(670 The Score) Coming off a devastating loss on a Hail Mary the week prior, the Bears suffering a 29-9 loss to the Cardinals on Sunday sounded even more alarm bells regarding the state of affairs inside Halas Hall. This is a team that’s in trouble after dropping to 4-4.
Here are the observations from the Bears' loss Sunday.
Team in turmoil
In the aftermath of the Bears' last-second loss to the Commanders on Oct. 27, key players like receiver DJ Moore, safety Kevin Byard and tight end Cole Kmet shared critiques of the coaching staff's decisions. Head coach Matt Eberflus then doubled down on his poor in-game decisions while second-year cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had to address his personal lapse and loss of focus on the game-deciding play.
As the week progressed at Halas Hall, the Bears said they were focused on the Cardinals and set to put the loss to the Commanders behind them. But those were just words. How does this team really feel about Eberflus, the coaching staff and each teammate in the locker room?
Ultimately, what mattered most for the Bears was how they would respond Sunday. They didn't respond well, as their loss showcased a team in turmoil.
One of the great insults a football team can receive is deserved for the Bears after that showing — they appeared checked out Sunday. They were completely disengaged at times, lacked discipline and didn't display the values that Eberflus and his staff have aimed to instill.
As the Bears lined up for the final seconds of the first quarter, 18-year veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis jumped for a false start on a play that wasn’t even supposed to be run. The Bears were trying to get the Cardinals with a hard count. Instead, the longest-tenured player in the NFL moved and set his offense back five yards.
On a key third-down play late in the second quarter, Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams fired a pass to six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen. He dropped the pass, and Chicago settled for a field goal with 30 seconds left in the half.
Shortly thereafter, Eberflus made another poor coaching decision, this one in his role as the defensive play-caller. With 12 seconds remaining, the Cardinals faced third-and-5 from their own 47-yard line as they hoped to get a chance at a field-goal attempt. Eberflus called for a pass pressure, and the Cardinals handed off to running back Emari Demercado, who broke past the aggressive front, broke tackles at the second level and outraced the Bears safeties for a 53-yard touchdown run.
It was like the Hail Mary breakdown all over again. And what was Eberflus’ message in the locker room at halftime?
“I told them that, ‘Hey, this is what the score is, and we have each other,’” Eberflus said on the CBS broadcast.
That will make for another infamous soundbite from a Bears head coach.
It didn't get any better either. The Bears were shut out in the second half and didn’t show up.
Williams didn’t have a chance behind a makeshift offensive line. On a fourth-and-11 play in the fourth quarter, he took a shotgun snap and was immediately forced to scramble, running backward from pressure before taking a 16-yard sack.
Williams was 22-of-41 for 217 yards and no touchdowns in a disappointing performance, though the struggles were more about the team than himself.
In the final minutes of the blowout, Eberflus made one of the most egregious decisions of his three-year tenure in Chicago. He left Williams in to work behind a patchwork offensive line as the Bears trailed by 20. Williams went down on the final two plays and rolled his ankle.
None of it sat well with Bears great Olin Kreutz, who spoke candidly on the 670 The Score postgame show Sunday evening.
“The people in charge have to figure out what the hell is going on,” Kreutz said. “Where was the failure? Why did we fail on the Hail Mary? What is going on with all the players questioning (the coaches)? When they were talking last week, I just kept thinking to myself, this is what losers do. This is what a losing team does.
“It looks like you lost the team.”
The Bears have never fired a head coach during the season. It goes against the methods of chairman George McCaskey, and it doesn’t seem likely now. If that's the case again, this season may just keep getting uglier. The Bears were supposed to be a team on the rise in 2024, but they appear closer to a full-blown breakdown than playoff contention. It’s difficult to justify keeping Eberflus in his role with poor efforts like the Bears displayed Sunday.
After a stunning loss in Washington, the Bears played an ugly, flat, uninspired football game in Arizona. They now head back to Halas Hall this week to prepare for a game against the Patriots (2-7) on Sunday.
It's a game the Bears should win, but a victory won't fix their many issues. On the flip side, a loss would spell disaster at Halas Hall.
Stevenson sits to start game
As the Bears sent out their starting defense for the opening series of the game, Terell Smith lined up at cornerback alongside Jaylon Johnson.
The 24-year-old Stevenson, under fire since his antics on the game-ending Hail Mary play a week prior, remained on the sideline wearing a knit hat and headset.
The Bears’ punishment for Stevenson was to be relegated to a rotation with Smith, who later left the game with an ankle injury. That cleared the way for Stevenson to regain most of the playing time and closed out a tumultuous week for the second-year player.
Ultimately, the Bears handled the situation with Stevenson properly. Though he has struggled at times with focus and discipline, Stevenson is a talented cornerback who’s still ascending in the NFL. A second-round pick of Chicago in 2023, Stevenson has five interceptions in 23 career games and has been an important presence for the Bears' defense.
When the Bears informed Stevenson of his rotating role prior to practice Wednesday, he walked off the field to gather himself, sources confirmed. It was a sign of how Stevenson cares rather than an example of him checking out on his team.
That much was said by the Bears throughout the week.
"I'm going to support my guy,” Byard said. “It's going to be a great lesson for him as we go forward throughout this season, and just in life, period.
“I believe that he'll learn from this lesson."
As frustrating and disappointing as Stevenson’s miscue was in Washington, it wasn’t worth giving up on him. Instead, the Bears have challenged Stevenson to be better.
Stock up, stock down
When the Bears formed their receiving trio of DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Allen, they saw Moore as their established No. 1 target while there was curiosity regarding the roles of Odunze and Allen.
The Bears knew the rookie Odunze would face a steep learning curve. Meanwhile, the 32-year-old Allen was set to enter his 12th NFL season with uncertainty about what he had left in the tank.
On Sunday, Odunze and Allen appeared to be players on opposite trajectories. Odunze led the Bears with five receptions for 104 yards, marking his second 100-yard receiving performance in his first eight games. He and Williams have chemistry.
On the other hand, Allen hauled in just four of his 10 targets while posting 36 receiving yards. He had that costly drop on third down and missed multiple other opportunities throughout the game.
The growth displayed between Williams and Odunze is important for the Bears, both this season and for the long term. The vision is for that connection to become a prolific part of this offense.
Unfortunately for Allen, his Pro Bowl-caliber performance doesn’t seem to be there anymore. He missed time with plantar fasciitis early this season and hasn’t appeared to be at his best form of the past.
The Bears planned to evaluate Allen’s contractual future at midseason and explore whether he warranted an extension. As it sits now, it seems Chicago will part ways with Allen and allow him to walk into free agency in the offseason.
Extra points
-- An ugly trend continued for the Bears on Sunday, as they allowed the game's opening score for the eighth times in as many games this season. That has forced them to play from behind every week.
-- The Bears defense was down three key starters, with star pass rusher Montez Sweat, nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker all sidelined by injury. Their absences were felt by a defense that struggled to contain the Cardinals.
-- Bears nose tackle Andrew Billings may be lost for some time after leaving the game with a chest injury. It’s typically a troubling omen when a player is ruled out almost immediately, as Billings was.
-- The Bears defense has had 16 players register at least a share of a sack through eight games. That matches the team’s most since 2017.
-- Just how bad was the Bears’ protection? Sixteen Cardinals players logged an official pressure on Williams, the most by any team since 2018.
-- Bears tight end Cole Kmet’s stat line: zero receptions, zero targets. How does that happen?
-- State Farm Stadium was filled with Bears fans, who always travel well for road games. They deserve a better product than this.
-- The Bears haven't won a road game on a Sunday since late December 2021, the final season of head coach Matt Nagy's tenure.
-- It rained and hailed inside State Farm Stadium!
-- The Bears have been in last place in the NFC North for much of this season. Finally, it feels fair.
-- Here comes another week of seeking accountability at Halas Hall.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.