Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals: 5 storylines to watch in Week 16

LAKE FOREST – The Bears will celebrate the holidays with a matchup against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Soldier Field.

Matt Eberflus, Justin Fields and the Bears will look to rebound from last week’s loss to the Cleveland Browns. The Cardinals enter this game coming off a 45-29 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears’ playoff hopes likely went out the window with the loss to Cleveland. They’re not eliminated yet, but they must win out and, even then, would need significant help from other teams to reach the postseason.

The Bears (5-9) and Cardinals (3-11) will square off at 3:25 p.m. Sunday. The game will be broadcast on Fox. Here are the top five storylines to watch.

1. The No. 1 pick

Here’s a cautionary tale. An NFL team takes a quarterback No. 1 overall. The QB wins rookie of the year, earns back-to-back Pro Bowl nods and leads the team to the playoffs. But then everything falls apart. The GM and coach are fired. Just a few short years later, that team is in the same exact spot.

That team, the Cardinals, has a worse record (7-24) since the start of 2022 than the Bears do (8-23). Quarterback Kyler Murray was that No. 1 overall draft pick in 2019 and earned a huge extension last year.

The point is, getting the quarterback right doesn’t always solve all the problems. The Cardinals still are a bad football team. They’re on pace to earn a top-three draft pick again. Murray returned midway through this season from a torn ACL. He is 2-3 as the starter since returning. The team won only one game before his return.

The Bears will have to make a decision on Fields this offseason because it sure looks like they’ll have the No. 1 draft pick in the spring via the Carolina Panthers. These last three games are important for Fields if he wants to keep starting games for the Bears. He needs to have a good game against a vulnerable Cardinals defense.

2. No playoffs, no motivation?

Last week’s loss to Cleveland was deflating, particularly after the Bears talked all week about a potential playoff run. The loss didn’t technically eliminate the Bears from playoff contention, but it’s a long shot now.

So what exactly do the Bears have to play for now?

“At this point, no matter whether we’re already eliminated, everybody plays for each other,” Fields said. “If I come in the building, I know that my O-linemen are putting in work, running backs putting in work – I’m playing for them. I think I’ve said that before, but I don’t play for myself, I’m playing for the man beside me.”

At this point, no matter whether we’re already eliminated, everybody plays for each other.”

—  Justin Fields, Bears quarterback

Make no mistake, the Bears are trying to win every game they can – and this is an entirely winnable game. The Bears probably aren’t going to have a youth movement. Last year, they played as many young players as they could at the end of the year.

But there was much less on the line in December and January last season than there is now, particularly for the coaching staff and the QB.

“We believe in the guys that we drafted,” Eberflus said. “They’re tough-minded. They’re talented. And the guys that are ready to play, that show it in practice, will play in the game.”

3. Can the Bears keep sacking the QB?

The Cardinals’ offense is allowing sacks on 8.3% of pass attempts, which ranks 23rd in the NFL. They have a rookie right tackle in Paris Johnson who was a top-10 draft pick last spring, but who has had his share of rookie moments. Defensive end Montez Sweat and the Bears’ pass rush no doubt will be looking to get after the quarterback. In five games since returning from injury, Murray has been sacked 14 times.

Since Sweat arrived, the Bears have seen their sack numbers increase dramatically, as well as their takeaways. Sweat believes the Bears’ defensive line is getting better and better each week.

“It’s really just time and experience,” Sweat said. “Also, [defensive line coach Travis Smith] has been doing a good job lining guys up, playing guys to their strengths. Really just experience and knowing how my guys like to rush.”

The Bears have had four sacks in each of their past two games. Sweat has a sack in each of the past four games, and six total sacks over those four contests.

4. Back to the ground game

Eberflus noted this week that the run game couldn’t get anything going against Cleveland. Fields attempted 40 passes during the game, which was a season high. Rookie Roschon Johnson was the lead running back with 36 yards on five carries. Khalil Herbert totaled 8 yards on six carries, and D’Onta Foreman went for negative rushing yards.

The Cardinals, however, are not the Browns’ defensive front. Arizona has the 31st-ranked run defense in the NFL. This is a defense the Bears can exploit on the ground. It’s allowing 26.9 points per game, which also ranks 31st. The Cardinals are giving up a league-worst 22.3 first downs per game.

The Bears still have a top-five rushing attack in the NFL, averaging 134.4 rushing yards per game. If the Bears can’t move the ball against this defense, there’s a serious problem. Eberflus reiterated his support this week for offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, although he didn’t commit to Getsy remaining the coordinator beyond 2023 (he noted that they’ll evaluate it after the season).

It seems like the ground game should be an easy way to get this offense grooving again. The Bears, however, likely will be without guard Teven Jenkins, who remains in concussion protocol.

5. Interception machine

The Bears have a chance to lead the NFL in interceptions this season. The Bears’ 18 interceptions as a team are one shy of San Francisco’s league-leading 19 picks. The Bears have had 11 interceptions over the past four games.

Every week, the Bears seem to have different defenders grabbing interceptions. Last week, it was safety Eddie Jackson, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson picking off Joe Flacco.

Can the Bears keep that going this week against Murray? Murray has thrown four interceptions in his five games since returning, including two last week against the 49ers. For the season, Arizona has thrown an interception on 2.4% of pass attempts, which ranks 20th among NFL offenses.

Entering Week 16, the Bears are tied for sixth in total takeaways (with 23), but they have only five forced fumbles compared with those 18 interceptions.