he’s healthy, and containing him well enough so that Bears cornerback Kindle Vildor doesn’t have to cover for 15 seconds is going to make or break Chicago's chances Sunday. What makes it even more complicated is that Cardinals left tackle D.J. Humphries is Arizona's highest-graded offensive lineman, per PFF. But other than that, should be fine.
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Bears linebackers vs. their coverage assignments
Without star Roquan Smith, the Bears’ linebacker depth looks like Chicago’s lakefront after Halloween – pretty spare and kinda sad to take in. It’s shaping up to be Alec Ogletree and Christian Jones starting Sunday, which is, politely put, a challenge for defensive coordinator Sean Desai’s coverage plan for the middle of the field, the seam, the flat, etc. Whether it’s quarterback contain, play-action recovery (Arizona ranks No. 4 in play-action usage and No. 2 in play-action yards) or picking up tight end Zach Ertz, Ogletree and Jones have their work cut out for them. Maybe they just put safety Eddie Jackson there? I’m joking, but not really.
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.