It appeared that Caleb Williams was the quarterback playing through bruised ribs, not counterpart Jayden Daniels. Williams was off the mark on several throws throughout the game. But after completing only three of his eight passes for 33 yards in the first half, he rallied in the second half, particularly on the Bears’ two touchdown drives. He finished 10-for-24 for 131 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions for a 59.5 passer rating.
Even with the same starting lineup for the fifth consecutive game — a high-water mark for the Matt Eberflus era — the line was unable to sustain the progress it made against subpar defensive fronts in the previous three games. Williams was sacked on his very first dropback. Left tackle Braxton Jones left with a knee injury in the second quarter and was replaced by rookie Kiran Amegadjie, who was beaten by blitzing linebacker Frankie Luvu for a pressure that led to a sack. Left guard Teven Jenkins and backup Bill Murray were injured late in the game.
While far from its best performance, the line made enough plays to keep the Bears in the game. Montez Sweat had a sack, two tackles for loss and three quarterback hits. Chris Williams had a key stop to force a punt that set up the Bears’ go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. After Gervon Dexter left temporarily with an injury, Byron Cowart had a tackle for loss and Sweat had a pressure that led to an incompletion that forced the Commanders to settle for a field goal.
There were several breakdowns on the Hail Mary pass that beat the Bears, but the secondary is the last line of defense. Allowing an offensive player to get behind you is an inexcusable error. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson had a rough day. He was beaten for a 61-yard pass play, penalized for unnecessary roughness for a 15-yard penalty and was gesturing toward fans with his back to the Hail Mary play as the ball was snapped.
Where to start? The Bears were slow out of the gate after their bye — another three-and-out on the first series — and just not sharp for most of the game. On third-and-goal from the 1, a handoff to Doug Kramer — who normally plays center — was way too cute. Kramer and Williams botched the handoff, and the Commanders recovered. And losing on a Hail Mary capped a day of poor preparation for a big moment.
