The Chicago Bears (1-4) defeated the Washington Commanders (2-3), 40-20, on Thursday Night Football to snap their 14-game losing streak.
The Bears had a dominant first half performance, where they held a 27-3 lead. But unlike the previous week, where they choked away a huge lead, Chicago was able to close it out in the second half (even though there was a scare in the third quarter). That included some standout performances from Justin Fields and DJ Moore.
Buy Bears TicketsHere’s a quick breakdown of what we saw during the game and how we graded the Bears in this win.
Quarterback: A-
Justin Fields had another strong outing against the Commanders, where he completed 15-for-29 passes for 282 yards with four touchdowns, zero turnovers and a 125.3 rating. Fields connected early and often with DJ Moore, and the pair were electric. He added 11 carries for 57 yards on the ground. Fields continues to play with confidence, and he’s certainly appeared to turn a corner.
Running backs: A
The run game has been working well for the Bears over the last couple of games, led by veteran Khalil Herbert, who had 10 carries for 76 yards (7.6 yards per carry). Unfortunately, the running back room was ravaged by injury with Herbert suffering an ankle injury, Roschon Johnson sustaining a concussion and Travis Homer suffering a hamstring injury. With D’Onta Foreman inactive, Chicago turned to fullback Khari Blasingame (eight carries for 26 yards) to finish out the game.
Wide receiver: A
DJ Moore alone could’ve earned the receiver group an A+. Moore showed everyone why he’s a top wideout in the league with eight catches for 230 yards — a career high and second most in NFL history — and two touchdowns. But Moore was the only receiver to catch a pass from Fields, as two others were targeted. Darnell Mooney’s zero catches on four targets brings the grade down a tick.
Tight end: A
Cole Kmet put together another solid outing against the Commanders, where he was the second-leading receiver behind Moore’s insane outing. Kmet had five catches for 42 yards and a touchdown. It was Kmet’s third touchdown reception in the last two games. Robert Tonyan also got in on the action with two catches for 10 yards.
Offensive line: A-
Don’t look know, but the Bears offensive line had an impressive outing against a dominant Commanders defensive line. Fields had time to throw the ball — and delivered — and the run game continued to shine. The return of left guard Teven Jenkins definitely helped, as did the performances of rookie right tackle Darnell Wright and right guard Nate Davis. But Fields was sacked three times (which was best case scenario against that group).
Defensive line: B+
The defensive line churned out its best performance of the season, sacking Sam Howell three times (Yannick Ngakoue, DeMarcus Walker, Rasheem Green). Walker had a solid outing with four tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and two QB hits. Also, rookie Gervon Dexter had a standout performance with one tackle, one pass breakup and two QB hits; Justin Jones also added a couple of QB hits and pass breakup; and Andrew Billings had a tackle for loss.
Linebacker: B
T.J. Edwards led the Bears with 10 tackles, and he added one sack and one QB hit on the evening, and he nearly had an interception. Edwards’ sack on third down helped force a Commanders punt, where getting off the field on third down had been an issue. Tremaine Edmunds wasn’t far behind with nine tackles, tied for second most. But Edmunds did have some tackling issues. and was beaten by Terry McLaurin for a 32-yard reception.
Secondary: B+
Considering the Bears were without their top three defensive backs in Jaylon Johnson, Eddie Jackson and Kyler Gordon, they did a solid job containing the Commanders passing attack. Rookie Terell Smith and Greg Stroman Jr. shined in increased roles. Smith, who totaled six tackles, forced and recovered a fumble in the second half. Stroman had an interception of Sam Howell in the first half, which led to extra points heading into halftime for Chicago. He also had seven tackles, including one tackle for loss, one sack, on QB hit and one pass breakup.
Special Teams: A
Cairo Santos remains Mr. Reliable for the Bears. He connected on all four of his field goals against the Commanders — from distances of 22, 36, 43 and 37 yards — and all four of his extra point attempts. Trenton Gill had three punts for 131 yards (43.7 average), including one inside the 20-yard line.
Coaching: A
The Bears coaching staff remains on the hot seat, but they certainly helped cool things with an impressive outing on Thursday night. Matt Eberflus deserves credit — he had his team prepared to go on a short week on the road and didn’t coach scared in a game where his team desperately needed a win. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy had another solid game plan, where he finally realized running the offense through Justin Fields and DJ Moore will produce great things.
