Injuries finally caught up to Bears defense in loss vs. Cardinals

The Chicago Bears didn't come into their road matchup against the Arizona Cardinals with immaculate vibes. A week prior, they lost a heartbreaker to the Washington Commanders on a last-second Hail Mary. Coming into Sunday's game, there was a bit of hope that they'd bounce back, but that was far from the case. They ended up being blown out 29-9 and are now 0-18 on Sunday road games with Matt Eberflus as the head coach.

The one thing keeping Eberflus in the good graces of the organization was how well the defense had been playing. So far this season, they haven't given up more than 21 points. However, they finally broke against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals offense. Arizona was able to do as they pleased against the Bears on most of their possessions.

Injuries did have something to do with it. They have started to pile up on the defensive side of the ball, and it caught up with them in this game.

Defensive end Montez Sweat (shin), cornerback Kyler Gordon (hamstring) and safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) were all inactive due to injury, and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson didn't start after his role at the end of the Commanders loss. He did get in the game, but he wasn't allowed to impact the early stages of the game.

Cornerback Jaylon Jones (shoulder) and defensive tackle Andrew Billings (chest) also left the game with injuries, which made it even worse for Chicago.

Sweat and Brisker being out are the big hits for Chicago. Sweat is the big-name pass rusher on this team and not having him significantly decreases their ability to get to the quarterback. Brisker is a great defensive back that helps them dominate in their passing defense. Without both, everybody is in a tough position.

It is hard for the Bears to win games because of their coaching staff. It isn't any better when the defense can't do their job right because of the fact that they don't have a few of their most impactful players. Injuries didn't stop on defense either. It's just less impactful when offensive players go down because they aren't that good on that side of the ball. Offensive tackles Braxton Jones (knee) and Kiran Amegadjie (calf) were all inactive due to injuries in last week's loss, while right tackle Darnell Wright exited the game with a knee injury on Sunday.

Injuries are no excuse for the way that this team has played over the last two weeks but it is clear that they caught up to the defensive side of the ball. It is hard to dominate without your most impactful players on defense.

The Bears must hope that they get a bit healthier before next Sunday's matchup with the New England Patriots. At 4-4, they need everybody as healthy as possible. This season already appears to be slipping away and any more bad news may put it out of reach.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Injuries finally caught up to Bears defense in loss vs. Cardinals