FINAL: Cardinals Fall Short in Loss to Bears
ARIZONA -- The Arizona Cardinals trailed the Chicago Bears the entire way in their Week 16 loss in the Windy City.
The Cardinals now drop to 3-12 on the season.
Here's how the action panned out in yet another loss:
First Quarter
The Bears won the toss and elected to receive, giving Justin Fields and co. the first opportunity of the game.
Chicago wasn't able to do anything on their opening drive (DJ Moore left action with an apparent ankle injury) and neither did Kyler Murray's Cardinals offense with their first opportunity, either.
TE Cole Kmet - who was first questionable entering today - picked up a 53-yard reception over Jalen Thompson deep down field to put Chicago in scoring position on their second opportunity with the ball
After two penalties on Cardinals DB Starling Thomas, Fields found the end zone with his feet to put Chicago up early.
Bears 7, Cardinals 0
Arizona again punted on their second drive of the game, and the first quarter came to a conclusion with Chicago marching in enemy territory.
The Bears will take over at the AZ 40 to begin the second quarter. Chicago had 142 total yards of offense in the first compared to Arizona's 38.
Second Quarter
It didn't take long for Chicago to find themselves in scoring position again, as Fields again took matters in his own hands and scampered for a 24-yard gain to the AZ 10.
Two plays later, Khalil Herbert scooted his way to the end zone to extend Chicago's lead while picking up his first touchdown of the season.
Bears 14, Cardinals 0
Kmet's big day continued as he hit the 100-yard mark with over 7:00 left in the first half.
Mercedes Lewis - in his 18th season- caught Chicago's third touchdown of the day and his first of the season as well.
Chicago rattled off three consecutive touchdown drives, the first time they've done so since Week 4.
Bears 21, Cardinals 0
Arizona finally found Chicago's side of the field at the 5:50 mark of the second quarter and soon found the red zone thereafter.
Surprise, surprise: James Conner found the end zone.
Bears 21, Cardinals 7
Although it took five drives, the Cardinals finally forced a three-and-out, giving Murray the ball back with just under two minutes left before halftime.
After forcing a three-and-out, the Bears got the ball back with under a minute remaining but weren't able to do anything.
Murray found Rondale Moore for a 22-yard gain with eight seconds left in the half, though nothing else would come of the remaining time.
Arizona will start with possession in the third quarter.
Third Quarter
Arizona was able to add a 55-yard field goal from Matt Prater to begin the second half, his 80th (!) successful kick from 50+.
Bears 21, Cardinals 10
It was a rather boring display in the third, though action was capped with Bears kicker Cairo Santos - who was just extended - knocking home a 49-yard field goal to push Chicago back up by two touchdowns.
Bears 24, Cardinals 10
The Cardinals will punt to begin the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
After a massive run by Fields, it appeared the Bears were ready to add more points and put the game away for good.
Instead, Fields threw a pick to Jalen Thompson in the end zone, giving Arizona fresh life with over ten minutes to play.
The Cardinals made good on their newfound opportunity thanks to unsung hero Greg Dortch, who caught a pass and wiggled his way for a 38-yard score.
Arizona went for two and ultimately came up short.
Bears 24, Cardinals 16
The Bears went three-and-out, though Chicago's punt pinned Arizona at their own nine-yard line with under five minutes left.
Needing 91 yards and eight points to knot the score up at 24, Murray and crew were faced with a fourth-and-six at their own 27. Arizona tried to push the ball down deep and were unsuccessful, giving Chicago prime position with under three minutes to go and already in field goal range.
The Bears trotted Santos out for another field goal attempt - this time to ice the game with over a minute left - which was nailed from 29 yards out.
Bears 27, Cardinals 16
The Cardinals couldn't muster any last grasp scores as the clock hit zero, putting an end to the contest.
Pre-Game Quotes
Cardinals Coach Jonathan Gannon on Playing in Chicago: “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. Offensively, they’ve got multiple weapons (in) how they deploy them. Quarterback obviously has a multiple skillset. He’s playing extremely well right now. They’ve got guys on the perimeter, a good tight end and then (special) teams they do some different things that challenge your rules and adjustments and your technique. We’re going to have to play sound football, winning football on all three phases to have a chance to win.”
Cardinals Quarterback Kyler Murray on Bears Defense: “They’re playing really good football right now. Statistically, they’re up there as one of the best defenses in the league. They’ve got a lot of great players over there that play hard, play fast, play physical and we’ve got to be ready to play.”
