Hail Mary follows Matt Eberflus to Arizona — and (almost) repeats itself in Bears' ugly loss

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Hail Mary — and the hail — followed Bears coach Matt Eberflus to Arizona.

Minutes after the Cardinals decided to close the roof of State Farm Stadium because of tiny ice pellets failing from the sky to the desert floor, the Bears gave up another ridiculous end-of-half score in a 29-9 shellacking Sunday.

Against the Commanders, the Bears gave up a 52-yard Hail Mary for a touchdown as time expired to lose at the gun.

Against the Cardinals, the Bears gave up a 53-yard run as the clock ticked down at the end of the first half. By the time running back Emari Demercado weaved through Bears tacklers and crossed the goal line, there were four seconds left in the first half Sunday.

The Bears seemingly learned nothing from last week’s debacle — except maybe how to spin it. Speaking to CBS after halftime, Eberflus took more public accountability than he did all last week.

"I called a pass pressure and that’s on me,” he said. “I gotta do a better job there."

He has to do a better job, period.

Sunday was the Bears’ worst game of the season, after their worst week of the year.

The defense that Eberflus runs gave up as many points in the first half as they had in any game all season. The Bears’ special teams turned three Cardinals points into seven when defensive tackle Gervon Dexter was called for a leverage penalty while trying to block a field goal. The Cardinals inherited the ball at the 7 and scored. An offense that struggled all day against one of the NFL’s worst defenses suffered its biggest indignity in the fourth quarter when running back D'Andre Swift was flagged for a chop block while in the end zone. That gave the Cardinals a safety.

The Bears were undisciplined, unfocused and punchless. And that doesn’t even include Tyrique Stevenson, the cornerback whom Eberflus decided to bench following his histrionics while the Hail Mary was being snapped. Terell Smith started at cornerback and Stevenson played the Bears’ third series. Smith returned but hurt his ankle, forcing Stevenson to play the rest of the game.

Cracks in the foundation of the Bears’ much-ballyhooed culture began to show last week when veterans openly questioned decisions made by Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron against the Commanders. Eberflus told players he preferred they keep such criticisms in-house.

Those criticisms will likely continue, even if they’re behind closed doors. The 4-4 Bears’ schedule hasn’t even gotten to the hard part yet.