Cards aim for another win in Windy City
Arizona Cardinals (3-11) at Chicago Bears (5-9)
Time/site: Sunday,
Soldier Field, Chicago.
TV: FOX. Radio: 98.7 FM, 106.7 FM in Spanish.
Last time they played: On Dec. 5, 2021, the Cardinals defeated the Bears 33-22 in Chicago to improve to 10-2. Kyler Murray threw a pair of touchdown passes (one to running back James Conner) and also rushed for two scores. On defense, safeties Budda Baker and Jalen Thompson each had interceptions. Murray was only 11 of 15 for 123 yards.
Series history: The Cardinals trail the all-time series with a 29-57-6 record against Chicago. This Sunday’s game takes place 103 years and 26 days after the two teams’ first-ever meeting, which came on Nov. 28, 1920, at Normal Park in Chicago when Arizona was the Racine (Chicago) Cardinals. Arizona is making its second regular-season visit to Soldier Field in the last three seasons and enters the contest having won three straight at Chicago (2021, 2015, 2009).
Coaching matchup
2:25
p.m. MST,
Arizona: First-year head coach Jonathan Gannon was the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive backs coach from 2018 to 2020, when Bears head coach Matt Eberflus was the Colts’ defensive coordinator.
Chicago: Second-year head coach Eberflus is 9-23 at the Bears’ helm. Prior to becoming Chicago’s 17th head coach in franchise history in 2022, he spent 30 years coaching within various organizations, including 13 in the NFL. He is 2-2 against the Cardinals in his NFL coaching career.
Storylines
The two teams are in the hunt for high draft picks. The Bears currently hold the No. 1 overall pick, which they got from the Carolina Panthers before last year’s draft, and the Cardinals hold the No. 3 pick.
The Cardinals are still in the hunt for the No. 1 pick, but they have to finish the regular season with the NFL’s worst winloss, which belongs to Carolina at 2-12. The Bears also currently hold the No. 6 overall pick.
Another storyline involves the two starting quarterbacks for each team. Murray looks to strengthen his case to remain a Cardinal, which seems to be the direction things are headed, while Justin Fields seems to be more on the hot seat as far as his future with the Bears. How will each QB play? And can they prove they deserve to stay with their respective teams?
Arizona will win if ...
1. The Cardinals can make Fields and Chicago make mistakes: Fields has thrown eight interceptions this season and the Bears have lost 10 fumbles. The defense must keep Fields from explosive runs and limit big plays.
2. The Cardinals find more balance on offense by running the ball well and hitting wide receivers for completions: This week, it has been a point of emphasis trying to find ways for Murray to get the ball to his wide receivers.
3. The Cardinals play the way they did at Pittsburgh earlier this month: That game saw the Cardinals running the ball well with Conner, Murray making good decisions with his passes and the defense getting a huge fourth-and-goal stop that led to the turning touchdown. Efforts like that can win games against mediocre opponents.
Chicago will win if ...
1. The Bears’ defense controls the game. Chicago comes in with the NFL’s top-ranked run defense in the league at 79.8 yards allowed per game to opponents. The Cardinals racked up 234 rushing yards against the previous No. 1 rush defense, the 49ers, last week.
2. Fields leads an effective ground game and gets the ball to D.J. Moore. Fields is the Bears’ leading rusher with 488 yards. Moore is the leading receiver with 80 catches, 1,123 yards and seven touchdowns, and he’s effective in yards after the catch.
They said it
“There obviously could be elements (while) playing in the Windy City in December. Looks decent, the forecast, but it changes every 13 seconds, so we’ll see. We’ll get our guys ready to go with that. This team’s playing really good right now.
If you look at their last however many games, they’re probably a couple plays away from being 6-0 in their last six games. Their defense, they don’t give up explosives and they take the ball away . ... We’re going to have to play sound football, winning football on all three phases to have a chance to win.”
“Every quarterback coach and offensive coordinator is going to tell you that’s his job and don’t worry about when the receivers are complaining or are mad or frustrated about not getting the rock, which they have every right to. Everybody wants to make plays. It’s their career and I would expect nothing different, so I get it. I think that’s part of the quarterback position to be able to listen to what they’re saying, obviously with a grain of salt . ... Now it’s tough. I get it, but I think going forward we will be able to be better and figure it out.”
By the numbers
1920 — Year the Cardinals (then known as the Racine Cardinals) and Bears (then known as the Decatur Staleys) first played. On Nov. 28, 1920, the teams met at Normal Park in Chicago, with the Cardinals earning a 7-6 win.
4 — Touchdowns for QB Kyler Murray (two passing, two rushing) in his only career start vs. Chicago (2021). It remains the only game in his career in which he had multiple passing TDs and multiple rushing TDs.
234 — Rushing yards for the Cardinals last week vs. San Francisco. Arizona became the first team to rush for 200-plus yards against the 49ers since the Cowboys ran for 265 yards on 43 attempts on Oct. 22, 2017. Prior to last week, San Francisco had gone 104 consecutive games without allowing 200-plus rushing yards.
131.8 — Rushing yards per game for the Cardinals in 2023. Arizona ranks seventh in the NFL in rushing this season.
4.95 — Yards per carry for the Cardinals in 2023 (373 carries for 1,845 yards). Arizona ranks third in the NFL in rushing average this season.
66 — Receptions for TE Trey McBride in 2023. That is a franchise single-season record for receptions by a tight end, surpassing the previous mark of 56 (Zach Ertz in 2021 and Jackie Smith in 1967).
10 — Rookies that have started at least one game for the Cardinals this season, highest total in the NFL.
50.4 —Punting average for Cardinals punter Blake Gillikin this season. That ranks fourth in the NFL.
Who will win and why
Bears 23, Cardinals 20: This could be a close game in which defenses show up. The Chicago defense might be the best unit on the field, and it should be able to limit the Cardinals on offense, at least enough to give the Bears a chance. Meanwhile, Fields can be inconsistent but can also change games. The Bears get the edge, because the Cardinals’ defense is susceptible to big plays or penalties at bad times. single one of them, the sloppiness infuriated Gannon. With potential bad weather awaiting them Sunday in Chicago against the Bears, ball security has been a priority this week in practice.
“I would say I don’t know if I can put much more emphasis on ball security,” Gannon said. “Knowing this (Bears) team, when they win the takeaway battle, I think they’re 4-0. … Certain teams can overcome it, but that’s a winning stat for a reason. … Those are big plays, momentum plays in a game that can be a turning point.
“We coach all that stuff. If a ball is on the ground, I’m not happy. … Practice is huge with that. … You practice how you play, so we’re constantly on those details and we’ve done a pretty good job of it. But it can always be better in my mind.”
Conner within reach of 1,000 yards
Although he missed four games because of a knee injury, the Cardinals’ James Conner can become the first running back since 2016 and just the third since 2007 to rush for at least 1,000 yards. He has a team-leading 717 yards on 143 carries with three games left to play.
“If he doesn’t get hurt, he’s up there in rushing yards, and I think he might be leading (the NFL), who knows?” Murray said this week, adding Conner’s aggressive running style might be bruising, but he doesn’t think it’s getting him “beat up.”
“I think he’s doing most of the punishing,” Murray said. “He runs hard, and he can catch out of the backfield. I don’t think there’s a limit to what James can do and he’s one of those guys when he touches the field, you know what you’re getting out of him. And you can count on him. He means a bunch to this team for sure.”
David Johnson was Arizona’s last 1,000-yard rusher, gaining 1,239 yards in 2016. Prior to that, the team’s last 1,000yard rushers were Beanie Wells in 2011 (1,047) and Edgerrin James in 2007 (1,222) and 2006 (1,159).