The Bears will likely be without running back Garrett Wolfe for another week or two due to a lacerated kidney.  He has played in 8 games this season for the Bears and he has carried the ball 22 times for 120 yards (5.5 ypc) and he has caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg).  Wolfe is also a good special teams player as he has racked up 10 tackles already this season.  Wolfe’s injury will hurt the Bears more on special teams than offense as Matt Forte and Adrian Peterson are ahead of him on the depth chart.

UPDATE:  Garrett Wolfe has been placed on the Injured Reserve List for the Bears ending his season.

The Chicago Bears (4-4) looked awful on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals (5-3) and things are not looking good for the Bears’ playoff chances.  Not only did the Bears fail to execute, but they just did not seem to be playing as hard as the Cardinals and seemed like they were almost giving up.  Tommie Harris lost his head and was ejected after the first play of the game.  Harris punched Cardinals’ OT Deuce Lutui and things were all downhill from then on for the Bears.  Greg Olsen was one of the few Bears who played with some pride, as the tight end was the only Bears player to score.  Olsen had a career high three touchdowns on five catches, amounting for 71 yards.

The Bears quickly found themselves down and were losing 31-7 at halftime.  With virtually no running game and down big, Jay Cutler had to throw the ball a lot.  He ended up putting up some pretty good numbers, getting 369 yards and three touchdowns on 29/47 attempts, but the quarterback was visibly frustrated throughout the game and didn’t play like a leader should.  On the defensive side, things were even worse.  The Bears defense let Kurt Warner go for five touchdown passes and 261 yards on 22/32 attempts.  His favorite target was Larry Fitzgerald, who caught nine passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears also let the Cardinals rush for 182 yards as a team.  This was a pathetic effort by the Bears on both sides of the ball and if they want any chance at making the playoffs they need to make some serious adjustments.

The Chicago Bears (4-3) and Arizona Cardinals (4-3) face off at Soldier Field Sunday and it is an interesting NFC matchup.  Both teams have been underachieving and inconsistent throughout the season.  The Bears are coming off an easy win against a weak opponent in the Cleveland Browns, while the Cardinals lost to the Carolina Panthers after winning three straight.  If the Bears can establish Matt Forte like they did last week they will be in good shape.  Forte has not been an impact at all throughout the season, but had a 90 yard effort last week.  The Cardinals give up 96 rushing yards per game so Forte could be effective.

It wont matter whether or not Forte has a good game if Cutler keeps turning the ball over.  He has now thrown six interceptions in his last three games.  He only has three touchdown passes in that same period of time and failed to hit the endzone last week.  The Bears defense will have a big challenge in slowing down Kurt Warner and the Cardinals passing game.  Warner has the best receiver in the league to throw to in Larry Fitzgerald.  Warner and Fitzgerald have hooked up 47 times this season for 509 yards and five touchdowns.  The Bears need to do a better job of pressuring Warner than they have done to other quarterbacks lately.  They only have one sack in the past three games, and if they don’t get to Warner he can eat up the Bears secondary.  When pressured Warner does make mistakes.  He threw five interceptions last week and likes to gamble, so the Bears should look to take advantage of any erratic throws by Warner.  This is a tough one to call, but with the Bears coming off their best running performance of the year and being at home, I will give them the slight edge.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 31, Arizona Cardinals 27

The Chicago Bears (4-3) struggled again in the red-zone yesterday, but luckily for them they were playing the Cleveland Browns (1-7).   After three field goals by Robbie Gould, the Bears finally got in the endzone late in the first half when RB Matt Forte ran it in from the 1-yard line to put the Bears up 16-0 heading into halftime.   Forte was the only Bear’s offensive player to reach the endzone, as he did it again on a 10-yard run late in the 3rd quarter to put the Bears up 23-6.  It was only fitting that the Bears got their only offensive touchdowns from their running back, as it was the 10th anniversary of Walter Payton’s death.  They honored “Sweetness” at halftime with a video tribute at Soldier Field.

The Bears defense did not have much of a challenge, but they did a very good job forcing some turnovers.  They intercepted Derek Anderson twice, one of which Charles Tillman returned with some impressive moves for a 21-yard touchdown return.  Daniel Manning also picked off Anderson, as well as forcing a fumble.  The Bears forced four fumbles in this game, and recovered three of them.  The Browns offense was pretty pathetic, particularly Derek Anderson who was replaced by Brady Quinn late in the game.  The Bears passing game did not look very good either and the Browns defense was able to sack Cutler four times.  Cutler did not have a very good game, failing to reach the endzone and going 17/30 for 225 yards and an interception.  Devin Hester was once again the bright spot in the passing game, with seven catches for 81 yards.  The running game was solid, with Forte finishing with 90 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns, along with Garret Wolfe adding 53 yards on 5 carries.