The Chicago Bears (2-3) are taking on the Washington Commanders (1-4) on a short week after taking on the NFC North-leading Minnesota Vikings. Thursday night, Chicago will look to improve to .500 as the Matt Eberflus era continues.
We already looked at some causes for concern heading into the Week 6 matchup. There are plenty of issues the Bears need to fix, but the Commanders are one of the worst teams in the NFL, led by one of the most unreliable quarterbacks.
The bookmakers have this game as a pick ’em, but here are three reasons to be optimistic heading into Thursday.
1
Washington's offense is turnover prone
The Commanders are nearly as turnover prone as the Bears. Washington turns the ball over on 12.7% of offensive drives, ranking 11th worst in the NFL. In addition, Carson Wentz has thrown four of his six interceptions in the fourth quarter this year and is unreliable at the end of games.
The Commanders failed to score in the fourth quarter in two of their four losses. If this game is as close as the spread indicates (pick ’em), then Washington will likely blow it.
2
Carson Wentz is at his worst in the 4th quarter
Carson Wentz is one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL when it matters. As mentioned, Wentz has thrown four of his six interceptions in the fourth quarter this season. In addition, if he isn’t turning the ball over late, he’s hurting his team by taking sacks.
In the fourth quarter, Wentz has been sacked seven times – 35% of his total sacks occur late in the game. Thursday night’s game is one that the Bears can win if they play mistake-free football and allow Washington’s quarterback to make his typical late-game mistakes.
3
The Commanders can't run the ball
Washington is unable to run the ball. The team has relied on Antonio Gibson (more athlete than running back) and pass catcher J.D. McKissic to run the ball this season.
Neither player has been successful. Gibson is averaging 11 rushing attempts and only gaining 3.2 yards per carry. Gibson’s pass-catching counterpart only averages 31.8 yards receiving and three rushing attempts per game.
The Bears’ struggles to stop the run are well documented (second worst in yards allowed in the NFL), and Washington offers a chance for the team to have one of their best performances.
