In the backdrop of the Hail Mary and Shane Waldron’s admiration for big men doing more than just playing on the line of scrimmage, a voice, unwanted or otherwise, came from cyberspace.

Caleb Williams’ father Carl tweeted #accountability and #realcoach with a photo of the Commanders’ defensive coordinator Joe Whitt saying “…I blame myself” late Sunday for the way the Commanders agreed to advance on the Bears. 18-15 loss to Chicago.

The obvious takeaway is how the Bears coaches handled the post-Hail Mary situation, in which Tyrique Stevenson received obvious and deserved blame, but Matt Eberflus stood by his own decision not to guard the sidelines in the previous game.

Williams later spoke to WSCR’s Shane Riordan about the later-deleted twee, and Williams attempted to take it back or disconnect it from Bears coaches.

“This is an innocent comment,” Williams told WSCR. “I like what the Commanders are doing. I know a lot of guys there. This has nothing to do with the Bears.”

Right.

Jeannie doesn’t go back into the bottle after popping up on social media, even if it’s deleted.

It’s telling that the father of the Bears’ quarterbacks coach would even send out a tweet in strong support of the opposing coach after such a loss.

So the Bears’ tumultuous week continued long after the first afermath, as more people from outside Halas Hall joined in and the team tried to prepare for the Cardinals.

Can the Bears overcome the distraction off the field? Talk about the intangible advantages of Arizona. Wow.

Bears and Cardinals in the desert on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. Here’s who won and why.

Bears’ Passing and Cardinals’ Passing Defense

Arizona’s pass defense ranks 26th in the league despite Budda Baker’s creative use of safety at different spots. They can run hot or cold in the pass rush and rely heavily on linebackers Mack Wilson, Zaven Collins and Dennis Gardeck to initiate the offense.

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The Bears have an opportunity to burn Arizona’s secondary for big plays, but the question is whether they can block well enough with another makeshift offensive line and whether Williams can withstand the blitz he’s sure to get after struggling against the blitz so much. road games. No Edge

Running Bears vs. Cardinals’ Run Defense

The Cardinals’ defense was bad. It’s that simple. They rank 26th and 21st in yards allowed per attempt. The only teams that didn’t rush for at least 130 yards were the Rams, which is understandable given their passing attack, and surprisingly the Chargers. Even the Dolphins, happy with the transition, rushed for 150 points. They lost Justin Jones at the beginning of the year and could not replace him with an adequate player. They even rely on former Bears like Bilal Nichols and Khyiris Tonga. The Bears have the ability to start D’Andre Swift, especially against a team that drops big balls on the perimeter. They need to be able to run, even with Larry Borom at left tackle, but they need consistent yardage and not just a throw in the third quarter like last week. Edge Bears

Cardinals’ Passing and Bears’ Passing Defense

If they bench Tyrique Stevenson, they better not bench him for too long because Kyler Murray, Marvin Harrison Jr. and tight end Trey McBride are real threats, while receivers like Greg Dortch and Michael Wilson play good supporting roles. Running back James Conner is also a threat in the passing game. The Bears’ No. 1 passer rating and No. 1 in the red zone will be severely tested by Murray’s mobility and arm, and with Jaquan Brisker still out with a concussion, most of his normal secondary pieces will need to be intact. . His passing will be crucial in this situation, and Montez Sweat’s injured shin is not good news. No Edge

Cardinals Running vs. Bears’ Run Defense

Conner is a 6-foot-1, 233-pounder who can run like a beast if the Arizona line makes room for him to start. He will break tackles and also has the speed to escape. The Bears can’t afford their occasional breakdowns in run defense. Murray is occasionally used on scheme runs, and backup running backs Emari Demercado and Trey Benson also contribute effectively to the offense with vital roles. They are in seventh place in the race. The Bears’ run defense has improved its rankings to 14th after a poor start, but they will need to be even stronger to stop that ground game. Edge Cardinals

Special Teams

Former Seahawks receiver DeeJay Dallas gives the Cardinals a kicking return threat that the Bears haven’t shown they have, at least when Velus Jones Jr. is no longer around. He averaged 30.7 yards, and backup kick returner Greg Dortch was also close to that mark. Matt Prater was excellent but was used very rarely (6 tries) as the Cardinals tried to be like the Eagles and gain possession of the football more on fourth downs. Cardinals punter Blake Gillikin had a solid performance with 10 punts inside the 10, but couldn’t come close to Tory Taylor’s 15 total punts. And Taylor’s punt came in all conditions, not a dome for everyone. No Edge

coaching

Jonathan Gannon has quietly started circling the Cardinals. They beat the Chargers and Dolphins back to back, and those were opponents that would have given them little chance against them earlier this year or early last year. Matt Eberflus is at the center of the coaching debate, with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron manning the shovels. The Bears have been terrible on the road and haven’t beaten a good team. Edge Cardinals

intangible assets

The Bears always enjoy a large following for road games in Arizona, but this is still the road and Williams hasn’t been very good away from home except when the Bears were the home team in London. The biggest intangible is the impact of a week of turmoil following the shocking Hail Mary defeat. It’s one thing for the media and fans to question the competence of players and coaches. Do players and coaches do this to each other? Edge Cardinals

Final Score: Cardinals 26, Bears 17

This time around, too many variables are working against the Bears to think they can easily do what they did last year after what looked like a devastating loss to Denver. They came back the next week and routed Washington along the way. But there are other situations where they are in turmoil and it doesn’t go so well. Immediately after former defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned, they were completely outmatched by Kansas City and had one of their worst games of the year against New Orleans the week running backs coach David Walker was fired. All that said, the Cardinals performed well against a much tougher schedule.

The Line: Cardinals 1 1/2 (over/under 44 1/2)*

Bears in SI Record for Bears Games: 6-1 straight up, 5-2 etc. difference.

-Rates are updated periodically and may change. -Rates are updated periodically and may change.

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*Betting lines from Draft Kings and Fan Duel

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