4 Andy Dalton interceptions, frigid rain, headset malfunctions — and no Justin Fields — add up to another woeful Chicago Bears loss at Soldier Field

At some point on a frigid, rainy Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field …

In front of booing Chicago Bears fans and apathetic ones who eventually bolted early to the warmth of their cars …

Between Bears quarterback Andy Dalton’s first and fourth interceptions …

In the middle of the Bears’ sixth loss in seven games, a 33-22 blowout against the Arizona Cardinals …

The Bears’ headsets bridging play calls from offensive coordinator Bill Lazor to Dalton went out.

As if the 4-8 Bears, depleted of several of their best players, needed more issues to deal with, Bears coach Matt Nagy was on the sideline screaming play calls from Lazor in the coaches’ box to Dalton on the field.

“Like high school out there,” Nagy said of the situation before he obtained a walkie-talkie that allowed him to relay the call from Lazor to Dalton’s headset. It was the second time in two games at Soldier Field that Nagy referenced a headset issue, and this one lasted most of the second half, he said.

“We handled it well with the situation that it was,” Dalton said. “But you’d like the headsets to work at all times.”

It was that kind of woeful day for the Bears — one that almost everybody saw coming against the team with the best record in the NFL, but woeful all the same.

While the 10-2 Cardinals brought back quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins from injuries, the Bears had Dalton filling in for injured quarterback Justin Fields, throwing to a receiving corps that was missing Allen Robinson and Marquise Goodwin. Fields’ absence — due to not being medically cleared to return from broken ribs — made for a far less compelling game for Bears fans already looking past this season to the future.

The Bears had some success moving the ball behind running back David Montgomery’s 90 rushing yards and 51 receiving yards. Dalton completed 26 of 41 passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns.

The problem, of course, was the four picks, resulting in three Cardinals touchdowns and a field goal. It was the fifth four-interception game of Dalton’s career and the first time a Bears quarterback threw four picks in a game since Matt Barkley had five in 2016.

Another telling stat?

“I had two tackles today,” Dalton said. “Unfortunately.”

Dalton injured his left, non-throwing hand while making one of the tackles, trying to end Budda Baker’s 77-yard return on the Cardinals’ second pick.

Safety Jalen Thompson had the first interception on the Bears’ first drive, when Dalton’s pass bounced off the hand of wide receiver Jakeem Grant. The Cardinals scored 2 minutes, 40 seconds later on Murray’s 20-yard pass to Hopkins.

“I left it a little high and a little behind him,” Dalton said. “The thing that is unfortunate in this league is that tipped balls usually don’t find the ground. They usually find the other team’s hands. We saw that three times today.”

Baker’s interception came on the Bears’ second drive when tight end Cole Kmet had the football within his grasp but lost it when he rolled backward. Murray scored on a 9-yard run after a five-play drive.

“We collectively had some drops,” Kmet said. “Mine, I thought, kind of set the tone for the rest of the game, so I put that on myself.

“The ball is wet and kind of just slips through, and you’ve just got to be able to focus and be more focused on catching the ball than what you’re going to do after the ball. I just have to be better about that.”

Dalton’s third interception came when Chandler Jones got past Kmet to tip a pass, and Byron Murphy Jr. easily jumped in front of it.

Cardinals defensive lineman Zach Allen had a nifty one-handed grab for the fourth pick, jumping in front of a screen pass intended for Montgomery that Dalton, with an obstructed view, thought he had. Murray scored on a 3-yard run two plays later to go up 33-14.

The short fields for the Cardinals proved too much for a Bears defense that was missing Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks and has continued questions in the secondary.

“Andy has done a great job in his career of being smart with the football,” Nagy said. “He’s very smart. He knows where to go. He knows when to get the football out. There’s no stat in the NFL for interceptions that occur that aren’t on the quarterback, but there probably should be.

“(Dalton) wants to put us in good situations and positions, and he tried today. It’s unfortunate the turnovers happened. It’s a part of football. But he continued to battle. He battled the entire game, and he was a leader with these guys. He never stopped fighting, and you’ve got to give him a lot of credit for that.”

Dalton’s performances in place of Fields — including the Bears’ only victory during the last eight weeks against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving — certainly mean a lot to the 11th-year NFL veteran, who is on a one-year deal and trying to prove he’s still a quality starter.

And a better showing against the Cardinals in the middle of the bad weather, his teammates’ drops and the headset issues probably would have helped with morale within the team and the city.

But in the grand scheme, in the middle of this losing season, evaluating Fields’ growth is what would have made Sunday’s game meaningful. Fields’ status as the Bears prepare to head to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers on “Sunday Night Football” will be watched closely after he was limited in practice last week.

Fields might not be able to end the misery, but at least he can gain experience for whatever is ahead for the Bears.

“The only thing we can do is keep fighting and sticking together,” Nagy said. “I know it can sound old. I know it can sound monotonous. I gotcha.

“But when you’re in these moments, when you’re in that locker room together and you’re fighting together … we’re always going to give it everything that we’ve got. That’s all we can do, no matter who we’re playing.”