Cardinals don't make plays when they needed to in loss to Bears

The Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears played on Sunday, Dec. 24 at Soldier Field in a game on the NFL Week 16 schedule.

Look back at coverage from the game.

Cardinals lose 12th game of the season

The Arizona Cardinals lost their 12th game of the season and will finish with one of the worst records in the NFL after a 27-16 loss to the Chicago Bears, who kept their playoff hopes alive.

The Cardinals trailed 21-0 in the first half, but scored 16 of the next 19 points to trail by a score with less than 6 minutes to play.

A failed fourth-down conversion essentially ended the game with 3:02 to play.

Kyler Murray was 24-for-38 for 230 yards. James Conner had 12 carries for 45 yards and five catches for 67 yards. The Cardinals didn't turn the ball over at all, but Murray was sacked twice.

Bears QB Justin Fields was 15-for-27 for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Fields added 97 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Khalil Herbert had 20 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown.

Jalen Thompson intercepted the arrant Fields pass.

Cardinals come up short on fourth

With 2:57 to play, the Arizona Cardinals went for it on fourth-and-6 from their own 27. They failed to gain the needed yards as Kyler Murray's pass sailed over Greg Dortch. The turnover on downs gave the ball to the Bears in field goal range.

At the two-minute warner, the Bears had a first-and-10 at the Cardinals 16.

Bears 24, Cardinals 16 (2:00 Q4)

Cardinals pull within a score

Greg Dortch used a zig-zag run to find the end zone after catching a pass for Kyler Murray for a 38-yard touchdown. The Cardinals attempted a two-point conversion, but it failed.

It looked like the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs near midfield, but a flag for holding against the Bears gave them new life. After that, Kyler Murray completed a short pass to Trey McBride before the throw to Dortch for the score.

Murray is now 19-for-28 passing for 185 yards and a touchdown. Chicago QB Justin Fields is 13-for-25 for 158 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Bears 24, Cardinals 16 (6:36 Q4)

Jalen Thompson nabs would-be touchdown throw

Justin Fields' pass to the end zone was intercepted by Jalen Thompson for the game's first turnover.

The interception ended a threat from the Bears, who had already milked 4:31 off the clock during the possession.

Chicago positioned itself to score when Fields scrambled 39 yards on third-and-10.

It was the fourth interception of the season for Thompson and the ninth of his career.

Bears 24, Cardinals 10 (10:22 Q4)

End of third quarter

Bears kicker Cairo Santos stayed perfect at home with a 49-yard field goal. He has made 23 of his last 24 attempts at home. Earlier this week, he agreed to a contract extension with the Bears.

After the teams combined for 21 points in the second quarter, the pace of the third was more measured. The teams each scored a field goal.

The quarter ended with the Cardinals preparing to punt from their own 25.

Bears 24, Cardinals 10 (End Q3)

Injury updates

Bears tight end Cole Kmet has an ankle injury and is doubtful to return. He has four catches for 107 yards with a long of 53 against the Cardinals.

Cardinals LB Zaven Collins, who was listed as questionable to return with a foot injury, has returned to the field.

Matt Prater good from 55

Matt Prater kicked a field goal of longer than 50 yards for the 80th time in his career.

The Cardinals kicker was good from 55 yards with 12:12 remaining in the third quarter. The score capped a drive of just 20 yards on the Cardinals' first possession of the half.

After giving up the first 21 points of the game, the Cardinals have scored 10 unanswered points.

Bears 21, Cardinals 10 (12:12 Q3)

Bears lead Cardinals at halftime

Most of the first half was all Bears.

Bears QB Justin Fields is 10-for-17 for 135 yards and a touchdown. The Cardinals' Kyler Murray is 10-for-17 for 85 yards and a touchdown.

James Conner leads Arizona with 44 yards on seven carries, while Khalil Herbert leads Chicago with 62 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Almost all of Arizona's offense came during the final 8 minutes of the half.

The Cardinals will receive the ball to start the second half.

Cardinals get on the board

After carrying the ball on the Cardinals' first three offensive plays, James Conner was relatively ignored. Finally, late in the second quarter, the plays started going his way again.

Conner caught a pass from Kyler Murray that went for a 16-yard touchdown.

Conner also had several carries on the drive, including a long of 16 yards.

Murray has been struggling to connect with his receivers, so the Conner carries were a bit of life.

Earlier in the quarter, Justin Fields completed a 1-yard pass to a wide-open Marcedes Lewis for the Bears' third touchdown of the game. The eight-play, 56-yard drive took 4:41 off the clock.

In the last 2 minutes of the half, there were three punts — two by Chicago and one by the Cardinals.

Bears 21, Cardinals 7 (2:27 Q2)

Bears add to lead over Cardinals

Chicago QB Justin Fields ran for 24 yards to set up an 11-yard touchdown run by Khalil Herbert. It was Herbert's first touchdown carry of the season.

The point after put the Bears up 14-0.

Kyler Murray threw two incompletions and another for a loss of 2 yards. The Cardinals were also penalized for a false start that left them punting from their own 18.

Chicago takes over at its own 46 — its best starting position of the day.

Bears 14, Cardinals 0 (11:53 Q2)

Bears lead after 1st quarter

The Chicago Bears first second-and-10 as the second quarter opens after Dennis Gardeck sacked Justin Fields on first down.

Fields is 4-for-7 passing for 85 yards in the game. Most of that came on a 56-yard pass to tight end Cole Kmet. Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is 2-for-5 for 15 yards. James Conner has four carries for 23 yards.

Neither team has turned the ball over.

Bears 7, Cardinals 0 (End Q1)

Kmet catch sets up score for the Bears

Bears tight end Cole Kmet adjusted and came back to the ball on a 53-yard completion from Justin Fields. It was a career-long reception for Kmet, who moved into fifth on the Bears list of catches by a tight end.

That play moved the ball from the Bears 26 to the Cardinals' 21.

The Bears benefitted from a hold call against the Cardinals and were awarded a first-and-goal from the 3. From there, Fields scrambled to the end zone.

Arizona wasn't able to answer in its possession. Blake Gillikin set the Bears up for a first-and-10 from their own 10 with his punt.

Bears 7, Cardinals 0 (3:12 Q1)

Bears-Cardinals trade punts

The Chicago Bears received the opening kickoff.

After picking up a first down on their first offensive play, the Bears stalled when receiver D.J. Moore left the game with an injury after a 6-yard catch.

Chicago punted and pinned the Cardinals inside their own 10.

James Conner picked up a first down for the Cardinals with carries on three consecutive plays. Kyler Murray was then sacked by Justin Jones for a loss of 9 yards. Arizona didn't recover from the lost yards and Blake Gillikin punted back to the Bears.

Cardinals 0, Bears 0 (9:12 Q1)

Bears-Cardinals inactives

Bears vs. Cardinals odds

The Bears are a 4.5-point favorite over the Cardinals in NFL Week 16 odds for the game, courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook.

Chicago is -200 on the moneyline, while Arizona is +165.

The over/under (point total) is set at 44.5 points.

NFL Week 16 picks: Saints at Rams | Bengals at Steelers | Bills at Chargers | Colts at Falcons | Packers at Panthers | Browns at Texans | Lions at Vikings | Commanders at Jets | Seahawks at Titans | Jaguars at Buccaneers | Cardinals at Bears | Cowboys at Dolphins | Patriots at Broncos | Raiders at Chiefs | Giants at Eagles | Ravens at 49ers | Power rankings | Odds | Schedule

Pregame reading

Fields and Murray: Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray can empathize with Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields

Here's the kicker: Matt Prater's long distance field goals make big difference for Arizona Cardinals

To the point: Quarterback Kyler Murray speaks frankly about overall play of Arizona Cardinals

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals' rally comes up short against Bears in Chicago