In a Monday night showdown, the Chicago Bears were looking for revenge after the Washington Commanders beat them with a last-second Hail Mary in last year’s affair. The Bears ended up taking the game by a score of 25-24.
The first quarter started off great for the Bears, who went down the field and got a field goal on the first possession of the game. A Jaquon Brisker interception of Jayden Daniels deep in Chicago territory led to another Jake Moody field goal, moving the score to 6-0 but keeping Washington close.
Commanders running back Jacory Crosky-Merrit fumbled on the next possession for Washington at the very end of the first quarter, leading to a Caleb Williams rushing touchdown to extend the Chicago lead to 13-0. Washington started to find their groove on the next possession, which ended in a 22-yard Chris Moore touchdown. The rest of the second quarter went by without any scoring with the Bears offense getting stopped on back-to-back possessions, while Matt Gay doinked a field goal off the left upright for Washington.
Both teams got field goals on their first possessions of the second half, making it 16-10. Washington was able to get a touchdown on their next drive on a fake screen to Deebo Samuel that left Luke McCaffrey wide open in a Bears blown coverage for a 33-yard touchdown catch to give Washington the lead, 17-16.
The Bears went down the field to start the fourth quarter and ended up stalling the drive before the end zone, leading to a Jake Moody field goal attempt. The angle of the kick was low, resulting in a block by Da’ron Payne, leaving the Bears with nothing to show for the possession. Washington then drove down the field, finishing with a Zach Ertz slant route that got caught for a touchdown to give Washington a 24-16 lead with eleven minutes left to play.
On the next Chicago possession, D’Andre Swift caught a 5 yard out route out of the backfield, broke a tackle, and outran the Washington defense for a 55-yard touchdown. Chicago went for two to tie up the game, but failed, keeping the score at 24-22 in favor of the Commanders. This possession was followed by punts by both teams, giving Washington the ball back with six minutes to go and a two point lead.
Just needing to run down the clock and not turn the ball over, Washington began driving into Chicago territory before Daniels lost control of the snap and fumbled on a routine handoff to Crosby-Merit. Nahshon Wright pounced on the football for Chicago, giving the Bears good field position as they attempted to drive and kick a game-winning field goal. The Bears gashed Washington in the run game on their final drive, draining the clock and setting up an opportunity for newly-signed Jake Moody, whose 38-yard attempt was good for a 25-24 Bears win.
A key takeaway from the game from the Bears side: Ben Johnson’s offense is much improved from last year’s. Chicago also needed to play a cleaner game (penalties almost cost them the game). The Commanders had no answer for Bears running back D’Andre Swift, who found success for the first time this season against the Washington defense. Daniels and the Commanders offense looked good outside of the three turnovers, but the mistakes ultimately caused them to lose and drop to 3-3, while Chicago moved to 3-2 on the season. The game sparked some red flags for Washington’s defense as their inconsistency plagued them throughout Monday night.