The Bears entered Week 8 off of a bye on a high following back to back blowout wins. All of that goodwill came crashing down today. The offense regressed mightily. Play calling and self-inflicted penalties played big parts in the Bears’ meltdown today.
The offense looked lost for most of the game as the offensive line had problems keeping Caleb Williams clean. Caleb looked rattled for most of the game as well as he missed multiple wide open receivers. The offense only generated 4 completed passes heading into the 4th quarter. Caleb picked it up in the 4th quarter. He made some clutch throws. These throws got the Bears in position for scores. His 29-yd completion to DJ Moore put the Bears in prime position to score(more on that later). Williams finished 10 for 24 for 131 yards while adding 10 rushes for 41 yards. By far the most productive player today was D’Andre Swift who racked up 129 yards on the ground. What killed the Bears today was play calling and penalties. There was a 4th & 1 in the 2nd quarter on the Bears 40-yd line. OC Shane Waldron called a quick screen pass to DJ Moore. The play got blown up. And then there’s the 3rd & 1 play at the WAS 1-yd line. That play was set up by the incredible 29-yd pass from Caleb to DJ Moore to get them in position. Shane Waldron once again got cute & thought to hand off to OL Doug Kramer who fumbled & lost the football. What made that play worse was Roschon Johnson was the RB for that play.
The defense did all they could despite the Commanders racking up 481 yards of offense. The bend but don’t break defense held Washington to field goals right up until the final play of the game. Jayden Daniels heaved a 50 yard hail mary pass that got deflected right into the hands of Noah Brown for the win. Daniels was spectacular despite the rib injury as he finished 21 of 38 for 326 yards and 1 TD. He also added 8 rushes for 52 yards. Daniels effectively locked up the Offensive Rookie of the Year with that performance today on the national stage. Montez Sweat made his presence felt while Tyrique Stevenson had a rough day.
Top Stars of the Game:
- Jayden Daniels, WAS – 21 of 38, 326 yards, 1 TD; 8 rushes, 52 yards
- Terry McLaurin, WAS – 5 catches, 125 yards
- Daron Payne, WAS – 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 QB hit, 1 sack
- D’Andre Swift, CHI – 18 rushes, 129 yards, 1 TD
- Montez Sweat, CHI – 4 tackles, 2 TFL, 3 QB hits, 1 sack
- Tory Taylor, CHI – 7 punts, 48.7 yd average, 5 punts inside 20
Grading The Bears:
Offense: The offense looked putrid today. Only 42% of pass attempts were completed today. The run game did put up 196 yards today with D’Andre Swift accounting for 129 of those yards. Caleb Williams looked shaky for most of the game. He missed several open receivers. However, he came up with some big passes in the 4th quarter. The offensive line took a huge step back today and suffered another injury as Braxton Jones went down. The OL also allowed 2 sacks & 7 QB hits. Grade: D+
Defense: The defense did herculean work today as they held the Commanders to 4 FGs right up until the very last play of the game. They did have their problems with Jayden Daniels today as he racked up 378 yards from scrimmage. They also allowed 5.3 yards per rush on the ground. At the end of the day they did the work to keep the game within reach all afternoon. The absence of Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon was huge today. Grade: B
Special Teams: Tory Taylor was once again one of the stars for the Bears as he pinned 5 punts inside the 20 and had a 48.7 yard average on his punts with his longest punt being 68 yards. The special teams coverage forced a fumble early in the game. The special teams also played a role in keeping the game close. Grade: B+
Coaching: This loss is on the coaching. The coaching staff had two weeks to prepare for the Commanders and once again the team got off to a poor start offensively. The defense got exposed for big plays. If not for a penalty and a challenge being upheld, the Bears probably would have been blown out. Shane Waldron had some truly unforgivable calls and I also felt the defense didn’t dial up more pressure on Jayden Daniels. That could’ve been due to Brisker & Gordon being out but the Commanders gashed the Bears for 481 yards of offense. Grade: D-
What’s Next:
The Bears are going to have to figure out the offensive line woes and the play calling in a hurry. All the improvements the team seemed to be making offensively was washed away with today’s dismal performance. Shane Waldron & Matt Eberflus are once again on the hot seat and rightfully so. The Bears will visit the desert to play the Arizona Cardinals who picked up a last second win of their own today against the Dolphins. If the Bears can’t fix their issues the rest of the season will get real dark as 7 of their next 10 games against teams with a +.500 record. 6 of those will be against division opponents and they’ll also have a trip to the west coast to play the 49ers. What seemed like a possibly bright future became a lot more murky after today’s soul crushing loss.
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