4 Chicago Bears Stats That Every Fan Must Know From Their Week 9 Loss

Week nine is over and the Chicago Bears disappointed again in a road loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Outmatched in all three phases, the Bears showed few signs of encouragement in a 20-point loss while dropping to .500 for the first time since week four.

Much will be written and said over the coming week about the emotional state of the team following back-to-back losses, but to truly examine where the Bears fell short on Sunday, the only story that matters is that of the statistics. That said, here are four numbers that show exactly how the game unfolded:

9

The Bears finished Sunday's contest with just 9 total points, their lowest total since week 18 of last season.

Scoring just three first-half field goals thanks to Cairo Santos, the Bears were unable to get much going in the second half, failing to get the ball past Arizona's 40-yard line for the game's final thirty minutes. In previous outings, the offense was able to find a second-half spark, but Sunday told a much different story. With just 74 total second-half yards coming from the offense, the group must find a way to be more productive down the stretch moving forward.

53

After their three field goals, the Bears nearly made it to halftime with a one-possession deficit, but a 53-yard touchdown rush by Emari Demarcado to close the first half ultimately made the Cardinals' lead insurmountable.

Allowing such a score at the end of a half is truly unacceptable, but it is, of course, the second major end-of-half malfunction that this defense has endured in as many weeks. Perhaps the defense was unprepared to stop the run because they were so dialed in on preventing another Hail Mary, but that is still no excuse to allow the biggest play of the game when the Cardinals appeared to be killing clock before halftime. With so much talent on the defensive side of the ball, their inability to succeed in crucial situations makes these tragic moments even more disappointing and ultimately game-breaking.

6

The Bears had 6 penalties accepted on Sunday, their fourth-lowest total of the season, but the untimeliness of these fouls ultimately resulted in points for the Cardinals.

With a little over three minutes left in the first half, the Bears' defense was able to keep the Cardinals to a red zone field goal attempt to cap off a 56-yard drive. The successful attempt by Arizona would ultimately be taken off the board, however, as a leverage foul committed by Gervon Dexter Sr provided the opposing offense with seven yards and a fresh set of downs, with the Cardinals eventually used to score their second touchdown of the game (the Bears were actually called for offsides on the touchdown play as well, but the penalty was obviously declined). Later in the game, the Bears offense was masterfully pinned on the one-yard line, and an illegal block by D'Andre Swift in the end zone resulted in a safety. So in total, the Bears finished the game with just nine points and provided just as many to the Cardinals in the form of penalties.

104

If there was any silver lining from this game, it was certainly Rome Odunze, who finished the game with 104 yards on just five receptions.

Marked as his second-highest total of the year, Odunze led the team in yards and receptions despite receiving the third-most targets. Garnering seven or more looks for the first time since week three, Odunze seems to be gaining traction on the Bears' pass-catching priority list, and his connection with Caleb Williams should continue to blossom as the two get more comfortable as professionals. The highest-selected receiver the Bears have had since Kevin White in 2015, Odunze may transition into more of a primary receiving option as the season winds into the second half.