PHOENIX, Az. (WGN) — The Chicago Bears offense sputtered all day long against the NFL’s 27th-ranked defense, while the Arizona Cardinals’ run game gashed the Bears for three touchdowns in the first half to lay the foundation for Chicago’s most lopsided loss of the season.

Game Recap

Both teams got off to slow starts on offense and punted on their first two drives each.

For the Bears, slow starts have become commonplace as the season has gone on.

After a scoreless first quarter Sunday, Chicago has scored 10 total points in the first quarter through nine games and hasn’t scored on their game-opening drive since Week 2 — a 53-yard field goal from Cairo Santos against the Houston Texans.

The Cardinals found their rhythm on the ground starting with their third drive of the game. Tight end Trey McBride scored on a 2-yard run, then 12 minutes and two Bears field goals later, Trey Benson punched in another rushing touchdown from a yard out to make the score 14-6.

Benson’s TD run was punctuated by a crucial penalty against Gervon Dexter Sr. Arizona attempted a field goal inside the red zone, but Dexter was flagged for trying to use the snapper as leverage, resulting in a fresh set of downs that ended with Benson in the end zone, instead of the Cardinals settling for a field goal.

Next, Santos tacked on his third field goal of the day on Chicago’s following drive to shrink Arizona’s lead to five, but the Bears defense inexplicably gave up a 53-yard touchdown run to Emari Demercado with four seconds to go in the half to give the Cardinals a 21-9 lead heading into halftime.

Demercado’s TD run also snapped Chicago’s 13-game streak of giving up less than 21 points to their opponents, which was the longest such streak in the NFL. Before Sunday, the last time the Bears defense gave up 21-plus points was on Nov. 19, 2023 in a 31-26 loss at the Detroit Lions.

In the second half, Arizona tacked on a pair of field goals from Chad Ryland and a safety that came via a chop block penalty called on D’Andre Swift in the end zone, and the Cardinals’ defense held Chicago scoreless over the last two quarters to beat the Bears 29-9.

James Conner paced the Arizona backfield, notching 15 carries for 107 yards as the Cardinals outgained Chicago 213-70 in yards on the ground.

Rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams was sacked six times, completing 22 of 41 passes for 216 yards. The Bears had 241 total yards.

The loss for the Bears also moves them to 0-18 in Sunday road games since Matt Eberflus was named head coach.

Injury Tent

Terrel Smith (ankle) left the game in the first half and didn’t return, while Andrew Billings (chest) left in the second half and didn’t return.

Darnell Wright (knee) left the game in the second half as well.

Up Next

The Chicago Bears take on the New England Patriots at Soldier Field next Sunday at noon CT.

– Information from the Associated Press contributed toward this report.

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