The Cardinals’ last three wins all came after last-minute comebacks resulted in field goals on the final play of regulation, but there was no drama necessary against the Bears on Sunday.
Arizona scored the first touchdown of the day, built a 21-7 halftime lead and never trailed on their way to a 29-9 home win. The victory moves them to 5-4 on the season and they’ll host the Jets next week before going on their bye in Week 11.
The run game paved the way to Sunday’s win. Tight end Trey McBride showed some versatility by running for a two-yard touchdown in the first quarter and running backs Trey Benson and Emari Demercado added two more scores before the halftime break. James Conner never got in the end zone, but he had 107 yards on 18 carries and the whole crew rolled up 213 yards on the ground.
It wasn’t all great news for the Cardinals offense as they also had the game’s only two turnovers, but the defense ensured that the Bears couldn’t experience the same kind of offensive success. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked six times and pressured relentlessly with Zaven Collins and Xavier Thomas leading the onslaught from the Arizona front seven.
Williams was 22-of-41 when he was able to get passes away and the Bears never got their run game in gear before the score was too lopsided to keep trying things on the ground. That’s a very different way to lose than last week’s Hail Mary, but both are strikes against the Bears as they try to stay in the NFC playoff mix.
The loss drops the Bears to 4-4 and they’ll open up a three-game homestand against the Patriots next Sunday.