CHICAGO -- The Bears' 27-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday at Soldier Field won't win any awards. It wasn't pretty, and years from now, when the Ryan Poles rebuild has long been deemed a success or failure, it will elicit zero emotion.
But Sunday's Christmas Eve win might wind up being an important touchstone for where this Bears rebuild is headed.
With last week's fourth-quarter meltdown in Cleveland still fresh in their minds, the Bears responded with a statement about their collective resilience and the belief head coach Matt Eberflus has instilled in the group.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Chicago sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
There was no quit Sunday. With their playoff dreams dashed, the Bears could have taken the field on Christmas Eve, given half-effort, and prepared themselves for a "1-2-3 Cancun" final stretch of the season.
But they didn't let go of the rope.
The Bears' defense hounded Kyler Murray all evening and made the plays needed to finish off a bounce-back win that once again tilts things in favor of Eberflus dodging the axe.
In a season in which multiple coaches have had teams quit on them, the Bears have continued to fight. That's where this holiday report card begins:
CHICAGO BEARS
Coaching
Whatever message Eberflus is relaying to his players, it's clearly working.
The Bears have bounced back time and time again this season, battling through wave after wave of on and off-field adversity.
They responded again Sunday. The Bears jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and held off a Cardinals second-half rally to move to 6-9.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy once again got too cute in short-yardage situations as a failed fourth-quarter, wild-cat run on third-and-1 left the door open for the Cardinals -- a door the Bears' defense quickly shut. His play-calling at the end of the first half -- six straight passes that led to two three-and-outs -- also deserves critique. The Bears were gashing the Cardinals on the ground, and those quick three-and-outs gave the Cardinals two chances to trim the lead to 11 or seven before half.
Overall, it was a fine day for Eberflus and another odd one for Getsy.
EBERFLUS GRADE: B+
GETSY GRADE: C
Passing offense
The Bears took some shots down the field early in the game against the Cardinals. Those deep shots led to Cole Kmet notching a career-high in receiving yards at halftime (107).
But Kmet was knocked out of the game with a knee injury late in the second quarter, and DJ Moore injured his ankle on the second play of the game. While Moore returned to the game, he admitted that he was more of a "decoy" than anything.
With Kmet out and Moore hampered, quarterback Justin Fields and the passing attack stalled in the second half. Fields finished the game 15-for-27 for 170 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Fields once again did a good job of escaping pressure with a passer's mentality, keeping his eyes downfield to find guys in open space. His play fake and play-extension were critical on his 1-yard touchdown pass to Marcedes Lewis in the second quarter.
But Fields also threw an awful interception in the red zone during the second half when Cardinals safety Jalen Thompson picked off a pass for running back Khalil Herbert in the left side of the end zone.
Fields did OK with limited options in the passing game. The early deep shots were nice, but the interception is inexcusable.
Fields GRADE: C
Team GRADE: C
Rushing offense
One week after being bottled up by the Browns, the Bears' ground game got their groove back against the Cardinals.
With D'Onta Foreman out due to a personnel matter, Herbert got the bulk of the work and was the best he has looked since returning from an ankle injury in Week 11.
Herbert rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Fields added 97 and a score on the ground as well.
As a team, the Bears rushed for 250 yards on 6.4 yards per carry.
The Bears led the NFL in rushing last season behind a ground attack that looked similar to the one unleashed Sunday. It has been inconsistent at best in 2023, but it finally showed itself Sunday.
GRADE: A+
Passing defense
One sequence early in the game said everything you need to know about how the Bears' secondary would hold up against Kyler Murray.
On the Cardinals' second possession, Murray dropped back and ripped a pass to tight end Trey McBride down the right side. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson read it the whole way and easily swatted it away. Three plays later, rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson broke up a pass intended for Michael Wilson. Two plays later, slot corner Kyler Gordon blanketed Rondale Moore on a fade and broke up a third-down pass to force a punt.
Outside of two plays -- a blown coverage on a James Conner touchdown catch and poor tackling on a 39-yard score by Greg Dortch -- the Bears' secondary had their way Sunday.
Murray went 24-for-38 for 230 and two touchdowns. The numbers look solid, but it was an arduous 230 yards as the Bears made life tough on Murray and the Cardinals. The tackling was good and the coverage excellent.
The Bears get dinged for not forcing a turnover, but otherwise, it was a good day at the office for the pass defense.
GRADE: B
Run defense
The Cardinals rushed for 234 yards on the San Francisco 49ers last week. The combination of Conner and Murray is tough to deal with, but the Bears' top-ranked run defense was up to the task Sunday.
The Bears held the Cardinals to 93 yards on 20 carries (4.7 yards per carry) and only let Conner gain 45 yards on 12 carries (3.8 per tote).
Murray was the Cardinals' best weapon on the ground. The electric quarterback rushed five times for 32 yards for 6.4 yards per carry.
The Cardinals should have dusted the QB run off more, as their standard run game found little success against the Bears.
GRADE: A-