Instant Analysis: Cardinals Dominant Win Over Bears Shows…

The Cardinals’ 29-9 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at State Farm Stadium signaled a lot about the direction Arizona is headed.

It kept the Cardinals in the drivers’ seat for the NFC West, and it also was another instance of Arizona playing much more mistake-free than its opponents.

Arizona has also shown an ability to win different ways. On Sunday, the passing game wasn’t working as well, so the Cardinals just scored three touchdowns — from three different rushers — on the ground instead.

Plus, Chad Ryland kept his hot streak going with field goals knocked through from 55 and 29 yards before the defense got on the board with a safety.

So what did our Arizona Sports show hosts and writers think about the performance?

Our reactions to Cardinals’ win over Bears:Vince Marotta, co-host of Bickley & Marotta Mornings: Sunday offered a rare, almost nitpick-free win by the Cardinals as they took apart the Chicago Bears 29-9.

This win was all about defense and running the football.

Defensively, the Cardinals made life miserable on rookie QB Caleb Williams, sacking him six times — tying the most in a single game in the Jonathan Gannon era. Arizona’s young cornerbacks (Starling Thomas, Max Melton, Garrett Williams) held a very formidable Chicago receiving corps in check. Yes, Rome Odunze had a 44-yard catch in the first half on a busted coverage, but nothing else came easy. The Cardinals’ defensive plan took Bears tight end Cole Kmet completely out of the game. Kmet wasn’t targeted once.

The Cardinals’ running game was punishing all day long. James Conner was his beastly self, gaining 107 yards on 18 carries. Emari Demercado’s 53-yard touchdown run in the late stages of the second quarter was the biggest single play of the game. Trey Benson showed some flash and hey, Drew Petzing even threw in a wrinkle to get tight end Trey McBride a rushing touchdown — the first time a Cardinals TE has had a running score since Hall of Famer Jackie Smith in 1968.

Kyler Murray was fine as a game manager, because that’s what Sunday called for. He didn’t do anything spectacular. He didn’t have to. But he was the better of the two quarterbacks on the day.

Here’s the nitpicky stuff. First, it was another tough day for Marvin Harrison Jr., who had a fumble after making one of his two catches on the day.