The Chicago Bears return to the place where their 2024 season began to unravel when they visit the Washington Commanders on Monday night.
In last season’s Week 8 matchup, Caleb Williams led a touchdown drive to give the Bears a 15-12 lead with 25 seconds remaining. Jayden Daniels completed two passes to get just shy of midfield and then threw a Hail Mary on the final play that Noah Brown caught for the game-winning touchdown.
Making matters worse, replays showed Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson taunting Commanders fans after the snap and arriving late to the action.
“It was harsh, it hurt my feelings,” Stevenson, still with the Bears, said of the fan reaction to the play. “But just use it as fuel.”
Chicago, which had won three straight games, lost 10 in a row and finished 5-12, while the Commanders secured a wild-card spot and went to the NFC title game.
New coach Ben Johnson and his Bears (2-2) are looking ahead, not back, focusing on coming off their bye and building on a 25-24 Week 4 road win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Honestly, there hasn’t been a ton of talk as far as what happened last season,” cornerback Kyler Gordon said. “I don’t think anyone is really focused on that except for like going out there and winning.”
Commanders coach Dan Quinn concurred, saying: “That’s last year’s story. It was awesome; we loved it. But it doesn’t apply to this week’s game at all unless we get into that exact scenario and that exact situation.”
Chicago rallied to beat Las Vegas despite generating just 271 yards of offense. The Bears’ offense is ranked 17th in the NFL (328 yards per game), including 24th in rushing (102.3 yards per game).
Williams has completed 81 of 130 passes (62.3 percent) for 927 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions. He has been sacked seven times.
The Commanders are tied for third in the NFL with 15 sacks, while Dorance Armstrong is tied for third with five.
“Offensively, we’re still a work in progress,” Johnson said. “Some things we’re doing well. Some things we’re not. The inconsistent nature with where we’re playing, we’re shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Chicago’s defense is giving up 379.5 yards per game and 29.3 points per game, both bottom six in the league.
The Commanders (3-2) are trending upward. Daniels returned after missing two games with a left knee injury and passed for 231 yards and a touchdown in Washington’s 27-10 win at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.
Rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt rushed for 111 yards and two scores, and Deebo Samuel caught eight passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. The former 49er is ninth in the NFL with 30 catches.
“I would just say obviously as a playmaker, it kind of just spoke for itself when we traded for him,” Daniels said of Samuel. “Everything he did in San Fran(cisco), he’s doing that here. So, we find ways to just get him the ball and let him make plays.”
Washington’s offense is ranked 13th in the NFL (349 yards per game) and could get some help on Monday.
Brown (groin/knee), who missed the past three games, returned to practice and was limited Thursday. Wide receiver Terry McLaurin (quad), who has missed two games, did not practice Thursday.
“With the extra day, we’ll just kind of work our way with Terry to see where we’re at … with he and Noah both,” Quinn said.
The Bears did not practice Thursday, so participation was estimated on their injury report. Three starters — defensive back Jaquan Brisker (quad), defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee) and right tackle Darnell Wright (elbow) — were listed as DNP (did not practice).
