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The Chicago Bears scored a field goal as time expired to defeat the Washington Commanders on a rainy Monday night, 25-24. After starting the season 0-2, the Bears have won three straight games.
Chicago running back D’Andre Swift was spectacular in this one. He finished the game with 108 rushing yards, 67 receiving yards, and a touchdown reception. On top of that, quarterback Caleb Williams completed 17 of 29 passes with 252 yards and two total touchdowns.
The Bears looked really good from the start as they put together a nine-play drive that ended in a field goal to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. D’Andre Swift accounted for 21 of Chicago’s 41 yards on that drive.
The Commanders seemed prepared to respond to that scoring drive when they made a critical error. At the Chicago 21-yard line, quarterback Jayden Daniels threw an interception that was returned 30 yards to the Bears’ 34-yard line. That was Jayden Daniels’ first interception of the season.
A promising Bears offense was derailed by a penalty. An offensive pass interference occurred on a play that took the Bears to the Washington 21-yard line, so instead of having a 1st-and-10 down just outside the red zone, they were stuck with a 1st-and-20 at the 42. That mistake forced them to settle for another field goal to increase their lead to six points.
As bad as the Bears’ early mistakes were, they were nothing compared to Washington’s. Running back Bill Croskey-Merritt was stripped of the ball, which was picked up by the Bears at the Commanders’ 35-yard line. This was Croskey-Merritt’s second consecutive game with a lost fumble.
With good field position, Chicago had no problems scoring the first touchdown of the game. From one yard out, quarterback Caleb Williams found the end zone on a designed keeper for a 13-0 lead.
The commanders’ offensive finally came to life at this point. Shortly after a facemask on the Bears, Jayden Daniels hit wide receiver Chris Moore near the side of the end zone for an acrobatic 22-yard touchdown catch to cut the lead to 13-7. Moore, who had three receptions on the season tonight, finished the game with three receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears had their first big decision of the night just over halfway through the second quarter. Facing a 4th-and-1 at the Washington 31-yard line, a Caleb Williams pass intended for wide receiver Rome Odunze was knocked down by a Commanders defender, resulting in a turnover.
Bill Croskey-Merritt did everything he could to make up for that earlier fumble. He recorded four straight touches for 24 yards to take the offense into enemy territory. Jayden Daniels then hit tight end Zach Ertz for a ten-yard pickup to get to the Chicago 35, bringing us to the two-minute warning. The Commanders finally attempted a 50-yard field goal, which they missed with 1:10 left in the half.
Although Washington forced a three-pointer to get the ball back. They couldn’t make anything happen with only 25 seconds left on the clock, so they took a knee and went into halftime trailing 13-7.
Coming out of the break, the Commanders got closer and closer to fixing this. They had an eight-play, 25-yard drive that allowed them to attempt another field goal from 53 yards out. This time, kicker Matt Gay passed the ball between the posts to close the gap, 13-10.
Chicago had an answer. Caleb Williams connected with receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III for 21 and 37 yards, respectively, to reach the red zone. Unfortunately for the Windy City faithful, a touchdown was wiped off the board by an illegal formation penalty. That resulted in Caleb Williams suffering a seven-yard sack, forcing the Bears to settle for a 41-yard field goal and a 16-10 lead.
Washington had no problem responding to the six-point deficit. They improvised a nine-play, 84-yard drive that culminated with a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Luke McCaffrey to give the Commanders their first lead of the night, 17-16. This was McCaffrey’s third touchdown in his last four games.
The Bears had a chance to retake the lead, but made big mistakes on consecutive plays. On third-and-1, Caleb Williams missed a snap from downtown, resulting in a five-yard loss. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 48-yard field goal attempt by Jake Moody was blocked, allowing the Commanders to take control at their own 37.
Washington did an excellent job of capitalizing on that extra possession. Jayden Daniels connected with rookie wide receiver Jaylin Lane for a 37-yard pickup to reach the Chicago seven-yard line. Two downs later, Daniels hit Zach Ertz in the back of the end zone for a touchdown and a 24-16 lead.
This time, the Bears knew how to answer the call. On third and fourth at his own 45-yard line, D’Andre Swift had a 55-yard catch-and-run that took him to the house for a 24-22 deficit. However, Caleb Williams was unable to complete a pass on the two-point attempt, so Chicago found itself trailing with 10:26 left in the game.
After an exchange of punts, Jayden Daniels hit running back Jeremy McNichols for a 15-yard gain on a third-and-13 to give the Commanders a new series of downs at the Chicago 49. Soon, they were tasked with a third-and-one with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter, but the handoff between Daniels and Bill Croskey-Merritt was broken up, leading to a fumble that was picked up by the Bears. That was Washington’s third turnover of the night, which matched the total from its first five games of the season.
The Bears gained five yards before the two-minute warning, which meant they had a third-and-five at their own 49-yard line. Caleb Williams completed a six-yard pass for a new series of downs. D’Andre Swift then gained 14 yards on consecutive runs to reach the Washington 31 with 1:22 remaining. After the Commanders consumed their final timeout, D’Andre Swift ran 15 yards to enter the red zone. From there, they were able to run the clock and kick a 38-yard field goal to win the game as time expired.
With that loss, the Commanders fell to 3-3, meaning they currently have sole possession of second place in the NFC East.
*Author’s Note: All information and statistics are tracked in real time and provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com and ESPN.com*
