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| Bears WR Brandon Marshall scores in Sunday's 28-13 win over the Cardinals in Arizona. (US Presswire) |
It may seem a bit strange, but the Chicago Bears are suddenly Green Bay Packer fans.
The Bears got almost exactly what they needed Sunday in the form of a big win over a punching bag opponent -- 28-13 over the Arizona Cardinals.
Now the Bears need a victory over the Detroit Lions this coming Sunday at Ford Field, combined with a win by the rival Packers over the Vikings at the Metrodome, to make the playoffs as a wild card.
Against the now 5-10 Cardinals, the Bears defense on Sunday played exactly as it had in the first half of the season before losing five of six games, and the offense ran well and avoided a big mistake while spinning its wheels until QB Jay Cutler engineered a touchdown drive before halftime.
The Bears defense got a one-yard fumble return for a TD from backup CB Zack Bowman and a 10-yard INT return for a TD by Charles Tillman, bringing the team's total of pick-6s this year to eight, one shy of an NFL record. The two TDs brought their defensive total to nine, one shy of the NFL record Seattle set in 1998.
Though the win improved the Bears' record to 9-6, a lot must happen next Sunday for them to become a playoff threat.
Their offense could manage only 30 yards passing until the final drive of the first half. Brandon Marshall, who caught an 11-yard TD pass from Cutler to give the Bears a 21-6 lead, remained the only consistent threat, although Alshon Jeffery and Earl Bennett did make catches on the same drive. Cutler completed only 12 of 26 for 146 yards and the Bears converted only 3 of 13 on third downs. About the only thing they did well was run the ball, accounting for 152 rushing yards.
They suffered two injuries that could be huge next week against the Lions when RB Matt Forte went out with an ankle injury after his highest rushing output (88 yards) since Nov. 14, and lost S Chris Conte to a hamstring injury.
The combination of injuries and an ineffective offense, plus a rare poor special teams effort, did little to instill confidence the Bears can even go into Detroit and win, let alone win a road playoff game.
The defense had its best game of the year against the run, limiting the run-challenged Cardinals to 29 rushing yards.
The Cardinals beat Detroit 38-10 the previous week to end a nine-game losing streak, but got very little against the Bears' zone coverage in terms of passing productivity first from QB Ryan Lindley (17-of-30, 141 yards, 1 INT), and then recently acquired Brian Hoyer, seeing his first playing time for the Cards of the season. Hoyer completed 11 of 19 passes for 105 yards, but also threw an INT.
About all the Cardinals could say positive about the game was they got a step closer to a better draft pick. They currently are tied for the six spot.
When the game turned: On second down at their own 3-yard line on their second possession of the game, the Cardinals committed a game-changing turnover. Beanie Wells took the handoff and didn't get hit, he just lost the ball. Bowman fell on it and lunged forward for a 1-yard TD return and a 7-0 lead. The Cardinals managed an ensuing field goal, but trailed the rest of the way.
Highlight moments: Jeffery's diving 35-yard catch in the second quarter with the Bears leading 14-6. It effectively started an 80-yard TD drive for a 21-6 Bears lead at halftime. ... Forte's 36-yard run up the middle to start a second-quarter TD drive that gave the Bears a 14-3 lead. ... A 30-yard pass by Cutler to Marshall after Forte's 36-yard run that put the ball at the Arizona four-yard line, setting up the Bears' second TD. Marshall beat Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson on the play. ... Tillman's 10-yard INT return for a TD. ... Arizona's Justin Bethel's 82-yard blocked field goal return for a TD. Adrian Wilson blocked Olindo Mare's 20-yard attempt with the game out of hand, and Bethel took it to the house to narrow the final score when his team was trailing 28-6.
Top-shelf performances:
The Bears got almost exactly what they needed Sunday in the form of a big win over a punching bag opponent -- 28-13 over the Arizona Cardinals.
Now the Bears need a victory over the Detroit Lions this coming Sunday at Ford Field, combined with a win by the rival Packers over the Vikings at the Metrodome, to make the playoffs as a wild card.
Against the now 5-10 Cardinals, the Bears defense on Sunday played exactly as it had in the first half of the season before losing five of six games, and the offense ran well and avoided a big mistake while spinning its wheels until QB Jay Cutler engineered a touchdown drive before halftime.
The Bears defense got a one-yard fumble return for a TD from backup CB Zack Bowman and a 10-yard INT return for a TD by Charles Tillman, bringing the team's total of pick-6s this year to eight, one shy of an NFL record. The two TDs brought their defensive total to nine, one shy of the NFL record Seattle set in 1998.
Though the win improved the Bears' record to 9-6, a lot must happen next Sunday for them to become a playoff threat.
Their offense could manage only 30 yards passing until the final drive of the first half. Brandon Marshall, who caught an 11-yard TD pass from Cutler to give the Bears a 21-6 lead, remained the only consistent threat, although Alshon Jeffery and Earl Bennett did make catches on the same drive. Cutler completed only 12 of 26 for 146 yards and the Bears converted only 3 of 13 on third downs. About the only thing they did well was run the ball, accounting for 152 rushing yards.
They suffered two injuries that could be huge next week against the Lions when RB Matt Forte went out with an ankle injury after his highest rushing output (88 yards) since Nov. 14, and lost S Chris Conte to a hamstring injury.
The combination of injuries and an ineffective offense, plus a rare poor special teams effort, did little to instill confidence the Bears can even go into Detroit and win, let alone win a road playoff game.
The defense had its best game of the year against the run, limiting the run-challenged Cardinals to 29 rushing yards.
The Cardinals beat Detroit 38-10 the previous week to end a nine-game losing streak, but got very little against the Bears' zone coverage in terms of passing productivity first from QB Ryan Lindley (17-of-30, 141 yards, 1 INT), and then recently acquired Brian Hoyer, seeing his first playing time for the Cards of the season. Hoyer completed 11 of 19 passes for 105 yards, but also threw an INT.
About all the Cardinals could say positive about the game was they got a step closer to a better draft pick. They currently are tied for the six spot.
When the game turned: On second down at their own 3-yard line on their second possession of the game, the Cardinals committed a game-changing turnover. Beanie Wells took the handoff and didn't get hit, he just lost the ball. Bowman fell on it and lunged forward for a 1-yard TD return and a 7-0 lead. The Cardinals managed an ensuing field goal, but trailed the rest of the way.
Highlight moments: Jeffery's diving 35-yard catch in the second quarter with the Bears leading 14-6. It effectively started an 80-yard TD drive for a 21-6 Bears lead at halftime. ... Forte's 36-yard run up the middle to start a second-quarter TD drive that gave the Bears a 14-3 lead. ... A 30-yard pass by Cutler to Marshall after Forte's 36-yard run that put the ball at the Arizona four-yard line, setting up the Bears' second TD. Marshall beat Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson on the play. ... Tillman's 10-yard INT return for a TD. ... Arizona's Justin Bethel's 82-yard blocked field goal return for a TD. Adrian Wilson blocked Olindo Mare's 20-yard attempt with the game out of hand, and Bethel took it to the house to narrow the final score when his team was trailing 28-6.
Top-shelf performances:
- Bears RB Matt Forte -- He rushed for 88 yards on 12 carries, his biggest output since the Bears' win over Tennessee Nov. 14. But Forte left after his first carry in the second half when he re-injured an ankle sprain he suffered two times earlier in the year.
- Bears DE Julius Peppers -- He came up with his ninth three-sack game of his career and improved his sack total to 11.5 on the year, the highest he's had since 2008. He also forced a fumble that Arizona recovered.
- Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald -- Caught eight passes from two different QBs for 111 yards, with a long of 24 yards.
What they said about needing to pull for the Packers next week:
- Bears coach Lovie Smith -- "I've always been a big Packers fan, so it's not hard for me."
- Bears QB Jay Cutler -- "Hopefully Aaron (Rodgers) can put on another show next week."
What the Bears said about their own struggling offense:
- Bears QB Jay Cutler -- "It wasn't pretty. We made some plays when we had to make some plays. Thee was a lot of press coverages, the percentages are low, but we've hit them all year."
- Bears WR Brandon Marshall -- "I stunk the field up and, throwing around that word accountability, I can't do that."
Injury update: Forte wore a boot cast after the game. It's the third time he's suffered an injury to the same (right) ankle this year, but recovered quickly the other times. Forte thinks he'll be able to play against the Lions. ... S Chris Conte has a hamstring pull that may force the Bears to use untested Anthony Walters at free safety while going against Calvin Johnson at Ford Field. ... Brian Urlacher worked out on the field prior to the game and it's possible he could return from a hamstring injury next week.
Going forward: Bears -- They travel to Detroit (4-10) for a regular-season finale against the Lions at 1 p.m. (ET). Cardinals -- They finish at San Francisco Sunday in a 4 p.m. game.
Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSBears.
Going forward: Bears -- They travel to Detroit (4-10) for a regular-season finale against the Lions at 1 p.m. (ET). Cardinals -- They finish at San Francisco Sunday in a 4 p.m. game.
Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSBears.
For more news and analysis from Cardinals blogger Jon Gold, follow @CBSCardinals on Twitter.
