Column: Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears are reeling after another embarrassing loss

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Let’s face it. There isn't enough sugar in Brazil to cover Sunday at State Farm Stadium.

A blast. An embarrassment. An absolute stinker.

Arizona Cardinals 29, Chicago Bears 9.

For a Bears team looking to bury the previous week's heartbreaking road loss to the Washington Commanders, this proved to be a brutal response.

Sloppy and disjointed. Flat and discouraging.

The Bears' defense was trampled for 213 rushing yards and their first game since Week 11 last season allowed more than 21 points.

The offense? Not a single touchdown and a 3-for-14 attempt on third downs against a Cardinals defense that ranked last in the NFL in such situations.

In short: This was a middle-of-the-pack opponent that did absolutely everything it wanted with the Bears, who, on a day when they had hoped to show themselves and the outside world how tough, resilient and focused they are, surpassed everything.

Instead? This became an outlier. It was Matt Eberflus' 18th loss in 21 road games as Bears head coach. Eight of those losses came by a margin of at least 10 points.

“We have to go around the wagons,” Eberflus said afterwards. “We have to do a really good job and stay tight. That’s what you do in difficult times.”

Now, however, much of Chicago is bracing for a Week 10 of tirades about Flus under fire, while players in the Bears' locker room must embark on a new search for answers.

“That wasn’t good enough,” linebacker TJ Edwards said. “From top to bottom. We know that. That’s not us.”

Still, some of it seemed very familiar to me.

Another scoreless first quarter. It becomes more difficult to stop the run. Costly penalties. Bad tackling. Dropped passes.

Yuck. Across the board.

“Obviously we didn’t play well,” safety Kevin Byard said. “And they cheered for us today.”

Spin the wheel and choose the most disturbing thing that this trip to the desert entails. Was it the error-filled execution on both sides of the ball? The accumulation of injuries to key players – including Darnell Wright, Andrew Billings, Terell Smith and Jaylon Jones? The reality that the Bears are back at .500 and, as of Monday morning, find themselves among a quintet of four-win NFC teams staring toward a playoff picture that certainly seems miles away?

The cover photo of Sunday's loss obviously shows the 53-yard touchdown run the Bears allowed in the final seconds before halftime. By Emari Demercado, Cardinals' No. 3 running back. Untouched. Right past the Bears defensive front, through the second level and further past three Bears defensive backs.

Eberflus took blame for the defensive call on the play, a third-down pressure that left the Bears somewhat vulnerable against the run.

“I can make phone calls better there,” he said. “That’s up to me.”

Still, even with a shaky call, this run should never go beyond 53 yards. Not if Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds can throw off their blocks or if Jaylon Johnson can help funnel Demercado to Byard and fellow safety Elijah Hicks.

None of that happened. And that became the trap door, the explosive play that put the Bears in a 21-9 hole at the break. They never recovered.

“It just got out of hand,” rookie quarterback Caleb Williams said.

Still, it's also easy to argue that the Bears never fully recovered from the Hail Mary knockout blow Jayden Daniels dealt them seven days earlier. In fact, that's a claim Williams made after Sunday's loss, seemingly still disappointed that the team as a whole didn't finish quicker after last game's loss to the Commanders.

“At the beginning of the week, I think overall we could have done a better job of getting back on our feet,” Williams said. “I know it was a tough loss. It was tough regardless of who you are in the facility – whether you were out there making plays or making decisions at the top. (But) it’s better that way.”

So here are the bears. Again. In an anxious moment of their season.

They are less than two weeks removed from a 12-game challenge that will push them into consecutive NFC North games against the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. The Bears are considered underdogs in all three competitions. And, well, it's frightening to acknowledge the very real possibility that this team will finish November with a losing record and a severely blocked path to the postseason.

“We still have so much to do,” Williams replied. “We still have nine games left.”

That is a legitimate claim. And the Bears can only focus on what comes next, which is next week's game against the New England Patriots. The Patriots are 2-7 and come to Soldier Field where the Bears have won eight straight games.

Maybe the recipe for quick relief is ready. Next weekend, do the layup and exhale.

“We have to be 5-4 by the end of next week,” Byard said. “That’s my only focus. That’s the only thing I can focus my attention on.”

Yet there are so many overarching concerns about the long-term direction of this team. And after two and a half seasons under Eberflus' leadership, it's increasingly difficult to see how a truly meaningful breakthrough will come about.

After Sunday's performance, it was easy to see that the Bears were anything but sharp and fair, and one wonders if the group is still convinced.

“That’s our job,” Edwards said. “There is no one here who gives up. Nobody is going to sit here and just accept this. We’ll get back to work and figure this out.”

This defeat at the hands of the commanders caused great turmoil and unrest. But there were promises from the top of the organization to emerge stronger and more purposeful.

On the Bears' official pregame show on WMVP-AM 1000 on Sunday, general manager Ryan Poles spoke of the importance of “not letting one loss carry over into next week.”

“I liked how the team responded and how they trained this week,” said Poles. “It was very focused. The precision was there.”

Poles described a team that, from his perspective, appeared “locked in,” “cohesive,” and “aligned.”

“Everyone recovered really well,” Poles said. “At the beginning of the week we were in a positive mood. We’re in a good place.”

But in the three hours of the week that mattered most, they weren't doing well. On Sunday, the Bears were thoroughly beaten. From a team that had no business defeating them.

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According to Williams, this prompted several players to speak out after Eberflus addressed the team in the locker room.

“All the guys are bought in,” Williams said. “I think this is one of the first times that a few people have come and spoken out. I talked earlier this week about how player-led teams are the best teams. Obviously the mood is not good. But I think the guys are there and have bought in.”

Eberflus expressed similar views.

“We have everyone we need in this men’s group, the staff there and the coaches there,” he said. “We have everything we need. We have to look within and make sure we are doing things right. It starts with the trainers. And then it starts with training on Wednesday.”

Someday, one of these weeks, one of these seasons, maybe the bears will get past the constant troubleshooting and answer-seeking.

For now, they remain an underwhelming team that still has a lot of work to do to keep this season alive. And the questions about their direction under Eberflus are getting louder and louder.