The Chicago Bears dominated the Washington Commanders in a 40-20 prime-time victory, snapping a franchise-worst 14-game losing streak.
It was Chicago’s first win in 347 days. It also came on the same day where Bears legend Dick Butkus passed away at age 80.
Buy Bears TicketsChicago dominated in the first half, jumping out to a 27-3 lead. While the second half didn’t start well, the Bears were able to preserve the win in the fourth quarter thanks to the duo of Justin Fields and DJ Moore, as well as an inspired effort on an injury-depleted defense.
We’re taking a look at the studs and duds from the Bears’ Week 5 win over the Commanders.
STUD: WR DJ Moore
Moore had a career game against the Commanders, where his connection with Fields really shined. Moore had eight catches for a career-high 230 receiving yards and three touchdowns, where he proved to be a No. 1 receiver. Moore has recorded 100-plus outings in consecutive games and has three on the season.
STUD: QB Justin Fields
Fields built on his strong performance from a week ago with another solid outing. Fields completed 15-of-29 passes for 282 yards with four touchdowns and zero turnovers. He added 11 carries for 57 yards. Fields has stacked back-to-back impressive outings as he looks to prove he can be the Bears’ franchise quarterback.
STUD: DE DeMarcus Walker
The Bears pass rush as a whole was dominant (more on that later), but there was one member of the defensive line that shined. Walker had four tackles, including two tackles for loss, one sack and two QB hits. That inlcuded a key sack on third down that helped get the Commanders off the field in an area where Chicago has notably struggled.
STUD: RB Khalil Herbert
Herbert also built on his impressive outing from Week 4, where he churned out some big-time runs against the Commanders. Herbert led the Bears with 76 yards on 10 carries (7.6 yards per carry), including a 34-yard run. Unfortunately, Herbert suffered an ankle injury when attempting to catch a pass in the second half, leaving Chicago without a healthy, active running back.
STUD: CB Greg Stroman Jr.
With the Bears’ secondary ravaged by injury, Stroman made some big plays to help keep the Commanders passing attack at bay. Stroman had seven tackles, including one tackle for loss, one sack, one pass breakup, one QB hit while forcing and recovering a fumble. He was the team’s best defensive back on the field.
STUD: TE Cole Kmet
Kmet had another solid outing for the Bears, especially in the first half. He had five catches for 42 yards (second to Moore’s astounding 230 yards) and one touchdown. Kmet has three touchdowns in the last two games, and he continues to be a security blanket for Fields in the passing game.
STUD: CB Terell Smith
With Chicago down their top two cornerbacks, the Bears had two rookies in Smith and Tyrique Stevenson starting in the secondary. Smith totaled six tackles and made some big plays in the process, including forcing and recovering a fumble in the third quarter. Unfortunately, Smith exited the game with an apparent injury in the second half.
STUD: Pass rush
The Bears had the worst pass rush coming into this game with just two sacks on the season. They nearly trippled that total against the Commanders, recording five sacks on Sam Howell. And everyone got in on the action — Yannick Ngakoue, DeMarcus Walker, Rasheem Green, T.J. Edwards and Greg Stroman Jr.
DUD: Tackling
Following the team’s first win in nearly a full calendar year, I’m not going to nitpick the negatives (although there were a few). But the one resounding negative from this game was the poor tackling on defense, which resulted in some sacks being left on the field and allowed the Commanders to hang around for a little bit before the Bears put the game away. The tackling needs to be better.
