Defense reaches new low
The Bears pass defense has reached a historic level of ineptitude.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner passed for five touchdowns in Sunday's 41-21 rout over the Bears at Soldier Field. That matched the five touchdown passes thrown by Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer against the Bears in Week 7.
History shows just how ugly that fact is.
Before they allowed Warner and Palmer to pass for five touchdowns in the past three weeks, the Bears had allowed only three quarterbacks in franchise history to accomplish the feat. On Sunday, Cardinals receivers Larry Fitzgerald (9 catches, 123 yards, 2 TDs), Steve Breaston (5 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD) and Early Doucet (4 catches, 31 yards) ran circles around the Bears.
"That's not us," Bears cornerback Zackary Bowman said. "We just have to start fast and keep it going. We're going to go back and watch film, get everything corrected, and move on."
First, let's look back at the only quarterbacks to pass for five touchdowns against the Bears.
1. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals, 11/8/09
2. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals, 10/25/09
3. Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers, 11/12/95
4. Tommy Kramer, Minnesota Vikings, 11/28/82
5. Steve Spurrier, San Francisco 49ers, 11/19/72
This week's opponent, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith, might be too excited to go to sleep before Thursday's game. He never has thrown more than three touchdown passes in a game, but the Bears might give him ample opportunities to set a personal record.
-Tom Musick
