Missing: Stars, passes
Bears can’t recover from 4 interceptions, injuries against Cardinals offensive arsenal
Large sections of seats sat empty as the clock ticked down Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field, with fans fleeing not only the cold, rainy weather but also another miserable Bears loss.
As rookie quarterback Justin Fields sat out with broken ribs, veteran Andy Dalton threw four interceptions on the way to a 33-22 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The Cardinals scored three touchdowns and made a field goal on the drives after the interceptions, including touchdowns after picks on the Bears’ first two drives. The result was the Bears’ sixth loss in seven games and eighth overall.
While the Cardinals welcomed back quarterback Kyler Murray and top wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from injuries, the Bears (4-8) were missing multiple stars, including Fields, who was not medically cleared to play after being limited in practice all week.
Outside linebacker Khalil Mack is out for the season. Defensive lineman Akiem Hicks and wide receiver Allen Robinson missed their third straight games with injuries.
Those absences made an upset of the Cardinals (10-2) an unlikely dream.
In his first game since Week 8 because of an ankle injury, Murray completed 11 of 15 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 59 yards and two touchdowns.
Meanwhile, Dalton completed 26 of 41 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns. He is the first Bears quarterback to throw four interceptions in a game since Matt Barkley threw five in 2016.
Jalen Thompson, Budda Baker, Byron Murphy Jr. and Zach Allen all recorded interceptions. It was the fifth four-interception game of Dalton’s career and the first since 2019.
Thompson’s interception came on a pass that bounced off Jakeem Grant’s hand, and Cole Kmet dropped the second, which ended up in Baker’s hands. Dalton’s third pick was deflected at the line of scrimmage into the Murphy’s hands. The Cardinals capitalized on Allen’s pick to make it a threescore game.
Bears running back David Montgomery had 21 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown.
Dalton threw second-half touchdown passes to Jimmy Graham and Grant, the latter an 8-yard pass with 2:51 to play with the game well out of reach.