FLIPPING THE SCRIPT

Cardinals now feel like Bears of ’18, which is bad for Bears of ’21

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The last time the Bears played the Cardinals, coach Matt Nagy and the Bears were on the rise and the Cardinals were spinning their wheels. Now it’s the other way around.

Almost everywhere you turn, there’s a reminder of how the Bears have fallen behind after Nagy’s glorious debut season in 2018.

When the Bears beat the Cardinals 16-14 at State Farm Stadium in Week 3 of that season, it was a testament to their resilience under their impressive rookie coach. After beating Russell Wilson and the Seahawks at home the previous week, the Bears came out flat and fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter. But they impressively reeled in the Cardinals with a dominant second-half performance: four takeaways and three sacks, including safety Eddie Jackson’s interception of Sam Bradford and linebacker Khalil Mack’s strip sack of Bradford.

Cornerback Bryce Callahan added an interception of rookie backup Josh Rosen on the Cardinals’ fourth possession, and Jackson was able to laugh off a pick-six nullified by an offsides penalty on Mack when cornerback Sherrick McManis sacked Rosen on the final play of the game.

Cody Parkey’s 43-yard field goal made the difference. Those were the days.

The 2-1 Bears were just getting started. And the Cardinals were heading in the opposite direction. They went 3-13 that season under first-year coach Steve Wilks, with a messy quarterback situation that sounds awfully familiar. They signed the veteran Bradford in free agency, then moved up in the first round of the draft to take Rosen with the 10th overall pick. Both quarterbacks were immediate busts.

But general manager Steve Keim boldly pulled himself out of the muck. He fired

Wilks after just one season and hired Kliff Kingsbury, who recently had been fired from Texas Tech. Then he drafted quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 overall pick. Then he fleeced the Texans to acquire wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Kingsbury still has a lot to prove as a head coach, especially after a late-season collapse cost the Cardinals a playoff berth last year. But with Murray showing MVP potential as a dangerous run/pass threat, the Cardinals’ offense has developed into one of the best in the NFL. It has improved from 32nd in points and yards the year before Kingsbury arrived to fifth in points and 10th in yards in 2021.

And the defense under former Broncos coach Vance Joseph has made similar

RALPH FRESO/AP Three years ago, Matt Nagy (left) was considered the brilliant first-year coach, while Cardinals first-year coach Steve Wilks (right) was on his way to a 3-13 finish and a pink slip.