Bears vs. Cardinals Prediction: Time to refocus |
After last week's depressing loss to the Commanders, the Chicago Bears have been the talk of the NFL Media for all the wrong reasons. From the poor coaching of the second half to having players not be ready in the middle of a game-winning hail mary from Jayden Daniels, it was a painful ending to an overall painful game.
Now that that game is over, it's time for the Bears to focus on week nine. They have another winnable game they can't overlook, as the Cardinals have quietly started to play their best football of the season. What was once viewed as a team that could be fighting for the No. 1 overall pick has turned into a 4-4 team, as they are currently tied for first place in the NFC West. When you factor in the tiebreakers, the Cardinals are actually leading their division and remain one of the more surprising teams of late. With this game taking place in Arizona and not Chicago, where weather could be a factor, it puts the Bears at 3 PM for the second straight week as they will look to bounce back from arguably their worst loss of the season. Here are some things to look for in week 9.
It's no secret that the Bears' loss last week stung, affecting many people from the top of the organization down. Winning games in the NFL is hard enough on a week-to-week basis, so to lose on a last-second hail mary the way the Bears did is especially painful. Those losses can alter a team's season in a good or bad way, depending on how they respond. If the Bears want to continue to be right in the middle of the playoff picture, they need to respond positively. The longer they let this loss linger, the more it will affect the remainder of their season.
Not only has the talk been about how the Bears have lost this week, but many people are talking about Stevenson and his overall behavior late in the game. Not only was he not ready for that last Hail Mary play, but a video that was released showed Stevenson taunting Washington fans after the ball was snapped, completely unaware and out of position on the play. Earlier this week, Matt Eberflus announced that the team had dealt with Stevenson and had implemented some form of punishment ahead of this week's game. While the punishment was never publicly announced, Stevenson apologized to the fans in a presser to win back some of their trust. It will be interesting to see how much confidence the Bears put in him this week and if he will have the same role he had before that incident. Should these antics continue, you have to imagine that Chicago will be moving on from him sooner rather than later, as they can't afford to have those meltdowns.
Arguably, the most disappointing player on the Bears roster this season, besides Stevenson, is DJ Moore, who has been a shell of himself. Compared to his production last year, when he was one of the best receivers in the game, Moore has been average at best this season, but he has benefitted from one massive game at the receiver position. With Chicago continuing to rely on D'Andre Swift and the running game to get this offense going, Caleb Williams has the weapons around him to have one of the more potent passing games. However, their inconsistency continues to be an issue. Moore is the one guy on offense who hasn't played up to his ability this season, and it has often affected the passing game. If Chicago wants to continue to build its offense and take things to the next level, it needs Moore to step up and get back to playing the way he did last season. Perhaps this is the week it happens, as the Cardinals' secondary is one of the worst in the league covering WRs in 1v1 matchups.
The Bears and Cardinals will forever be linked together in various ways, the most obvious one being that they both played in Chicago at one point. Secondly, you have the famous Dennis Green speech after Devin Hester returned a game-winning punt, in which he went on to say, "They are who we thought they were, and we let them off the hook." While the Bears may not be that same team this time around, they are still capable of winning games against anyone. However, they have yet to record a win against a playoff-caliber team. The Cardinals aren't what many consider a playoff team, but anytime you're leading your division this late in the season, you have to be regarded as a playoff-contending team. The Bears need this win to stay in the NFC North race. The top of the division is starting to flex its muscles and could open up some separation from the rest of the pack. Look for another hard-fought battle in this one, but the Bears responded to a tough loss last week to pick up a big road win, 24-20.Forget and refocus
What will Tyrique Stevenson's role be?
Turn DJ Moore loose
Prediction: BEAR DOWN
