The Bears collapse on the road and lose to the Cardinals

After a week filled with arguably the greatest adversity and controversy Matt Eberflus has faced since being named head coach of the Chicago Bears, the team posted its worst performance of the 2024 season.

Failure on both sides led to the Bears losing 29-9 to the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Chicago's vaunted defense failed to produce its typically strong performance, and the offense failed to turn things around. The loss dropped the Bears to 4-4 in a key matchup ahead of their six division games within the NFC North, which was the best division in the NFL at the time of this writing.

With all the concern that has been around Halas Hall over the last few days, it can't be good for the job security of this Bears coaching staff to be dominated like they did in Arizona this week.

Here are some of the takeaways from this week's loss.

Rom Odunze comes into his own…

The only positive thing I took away from the Bears' loss to the Cardinals was Odunze's play. He posted his second 100-yard game of his rookie season and his body control, spatial awareness in zone coverage and his hands were on full display against Arizona. Caleb Williams has been shaky with his accuracy on deep balls, but his chemistry appears to be much better with Odunze than with other wide receivers on the team.

…but otherwise little help for Caleb Williams

Williams didn't rock the world as he was sacked a whopping six times and struggled with accuracy on the field. He had some moments of intriguing play, fitting passes into tight windows and making some smart decisions. Say what you will about his own game, but what cannot be denied is that he didn't get much help from those around him. The receivers struggled with consistent separation, the route concepts didn't help players get open, and the broken offensive line didn't play well. Not an ideal scenario for your rookie quarterback.

Injuries in defense are becoming noticeable

For the Bears, Montez Sweat, Kyler Gordon or Jaquan Brisker were unable to play on Sunday due to injuries. The absence of these key veterans was evident in the fact that the pressure generated by Chicago's front seven was weak and the coverage was porous and not overly aggressive. This inconsistency on passing downs hurt the defense, and their run defense continued to be questionable up the middle. Typically, the Bears' defense has been able to hold them in every game they've played, regardless of what the offense looked like. This time, however, things looked bad on both sides of the field.

Where is Cole Kmet?

Kmet is the eighth highest paid tight end in the NFL. He has consistently been one of the most productive pass-catching tight ends in recent seasons. We saw proof in his play earlier this year that he can thrive in a high-profile role. Why do we see a complete lack of planning in Chicago's passing attack? They don't get the ball to him across the middle of the field and leave him sitting in weak spots in zone coverage. He was a decoy more than anything. The personnel management of this Bears coaching staff is pathetic.

Visit our 2nd City Gridiron YouTube channel now for Dr. Mason West Wear and Tear Bears Postgame Show with his guest Danny Meehan as they discuss this disaster of a game.