Cardinals @ Bears Second Half & Recap: Late Bears Surge Shot Down By Arizona

The Cardinals scored enough points in the first half for an entire game, but weren't done. Worse news for the Bears: while Hunter Hillenmeyer returned to the game, cornerback Charles Tillman (who was victimized by Larry Fitzgerald in the first half of play) left the game with a shoulder injury late in the second quarter. Meanwhile the Chicago offense (who played reasonably well in the first half despite only calling four run plays) started the game off with a quick first down before sputtering. Swarmed by three Cardinals defenders, Cutler was sacked by Chike Okeafor for a loss of 11 yards, forcing the third Bears punt of the day.



Arizona didn't show any signs of a letdown at first as Fitzgerald made a miraculous diving catch off ato keep a drive alive. The Bears would rejoice, however, as they finally forced a Cardinals field goal (excluding the one in the closing seconds of the first half) after Arizona had gone eight for eight on third down through the first half and beginning of the second.



After burning their first time out of the half, the Bears sustained two straight false start penalties (on guard Josh Beekman and center Olin Kreutz), before Cutler gunned a pass to Earl Bennett for 29 yards and a first down. Four plays later, the Bears signal-caller was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct after an incomplete pass on fourth and four, which resulted in 15 yards for Arizona after the turnover (the first of the day for either team).



Three punts (by both teams) later, the Bears showed some life again as Cutler completed three straight passes (two to Hester, who appeared to be having his way with defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) and then, after a single incomplete pass, two more before he found Greg Olsen on a 3-yard toss. Cutler hit four different receivers on the drive, including Matt Forte, who had a 28-yard gain after taking a short pass from Cutler.



Arizona put in backup quarterback and former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart, whose first pass was ruled incomplete but negated due to a pass interference penalty on linebacker Nick Roach. After two runs by Beanie Wells to bring up third-and-short, the Cards committed their first turnover of the day when Leinart threw an interception to Bears cornerback Zack Bowman, who returned it 39 yards to the 33 yard line before being pushed out of bounds. With renewed vigor, Cutler promptly score another touchdown in three plays, finding Greg Olsen for a 20-yard score (the third of the day for both players).

Things kept looking up for Chicago as Hillenmeyer forced a Kurt Warner fumble, but offensive tackle Mike Gandy recovered it in a fortunate turn for Arizona. The glimmer of hope soon faded for the Windy City as the Cards punted and Cutler threw a pick to Matt Ware on the next drive, giving Warner a short field and, after four plays, his fifth TD of the day (a 4-yard pass to Steve Breaston).

Despite one more drive by Chicago, there was no epic comeback today. Chicago's home unbeaten streak has ended, and the score at the final whistle is 41-21.

Bears Verdict - Defense Reeling, Offense Struggles to Keep Up With Cards: Even as devastated as they are by injuries, there is no excuse to be made for the Bears defensive unit's poor play today. It seems to be a case of Murphy's law with them as the injuries mount, and Tommie Harris is almost definitely going to face further suspension by the league for punching Deuce Lutui. The Bears gave up seven yards per rush in the first quarter and 182 yards in all to the league's last-ranked rushing attack. Warner threw for 5 scores and no interceptions.

When a team is that deleted on defense, the offense needs to step up their game, but the Bears aren't yet polished enough to do that. The offensive line has played poorly, allowing 17 sacks of Jay Cutler; while they cannot take all the blame for this, they have not been consistent by any stretch of the imagination. The one interception aside, Cutler had a great game by the standards of most quarterbacks, completing 29 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns.

How's this for inexperience on offense? Three of the Bears receivers (including Hester and Rashied Davis) came into the NFL as defensive backs, and their two top receivers (other than Hester), Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox, are a second year player and a rookie, respectively. Their best player today was tight end Greg Olsen, who caught 3 touchdowns. The gimmick plays are not working for the Bears, and the running game needs to get much better in order for them to have any hope of salvaging this season.

Cardinals Verdict - Boldin Sits Out, But Balance Prevails: The Cards didn't need Anquan Boldin to beat up on the Bears defense. Larry Fitzgerald caught 9 balls for 123 yards, and the 182 team rushing yards marked a season high. As mentioned before, Warner didn't turn the ball over (although he came perilously close when he fumbled the ball after being sackedby Hunter Hillenmeyer), making the Cards 5-0 when he doesn't turn the ball over. That being said, some problems still remain. Another fourth quarter collapse was just barely averted when Mike Gandy recovered Warner's fumble, which was the ending point in the game that essentially deflated the Bears. Like the Bears, however, Arizona needs to work on their consistency, expecially at home (where they are winless halfway through the season).

Cardinals @ Bears Halftime Report

In what was an unseasonably warm day at Soldier Field in Chicago (the gametime temperature was at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit), the opening action of the Bears-Cardinals game looked like more of what the Bears have seen this season. Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris was ejected from the game early with a completely unnecessary punch to the helmet of the prone Deuce Lutui. Linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer was injured two plays later and taken off the field, replaced by Nick Roach. The Cards capitalized on the 15-yard penalty on Harris (even though they had already been moving the ball effectively) with a short dump pass to Larry Fitzgerald byKurt Warner. Fitzgerald escaped the coverage by Charles Tillman and walked into the endzone for the opening score.

After a disappointing performance against lowly Cleveland last week, Jay Cutler and the Chicago offense came out fast. A 42-yard catch by Hester brought the Bears into Arizona territory, and a deep bomb to tight end Greg Olsen on 3rd and 9 on a deep post pattern finished a short drive for the Bears. While he appeared to be well-covered by safety Adrian Wilson, Olsen adjusted to the throw and opened up a yard of space across the field to catch Cutler's pass. Surprisingly, Chicago did not call one run play on their opening drive.

On Arizona's next possession, a diving catch by Fitzgerald looked suspect but was not challenged by Lovie Smith Two consecutive red zone runs with Hightower and Chris "Beanie" Wells softened up an already weakened Bears defence, and the 13th TD pass of season for Warner to Ben Patrick allowed Arizona to retake the lead. A Bears punt gave the ball back to Arizona, who gave the ball to Wells to break off their longest run of the season, an up-the-gut run that Wells took to the outside for a 26 yard gain. The Cardinals were clicking on all cylinders, and Kurt Warner's 11th straight completion found Larry Fitzgerald (again being covered alone by Tillman) for another touchdown.

The Cards surprised the usually solid Bears special team with a pop-up kick, but Chicago caught a break as referee Ed Hochuli ruled that possession did not belong to Arizona as it first appeared but in fact went to Jay Cutler and the Chicago offense. After a single first down, Cutler ran right into Darnell Docket and was sacked for a nine yard loss, which ended up forcing another punt by Brad Maynard. Once again, the Arizona offense was held to third down multiple times, but managed to convert two 3rd-and-5's as they moved the ball quickly and decisively. A 15-yard reception by Cardinals tight end Anthony Becht (his first of the season) marked Warner's fourth touchdown pass of the day.

Attempting to will his team back into the game, Cutler made more impressive throws. A laser between two defenders to second-year wideout Earl Bennet picked up a key first down, and was followed by a screen to running back Matt Forte. Set back by an offensive pass interference penalty on Greg Olsen, the Bears could only make up 10 yards out of the 20 that they needed. The Robbie Gould field goal was then blocked, and returned 59 yards by Antrell Rolle after falling short, allowing Arizona to tack on a last second field goal of their own to complete a dominant first half. The halftime score: 31-7 Arizona.