Sunday afternoon was equivalent to a rollercoaster ride for the Chicago Bears. After snapping a five-game losing streak in week 12, the Bears got back to work against the Arizona Cardinals in week 13, only to lose by 11 points at home. The lone bright spot of the afternoon for the Bears on offense was running back David Montgomery, who had 21 carries for 90 yards, averaging 4.3 yards per attempt.
Despite Montgomery’s strong showing, veteran quarterback Andy Dalton threw four interceptions, including two on the Bears’ first two possessions to give Arizona a short field to work with. From there, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray connected with wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for a 20-yard score to get the Cardinals on the board first.
Chicago’s second drive of the game wasn’t bad. The offense was moving the ball efficiently, taking whatever little yards the Cardinals defense was willing to give up. What appeared to be a drive that would end up in a touchdown was halted when Dalton tried to connect with tight end Cole Kmet at the Cardinals eight-yard line, only to be picked off by Cardinals safety Budda Baker, who returned it to the Bears 15-yard line for a 77-yard return.
The Bears’ defense struggled throughout the game. Despite a goal line stop in the fourth quarter which forced Arizona to kick a field goal, Chicago failed to generate any turnovers. A short-handed defense allowed just 257 total yards and 14 first downs but Arizona’s big-play offense proved to be too much for the Bears defense, which saw another big game from linebackers Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn.
With just five games left in the season, the Bears showed us that the talent gap between Chicago and some of the top teams in the NFL is still massive and that the Bears may have moved the ball well today but a lot of work remains to be done if Chicago is to have a chance at being able to seriously compete soon.