CHICAGO The Washington Commanders improved to 2-4 after defeating Chicago Bears (2-4) Chicago Bears (2-4) 12-7 on a cold evening in Chicago.
Washington Commanders
The Commanders will not be apologizing for their appearance. They didn’t have to appear attractive, they simply needed to be successful. They did that.
The extent to which this victory over the Bears will help them steer their season towards the right direction is to be determined. There’s plenty to do to be done following this win. They’ve committed too many penalty points 27 in just three games. They haven’t scored many points, 47 points over the last four games.
However, at present it will allow those in the commanders (2-4) to let their breath out after losing four games consecutively. In a league where each week is a new challenge an entirely new set of challenges victory is an essential cure.
A pivotal play: midway into the fourth quarter Washington failed to make a play third down once more. However, it was beneficial. The returner, Velus Jones Jr. was able to fumble the punt, and the rookie Christian Holmes recovered the ball at the 6-yard mark. After two runs from rookie Brian Robinson later, Washington gained a 12-7 advantage. Robinson’s initial run was five yards. It was helped partially through a Wentz block when the rookie cut inside.
QB breakdown: The quarterback’s lack mobility hampers the offense. This isn’t only a problem on Blitzes. He isn’t able to extend plays. Washington also hit through the field on what appeared to be a power sweep inside the red zone, which is a unusual call considering the way the player is running these days. Wentz injured his hand and was able to enter the game with a hurt shoulder, so it could be a factor in his poor passing performance on a stormy night. He did get two interceptions to Curtis Samuel, including one which would have placed them on the Bears 10 yard line. However, the bottom line is that He needs to be more efficient in order for this offense to produce points and also hope.
A promising trend: Defensive defender Montez Sweat was not able to get an sack during the initial four games during the regular season. He’s been close but he needed more assistance from the defense to complete the play. He’s been able to get that help in during the last two games and had three sacks as well as eight quarterback hits. Sweat has recorded a sack and a scuffle with Justin Fields on numerous occasions. If Washington will be a force for the remainder of the season, it will need Sweat to remain an impact player.
A troubling trend: Third downs. In the last four games, Washington has not converted 14-of-54 third downs. This is a result of an inactive quarterback and an offensive that seems not equipped to deal with Blitzes. Teams are aware that Washington is a fan of running crossing players, so they usually remove that option however, they are aware that Wentz struggles when it comes to. pressure. Washington must provide more support to assist Wentz in these circumstances.
Unknown statistic worth knowing leading 3-0 at the half Washington’s 88 yards in the opening half of play were the smallest in the league by the team that was ahead to halftime.
Next game next game: the game against. Packers (1 p.m. ET, Oct. 23)
Chicago Bears
The Bears are the only squad this year to surpass 390 yards in offense and only score less then 10 points the course of a game. Chicago scored 14 points in the first quarter and failed to finish the job, even though Fields was in a position to beat the opponent in the Bears final drive that ended up just short of the goal line.
The play ended when Fields met the wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who snatched the ball and threw it around the Washington defense, but fell over the ball. When Running back David Montgomery was open in the flat on the opposite end of the field the wide receiver was Fields five-read on the play. Fields said would be an “five percent chance” that the ball would have been returned to him following his sequence.
Same issues, different game. It goes beyond the quarterback game.
Fields was sacked 18 times on Thursday, which is tied with his highest pressure in a single game of his career. Fields is now being pushed on 46 percent of his dropbacks this season. This is the highest amount of pressure that a QB has experienced during the beginning six games, since ESPN began monitoring pressures in 2009.
QB breakdown Fields excellent second-half showing in Minnesota did not translate into Thursday night. The Bears made two trips into the red zone during the first quarter one of which resulted in Fields first interception within the 20-yard mark after Fields threw a ball over the head of Commanders defense lineman Efe Obada. The ball was picked up by colleague Jonathan Allen. The Bears were able to finish their next drive by a similar scoreless run in the zone of red. Fields played close-quarterback Ryan Griffin wide open in the final zone, and then sailed the ball over him on second-and-3 from the 3-yard line. Griffin was able to get 4.05 meters of space in the play, as per Next Gen Stats. Chicago also had a second trip in the red zone which was set by the longest drive of Fields career -an 83-yard scramble during the fourth quarterwhich ended with Darnell Mooney taking a catch and bouncing a pass just short from the line of goal. Three trips into the red zone with no score is tied for the most red zone drives with no points in the game since 2000.
The boldest prediction is that Dante Pettis will return punts in the game against the Patriots. Newcomer Velus Jones Jr. has taken on the entire Chicago return role following his first appearance in Week 4. However, a mishap on an attempted punt returned permitted Washington to retrieve the ball from the Chicago 6-yard line and then score two minutes later — after an unflinching punt against the Giants in the final two minutes of play, which scuttled any possibility of a comeback could make the Bears to consider who they’ve got deep on punt returns.
The silver lining is that the Bears won’t play again until October. 24th that allows them to have 10 days to recover before facing The New England Patriots in Foxborough. Guards Lucas Patrick (concussion) and Teven Jenkins (shoulder) both quit the game for a short time in the third quarter that led to an exchange of words in the front line which saw Michael Schofield III off the bench, but they returned. Fields will feel the impact of being repeatedly hit and racking up four sacks. He took a long time to stand up following several smacks to the ribs. He also seemed to have injured his left shoulder during the second third.
A troubling trend is that Chicago’s pass rush is practically absent. As of Week 6 the Bears had an average pressure rate of 28% (19th) and an sack rate of 5% (22nd) and just eight sacks (tied with 25th). They increased that total in the game against Carson Wentz, sacking the Washington quarterback three times — two of which were blitzes . They only sacked the Commanders quarterback on the basis of four out of 25 drops (16 percent).
The most under-rated statistic to be aware of: Fields has taken at minimum 2 sacks in each game this season, and for 14 consecutive games, that is by far the longest current stretch of the NFL.
Next game: Patriots (8:15 p.m. ET, Oct. 24)
