Hoping all our readers have enjoyed their holidays! The Chicago Bears provided a nice present for fans hoping to see continued improvement. Their convincing 27-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals wasn't pretty at times. More on that later.
With the win Sunday, the Bears improved their record to 6-9. They have won three of their last four games. It also was Chicago's 4th consecutive victory at home.
Justin Fields played well, executing the game plan almost perfectly. The Fields-haters will be quick to slander him for the 4th quarter interception. The ball was simply underthrown. If the ball was thrown just 5' farther, no one could criticize what Fields did Sunday.
The offense started quickly again on Sunday. Chicago jumped all over the Cardinals, and they rolled to a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Was this finally the game where Luke Getsy would answer critics and keep the aggressive game plan going for 60 minutes?
We should know better.
The offensive went ultra-conservative and managed just 2 Cairo Santos field goals in the second half. Rather than allowing Justin Fields the opportunity to showcase his talents against a reeling defense, Getsy turtled again. The conservative play calling the rest of the way allowed the running game to flourish. With Khalil Herbert finally looking like the running back we saw at the beginning of the season, the Bears' totaled 250 yards on the ground.
Unfortunately, the defense also decided to slip into a conservative mode after the lead jumped to 21-0. Kyler Murray took advantage in the shift and quickly mounted a scoring drive, cutting the lead to 14 points by the end of the first half.
Arizona took the third-quarter kickoff and quickly got into field goal position, but the defense finally stiffened, and the Cardinals had to settle for 3 points. From there, the Bears did their best just to let the clock run, and the final score was Chicago 27, Arizona 16.
Playoff Scenario
Despite the win, the Bears' odds only got worse over the weekend. Wins by Atlanta and Seattle have almost put the chance of the Bears making the postseason out of reach. The losses to Denver, Detroit, Cleveland almost certainly will keep them out of the playoffs this season. But for those die-hards among us, this is what needs to happen over the last two weeks.
Week 17
Bears must defeat Arizona
Giants beat the Rams
Tampa beats New Orleans
Steelers beat Seattle
Week 18
Chicago beats Green Bay
Lions beat Vikings
Cardinals beat Seattle
49ers beat the Rams
News and Notes
80 years ago today, the Bears defeated Washington 41-21 at Wrigley Field to win the NFL Championship.
Comments
Join the discussion below. Keep it civil and focused on the content.
Loading comments...