After losing to the Cardinals in Week 9, the Bears have fallen to 4-4, good for last place in the NFC North, one of the most competitive divisions this season with all other teams above .500 by at least three games. If the Bears want to survive this gauntlet, they'll have to up their play, but injuries have stalled Caleb Williams' offense recently. In last week's loss to the Washington Commanders, Bears starting left tackle Braxton Jones hurt his knee. In Week 9, starting right tackle Darnell Wright left the game in the second half, and did not return, as reports suspect he may have sprained his MCL.
“Bears RT Darnell Wright, who was ruled out today with a knee injury, is believed to have suffered an MCL sprain based on initial tests, source said. He'll have an MRI Monday to determine its severity,” according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport on X, formerly Twitter.
Week 9: Cardinals def. Bears
Moreover, No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams tweaked his ankle during garbage time of the Bears' 29-9 Week 9 loss to the Cardinals. Fortunately for them, the injury didn't seem serious.
However, the team certainly didn't want to follow up their nail-biting loss to the Commanders, thanks to a Jayden Daniels Hail Mary, with a blowout defeat to Kyler Murray and the Cardinals.
Their defense collapsed, allowing Arizona to collect 213 rushing yards and giving up 21 points for the first time since Week 11 of last season. Meanwhile, their offense couldn't put a touchdown together, finishing 3-14 on first downs against a team ranked last in the NFL in those exact situations.
Additionally, this loss was Matt Eberflus' 18th road loss in 21 games in his stint as Bears head coach. His team also lost by at least ten points in eight of these games.
Moreover, Eberflus may face a players' mutiny after his guys asked for their coaching staff to take more accountability for their two disastrous losses in a row.
“This wasn't good enough. From top to bottom. We know that. That's not us,” Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards said, via Dan Wiederer of Yahoo Sports.
Bouncing back
Perhaps the team still felt the psychological effects of their Hail-Mary loss to the Commanders in Week 8, but it happens enough times in pro sports that you just have to move past it and come out hungry in the next game. However, Williams admitted that they should have found closure from that defeat.
“Early on in the week, I think we could have done better overall of bouncing back. I know that was a tough loss. It was tough regardless of who you are in the facility–whether you were out there making plays or if you are making decisions up top. [But] it's being better with that,” the quarterback said.
With nine games left, the Bears might feel some pressure to string some wins together and stay in the NFC playoff picture. They'll have as good a chance as any against the (2-7) New England Patriots on Week 10.
