Instant takeaways from the Arizona Cardinals' dominant win over the Chicago Bears

ARIZONA – The Arizona Cardinals delivered an all-around performance at home against the Chicago Bears, defeating them 29-9 in a stress-free manner.

The Cardinals' defense showed up, holding Caleb Williams and the Bears to just three field goals and just 241 total yards, a recipe for a strong win in front of their home crowd. Arizona has now won three straight games and will improve to a 5-4 lead atop the NFC West.

But Sunday's game provided some interesting signs of growth for the Cardinals. The victory was the result of some rather surprising factors. Here are the lessons from a confident victory in the desert.

Arizona's thin defensive line has often come under fire so far in the 2024 season. That's understandable, as they rank near the bottom of the league in almost every measurable performance statistic when it comes to putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Sunday's game was the opposite. After recording just four sacks in the last three contests, Arizona's D-line was a threat as Williams' attempts to move away from sacks were largely unsuccessful.

The Cardinals recorded six sacks on the day, their season high. Six different players were credited with at least half a sack, with Zaven Collins managing two and rookie DL Xavier Thomas managing one and a half sacks.

It was a team effort, with defensive coordinator Nick Rallis providing additional pressure through various appearances. Chicago's Williams, who has made a name for himself by escaping pressure, generally held back well and after a few early completions appeared to have trouble finding his receivers due to the intense pressure.

The Cardinals' defensive line certainly needs a boost – general manager Monti Ossenfort has yet to address that plight, but what Rallis was able to do with his unit, and the comprehensive, disciplined execution from Arizona's pass rushers, was the difference in this game the six sacks gave the Cardinals a 45-yard drive.

It was a bit of a sore point with Cardinals fans, media and the like. Arizona, a team built to run the ball and control time, struggled to establish it as the main path to confident victories.

On Sunday, the Cardinals were able to rack up an astounding 213 yards and three touchdowns on 34 attempts, for a total of 6.3 yards per carry. The offensive line was dominant and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing had excellent control of the ground game.

While much of their success on the ground once again came courtesy of stud running back James Conner, who had his third 100-yard day of 2024, they didn't suffer from Conner being the only competent player on the field.

Emari Demercado scored a huge 53-yard score just before the end of the first half after following two pulling linemen, and rookie Trey Benson ran for his first career NFL touchdown after Conner briefly left to grab one undergo concussion examination.

Conner would clear protocol and return to the game, but overall Arizona's backs and line blocking were exceptional for them, and they surpassed 200 yards without seeing quarterback Kyler Murray use his legs more than twice as the signal caller ran just 6 yards .

By all accounts, this was a Shanahan-style winning game, as the Cardinals ran lengthy, time-consuming drives and rarely had to rely on the pass to be successful. Murray was an efficient 13-for-20 player but threw for just 154 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.

It was the first game this season in which Murray didn't throw a touchdown pass, but the fact that he never needed to was a testament to Petzing's excellent game plan and the offense's near-perfect execution.

The Cardinals haven't played with the lead very often in 2024, and three of their wins have been comeback victories. Sunday's game showed what this offense can mean and was the blueprint for how Arizona plans to dominate and win games.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon is known for his work developing defensive backs. Sometimes it feels like this defensive unit often gives players a lot of space or is too physically aggressive, which leads to penalties.

Admittedly, part of this is due to the lack of pressure on opposing quarterbacks. It's difficult for even the best cornerbacks and safeties to cover for extended periods of time, especially in off-script situations.

But Sunday's game was an outstanding performance by Arizona's secondary. Veteran Budda Baker recorded a whopping 12 tackles (10 solo), but it was the younger defenders who shined in the win.

Rookie corner Max Melton recorded two tackles and one PBU, corner starling Thomas V also had a PBU, making six tackles.

Second-year cornerback Garrett Williams, who has performed well all season and is one of the top-coverage defensive backs in the NFL in 2024, hit five tackles with two passes to go.

They held Caleb Williams to just 216 yards through the air, and the first overall pick completed just 22 of his 41 passes, giving him a poor passer rating of 68.9 and 5.3 yards per attempt against Arizona's secondary.

A constant dose of pressure makes the job much easier for young secondaries, but Arizona's cornerbacks played disciplined, stuck to their assignments and played clean football. As a team, the Cardinals committed just two penalties, both on offense.

This is a recipe for success for the future. If the young defensive backs continue to develop under Gannon and Rallis and add pass-rush reinforcements, the Cardinals' defense could be a candidate to make the leap from a bottom-feeder to one of the more elite units in the NFL.

They certainly did their part on Sunday.