GLENDALE, Ariz. — Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson didn’t know when he was going to play against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
He just knew he wasn’t going to start. He was told about his demotion on Wednesday and briefly left practice to regain his composure before returning.
“We’re all human,” Stevenson said. “I feel like if you don’t hear something that you want to hear, I feel like everybody has an opportunity to walk away and collect themselves.”
Bears fans across the country probably did the same multiple times on Sunday while watching the Cardinals trounce their favorite team 29-9 at State Farm Stadium.
If the Double Doink ultimately broke former coach Matt Nagy, then the Hail Mary appears to be the tipping point for coach Matt Eberflus and his team. It’s a storyline that lingered throughout a turbulent week and into Sunday. It was there on the field as Stevenson, who played behind Terell Smith, didn’t take the field until the defense’s third series.
And it was there in the locker room after the game.
“I feel like I was just tested as far as the media, as far as proving to my guys I’m not going to let the media bring me down and just proving to the whole building that one play doesn’t define me, which that is true,” said Stevenson, who made seven tackles and two pass breakups. “And when I get my opportunity, just come out and do what I did today.”
It’s never a good sign when the players start mentioning the media. Just like it’s disconcerting when players openly question coaching decisions and then their head coach asks them to keep those thoughts and grievances in-house.
Quarterback Caleb Williams said the Bears needed to “move on quicker” from last week’s Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders.
“Early on in the week, I think we could’ve done better overall of bouncing back after that,” Williams said. “I know it’s a tough loss. It’s tough regardless of who you are in the facility, if you were out there making plays or if you’re making decisions up top. So being better at that, (it’s) understanding that we do have many more games left after that and being able to be one, be a family and move on from that and have the right leaders, which we do. We have the right guys to do things like that, which is bounce back from something like that, and we’ve got to do it this week.”
There’s another back-breaking, confidence-killing play to discuss. Cardinals running back Emari Demercado broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run on third-and-5 with 12 seconds remaining in the first half. It gave Arizona a 21-9 lead at the break. Eberflus took the blame for his play call: a pressure with two deep safeties.
“I could have called a better call,” Eberflus said.
53-(CASUAL) YARD TOUCHDOWN@Money_E3 pic.twitter.com/Gzm3ImjxPI
— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 3, 2024
The Cardinals ran through the Bears, piling up 213 rushing yards and scoring three touchdowns. Demercado’s score was this week’s version of the Hail Mary. It’s another Eberflus decision to question and scrutinize. Nickelback Josh Blackwell — who played behind rookie Reddy Steward on Sunday — blitzed off the left edge, while right defensive end Austin Booker dropped into coverage and missed a tackle in the open field.
“Good play call by them,” said safety Kevin Byard, who was blocked by receiver Greg Dortch. “Obviously, they got us in the blitz or whatever so he’s able to kind of come through the line untouched or whatever. Yeah, it was a tough play.”
The Bears are 4-4. But it doesn’t feel like it. They don’t feel like a team on the rise with a young, promising quarterback. Not when Williams is 22-for-41 passing for 216 yards against one of the worst pass defenses in the league. And not when Williams is sacked six times by a defense that struggled to get to QBs before Sunday afternoon.
The Bears feel like a team with a young quarterback teetering on change.
Again.
Chicago, you know how this goes. Williams is new to all of this. So is team president/CEO Kevin Warren. Many that now work in the Bears organization are, too.
That pit in the stomach that Bears fans feel is a familiar one. It’s a mixture of many feelings. It’s the anger that always accompanies ugly losses. It’s the frustration, disappointment and dissatisfaction that comes with watching another head coach and offensive coordinator produce poor results week after week.
For some, it could be the creeping doubts about another quarterback drafted with a first-round pick. But for all, it’ll always be that feeling of “here we go again” with the Bears.
“We got to circle the wagons,” said Eberflus, whose team is now 3-18 on the road in his 2 1/2 seasons. “We got to do a really good job of staying tight. That’s what you do in times of adversity. We got everybody we need in that circle of men in there and the staff members in there and the coaches in there. We got everybody that we need. Take an inward look and making sure we’re doing things the right away. It starts with the coaches first and it starts with that practice on Wednesday.”
We’ve heard this all before, though.
That’s part of the problem.
Eberflus made similar comments last season just like Matt Nagy, John Fox and Marc Trestman did before him. You don’t talk like that when the wins are adding up behind good quarterback play. You don’t talk that way when you find ways to win games on the road. No, you talk that way when you’re losing in disappointing, maddening ways.
“We got to find a way to win,” linebacker T.J. Edwards said. “That wasn’t good enough.”
Like they did with the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bears should be able to handle the New England Patriots at Soldier Field on Sunday. But Williams and the Bears offense should have had a better day against a Cardinals defense that ranked 27th in opposing QB passer rating, 26th in passing yards allowed, 26th in rushing yards allowed, 24th in scoring and 32nd on third down before Week 9.
The Bears are beat up. The team clearly missed defensive end Montez Sweat, safety Jaquan Brisker, nickelback Kyler Gordon and left tackle Braxton Jones against the Cardinals. It also didn’t help to lose defensive tackle Andrew Billings (chest) and right tackle Darnell Wright (knee) during the game.
But now the doubts and questions are adding up like the injuries.
The meat of the schedule awaits the Bears. They haven’t played one divisional game. They routed some awful teams but couldn’t hang with the middle-of-the-pack Cardinals.
“You got to fight back,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “To me, you got to find and take pride in what the hell (we’re) doing out there. … We got to figure out what it is and each man’s got to look themselves in the eye and figure out how they can make plays, how they can impact the game better. And really, we just got to find ways to win — especially on the road.”
(Top photo of Rome Odunze and Max Melton: Joe Camporeale / Imagn Images)
