Arizona Cardinals fizzle against Chicago Bears, lose 28-13

In Week 15 of the 2012 NFL season, the Cardinals came up on the losing side (again), this time against the visiting Chicago Bears by the score of 28-13.

Rookie QB Ryan Lindley received the start today, and went 17-30 for 141 yards with 0 TD's and 1 INT. He was pulled early in the 2nd half for the newly signed Brian Hoyer, fresh from Pittsburgh. Hoyer ended the day 11-19 for 105 yards with 0 TD's and 1 INT. Star WR Larry Fitzgerald had one of his better games of the season, taking in 8 receptions for 111 yards. However, the run game failed to give the offense any sort of attack on the ground. Larod Stephens-Howling led the Cardinals RB's with 11 rushes for a measly 20 yards.

On the defensive side, the Cardinals defense actually put up a much better effort than what the final score would suggest. Out of the 28 points scored by the Bears, 14 were due to offensive blunders. One came from RB Beanie Wells' fumble in the endzone, which was recovered by CB Zack Bowman for the TD, and the other came from CB Charles Tillman's pick-6 off Ryan Lindley. RB Matt Forte added 6 of his own for the Bears, ending his day at 12 rushes for 88 yards, and one TD.

The Cardinals Special Teams ended up scoring the only TD for the team. Late in the 4th quarter, K Olindo Mare's FG was blocked, and picked up by S Justin Bethel, who subsequently ran it 82 yards for the score. P Dave Zastudil also had a big day, breaking the NFL Record for most punts downed inside the opponent's redzone, notching his 43rd of the season.

Next week, the Cardinals travel to San Francisco to take on the rival 49ers in the season finale. Finally, after a disappointing season, the end is near.

Let's hope we can at least finish the season on a high note.