DAndre Swift Commanders Chicago BearsUSA Today photo

Among the aftershocks from the Daniels Miracle Victory, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus fielded steep criticism for not only how he defended the final play, but especially how he defended the play before. But quarterback Caleb Williams isn’t pointing fingers at his coaching staff. Instead, he’s asking players to point fingers at themselves.

“I learned this like two years ago,” Williams said Wednesday. “OK teams, nobody leads. Good teams, coaches lead, and the great teams, the players lead.”

Williams will continue trying to lead the Bears (4-3) into a great future on Sunday against Arizona (4-4) at State Farm Stadium (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS). To get there, details will matter.

“We have to find ways to be better for ourselves,” he said. “There’s plays in that game where we have to execute. Whether my drop is wrong, whether the route depth is wrong, whether the hand placement and your helmet isn’t across the defender’s chest so we can get him moving and then cut up … so, there’s a lot of things that I think players, first and foremost, can correct.”

Williams carries the Bears’ flag in another phenomenal matchup of quarterbacks this week, against Kyler Murray. Like Williams a former No. 1 overall selection, Murray has led the Cardinals on game-winning drives and their first set of consecutive wins in three years. He’s coming off his first 300-yard outing since Oct. 30, 2022, before an ACL injury that ended that season.

If the Bears are going to keep pace with Murray, they’ll likely continue to lean on their offensive backfield. In last week’s loss, running back D’Andre Swift had a season-high 129 rushing yards, including his fourth rushing touchdown – a patient, breakaway burst to put Chicago on the board late in the third quarter. Swift has at least 115 scrimmage yards and a rushing touchdown in each of his last four games, a stretch in which the Bears are 3-1. Roschon Johnson also has four rushing touchdowns over his last four games.

Sunday’s contest is also a matchup of the NFL’s only active charter organizations, and one with plenty of 21st Century history, when the Bears were who Arizona thought they were, during Chicago’s 2006 Super Bowl season.


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By Zak Gilbert

Since his freshman year at the University of Colorado, Zak Gilbert has worked 30 years in sports, including 18 NFL seasons. He's spent time with four NFL teams, serving as head of communications for both the Raiders and Browns. A veteran of nine Super Bowls, he most recently worked six seasons in the NFL's New York league office.

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