FEDEX – There’s natural disasters, there’s the sinking of the Titanic and there’s what happened Thursday night in Washington, DC.
The Chicago Bears came into town on a 14-game losing streak and beat Washington 40-20 in a game that actually might not have been that close.
It was all Bears in the first half, starting from the kickoff. Chicago needed just six plays to go 75 yards and score its first touchdown. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Bears scored 10 more points to lead 17-0, and then the Wizards responded with shots.
At halftime, Chicago extended its lead to 27-3. Read it again.
Washington got some offense going in the second half and got a couple of stops, but it was the definition of too little, too late. Quarterback Sam Howell looked good, but overall, there wasn’t much to like about this game.
There are definitely some questions about Washington’s preparation for this game, especially on defense. Chicago is now the fourth straight Commander opponent to score at least 30 points.
Ron Rivera also made a series of questionable calls on his fourth at-bat. In the second quarter, facing a 4th-and-4 from the Chicago 33-yard line and trailing 17-0, Rivera elected to field goal. Faced with a similar situation in the third quarter (Washington trailed 27-11 on fourth-and-2 from the Chicago 13), Rivera shot again.
The analytical model doesn’t like either prediction, especially the third-quarter decision.
Finally, in the fourth quarter, when Washington had a chance to cut the Bears’ lead into a touchdown, Commander kicker Joey Slay missed a field goal. On the Bears’ ensuing possession, Justin Fields hit DJ Moore for a 56-yard touchdown pass to make it 37-20.
Moore absolutely destroyed the Commanders, scoring three times and catching eight for 230 yards. Washington’s secondary looked terrible throughout the game, struggling on defense and tackling, and it looked like rookie first-rounder Emmanuel Forbes was benched in the second half of the loss. superior.
Since Josh Harris took over as Washington’s new managing partner in July, his ownership group has largely enjoyed good news and interesting results. It’s over now.
The loss to the previously winless Bears sparked new conversations about this season and beyond. Losing by multiple touchdowns made those conversations overheated.
