PHOENIX – The Bears upcoming game against the Arizona Cardinals feels bigger than it did a week ago.

There’s heightened importance following a tough loss to the Washington Commanders where the Bears took a late lead and then gave it up on a Hail Mary pass that never should’ve been complete.

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• Bears injury report: Braxton Jones, Jaquan Brisker among those ruled out vs. Cardinals
• What came of ‘grown-man talk’ in Bears captain’s meeting with Matt Eberflus after loss in Washington
• How Tyrique Stevenson, Bears defensive backs have responded after Hail Mary
• Why Shane Waldron, Bears offense has struggled with slow starts

The fallout from it has been massive, consuming this practice week from a media perspective. We’re still waiting to see if Tyrique Stevenson will face a consequence of some kind – he could be left out of the starting lineup for his role in the final play – against Arizona.

There’s also the element of staying above .500 and creating some margin for error before a brutally difficult stretch starting in Week 10. They’ve also got to prove they can beat teams above the bottom rung.

And, after a week of players questioning his decisions and fans wondering if he’s the right man for his job, Matt Eberflus must get his team back headed in the right direction.

Eberflus was asked about that on Friday and he responded, as you’d expect, by saying that every game is big. That’s true, but this has become more of a statement game than originally thought.

Here are five questions that must be answered in this intraconference clash at State Farm Stadium.

 Can Bears solve O-line issues?

The Bears are banged up along the offensive front. Braxton Jones has been ruled out with a knee injury. His backup, Kiran Amegadjie, is out with a calf strain. The front struggled mightily after Jones left, especially when the Bears were down to their third option at left guard.

They’d like to avoid similar issues against the Cardinals. While Eberflus inferred that Teven Jenkins (knee) has a good chance to play, he has struggled to finish games healthy. Losing him for any stretch puts a strain on the guard spot, an area without a natural backup on the left. They might have to move Matt Pryor from the right and put Nate Davis in his starting spot, making the Bears worse at two positions.

Larry Borom is in line to return off injured reserve and start immediately at left tackle. While that doesn’t sound ideal, Borom has plenty of experience and has been practicing for a while preparing for a return to game action. While he isn’t at Jones’ level, he should be able to function well on the left flank.

This isn’t an ideal situation against a Cardinals unique, multiple-front defense expected to blitz a ton, but Arizona’s defense doesn’t feature game-wrecking edge rushers prevalent on other teams.

It’s possible the Bears will only be down one starting lineman and, if Borom can hold up, the offense could showcase some explosive elements.

How will Tyrique Stevenson respond?

We don’t know if Tyrique Stevenson will start on Sunday, or if a brief demotion to send a message that his actions on the Hail Mary – he had his back to the field when the ball was snapped and failed to cover the receiver who ultimately caught the touchdown pass – or if he’ll play most every snap as usual.

The second-year pro will be a primary defensive contributor no matter what happens, and the Bears need him at his best to reach their defensive standard. He needs to be in the proper headspace to play his best. He took accountability for his mistake and those around him say that he has responded well and is moving forward.

How he does will be noteworthy. Stevenson’s a passionate guy who plays right on the edge, though he has gotten in trouble with penalties on occasion where he loses his cool. Can he maintain his edge and the good play that comes with it, while staying out of trouble? That will be his test on Sunday and throughout the season.

Can Bears contain ‘nightmare’ QB?

Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington thinks highly of Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray. That was clear when he was discussing him on Thursday afternoon.

“You could describe him as a nightmare for opposing offenses, defensive coordinators,” Washington said. “This young man has tremendous speed, arm talent, he can change the arm angle against the rush. They’ve done an excellent job of protecting him and he’s done a great job of protecting the football.”

Those are strong terms complimenting a signal caller who has been so-so in recent years, but Murray’s playing some of his best football right now. He has completed 67.2 percent of his passes this season for 1,638 yards, 11 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also has 41 carries for 344 rushing yards and two TDs.

This will be the Bears’ second straight week dealing with a mobile quarterback who can run and buy time in the pocket. They hit Jayden Daniels a great deal, but he still broke free on some well-timed runs and completed a few big pass plays downfield.

Murray is a similar talent with has explosive targets in Trey McBride and Marvin Harrison Jr. and a tough runner in James Conner.

“Not a lot of opportunities for interceptions,” Washington said. “So, everything that we aspire to do — and that’s get hits on the quarterback — to put him in third-down situations that would take advantage of we’ve been able to do on third down, we want to definitely work to get that done and it also starts with defending the run.”

Will Caleb Williams find proper form?

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams seemed a bit off in Washington. He wasn’t accurate and seemed out of sync with his receivers at times, though he did crank things up in the fourth quarter. Those disjointed instances are rarities even at this early point in his NFL career, and didn’t occur at all during the Bears three-game winning streak.

Williams will be in a controlled environment whether the State Farm Stadium roof is open or not, going up against a Cardinals defense that ranks No. 27 in pass defense and has given up 23 explosive pass plays.

Williams works best when partnering with a solid run game, and D’Andre Swift should have some room to run against Arizona.

The USC product understands this is an important game but will resist the impulse that he has to put the team on his back and carry it out of a funk created in Washington.

“I don’t think the thought of ‘it’s time to be Superman’ kind of pops in my head,” Williams said. “I think there are times where you go out there and make plays and everyone calls it a Superman play. But, without the small things of the details that go into it – whether it’s a broken play or it’s just a routine play while going through your reads, there’s no sense of one Superman person on the team. I think the trust and belief comes from the teammates and going out there and executing at a high level.”

Can Bears (finally) start fast?

The Bears offense has been so bad early in games that I wrote an entire story about it. They’ve scored 10 points in the first quarter all season, and they have 11 punts and seven three-and-outs thus far on their first or second series of a game.

None of that is good. And because each game plays out a bit differently, it’s hard to identify common themes causing such issues. The Bears haven’t run the ball particularly well early, with Swift taking time to get revved up. They’ve also hurt themselves with pre-snap penalties that have put them behind the sticks.

That has to change. The Bears can’t routinely fall behind early and expect to catch up all the time, especially against better teams. Starting fast is again a point of emphasis and would go a long way in helping the Bears get their first road win this season and just the fourth of the Eberflus era.