The game’s turning point came after Santos’ third field goal drew the Bears to within 14-9 with :26 left in the first half. The Cardinals immediately regained the momentum, extending their lead to 21-9 on running back Emari Demercado’s 53-yard TD run with :04 remaining on a third-and-5 draw play.<\/p>\n
“The score at the end of the half, to me that’s on me,” Eberflus said. “I called a pass defense, pass pressure and they ended up running the ball. Again, I can make a better call there. That’s on me.”<\/p>\n
The Cardinals rushed for 118 of their 213 yards in the second quarter. The Bears run defense entered Week 9 ranked 14th in the NFL after leading the league last season.<\/p>\n
“I do believe that our run defense needs to shore up,” Eberflus said. “When you have a big run like that, obviously the numbers go up. We know how to do it; we’ve done it in the past with the same guys. It’s important that we shore up and make sure we do a better job, starting with the coaches and then the players after that.”<\/p>\n
The Bears played without four injured starters in left tackle Braxton Jones<\/a> (knee), defensive end Montez Sweat<\/a> (shin), nickel back Kyler Gordon<\/a> (hamstring) and safety Jaquan Brisker<\/a> (concussion). Three more players exited the contest with injuries in right tackle Darnell Wright<\/a> (knee), defensive tackle Andrew Billings<\/a> (chest) and cornerback Terell Smith<\/a> (ankle).<\/p>\n The Cardinals took a 7-0 lead on tight end Trey McBride’s 2-yard TD run on a jet sweep with :46 left in the first quarter. The score came one play after McBride’s 15-yard reception from Kyler Murray on third-and-1 and was set up by Greg Dortch’s 27-yard punt return to the Bears’ 41.<\/p>\n The Bears cut the deficit to 7-3 on their next possession on Santos’ 29-yard field goal. The kick was set up by Williams’ 44-yard completion to a wide-open Rome Odunze<\/a> to the Arizona 23. The Bears reached the 11 but settled for the field goal after three straight incompletions.<\/p>\n The defense followed by generating a key takeaway as undrafted rookie Reddy Steward “Peanut-Punched” the ball away from receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. after a 21-yard reception. Elijah Hicks<\/a> returned the fumble seven yards to the Arizona 46.<\/p>\n “He had the ball loose and I just reacted to it and I punched it out,” said Steward, a Troy product who made his NFL debut Sunday. “Elijah picked it up and we got that turnover, so it felt good.”<\/p>\n The Bears converted the turnover into Santos’ 53-yard field goal, closing the gap to 7-6 with 9:10 remaining in the second quarter.<\/p>\n But the Cardinals answered as running back Trey Benson’s 1-yard TD run widened the margin to 14-6. It appeared that the Bears had forced Arizona to settle for Chad Ryland’s 32-yard field goal, but a leverage penalty on Gervon Dexter Sr.<\/a> gave the Cardinals an automatic first down.<\/p>\n Santos’ 53-yard field goal drew the Bears to within 14-9 with :26 left in the half before Demercado’s 53-yard TD run made it 21-9 at halftime.<\/p>\n After the Bears opened the second half with a three-and-out, Ryland’s 29-yard field goal increased Arizona’s lead to 24-9.<\/p>\n The Bears turned the ball over on downs on the first play of the fourth quarter when Williams was sacked for a 16-yard loss on fourth-and-10 from the Arizona 44. The Cardinals failed to pick up a first down but extended their lead to 27-9 on Ryland’s 55-yard field goal.<\/p>\n