Back from their bye week, the Bears (2-2) will look to record their third straight win and second in a row on the road when they visit the Commanders (3-2) Monday night.
After opening the season with losses to the Vikings (27-24) and Lions (52-14), the Bears rebounded with victories over the Cowboys (31-14) and Raiders (25-24).
The Commanders have alternated wins and losses, winning in Weeks 1 over the Giants (21-6), 3 over the Raiders (41-24) and 5 over the Chargers (27-10) and losing in Weeks 2 to the Packers (27-18) and 4 to the Falcons (34-27).
"You need to play complementary football to beat this team," said coach Ben Johnson. "This is a really good football team. Dan Quinn is an outstanding coach. He has been whether it was Atlanta or Washington now, it really doesn't matter. He's fielded good teams. These guys play hard. They play inspired football."
Monday night's game features a matchup of the top two picks in the 2024 NFL Draft in quarterbacks and Heisman Trophy winners Caleb Williams, who was chosen No. 1 by the Bears, and Jayden Daniels, who was selected No. 2 by the Commanders.
When the Bears have the ball
Williams returns to his hometown for the second time in his NFL career, leading an offense that has helped the Bears rank 11th in the league in points per game (25.3) and score at least 21 points in each of their first four contests for the first time since 2013.
Williams has made major strides this season, throwing for 927 yards with eight touchdowns, two interceptions and a 97.8 passer rating while being sacked only seven times. In his first four games as a rookie in 2024, he passed for 787 yards with three TDs, four interceptions and a 72.0 rating while being sacked 16 times.
In the Bears' last game Sept. 28 in Las Vegas, Williams engineered a winning 11-play, 69-yard drive that was capped by running back D'Andre Swift's 2-yard touchdown run with 1:34 remaining. It was reminiscent of Williams' performance last year in Washington when he orchestrated a 10-play, 62-yard drive that culminated in running back Roschon Johnson's go-ahead 1-yard TD run with :25 to play.
Receiver Rome Odunze leads the Bears with 20 catches, 296 yards and five touchdowns. He is the franchise's first player to score a TD in each of the first four games of a season since Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton in 1986.
The Bears spent the bye week focused on improving their rushing attack.
"It's hard to evaluate any of our running backs right now when you turn on the tape and there's some free runners in the hole where the play is designed to go," Johnson said. "I take it personally because I actually spend more time on the run game than I do on the passing game. And not only trying to create explosives in the running game, but being sound and taking a lot of pride in our execution of the fundamentals."
The Bears are making one change on their offensive line, with first-year pro Theo Benedet slated to start at left tackle. The University of British Columbia product made his first NFL start Sept. 28 against the Raiders at right tackle before moving to left tackle in the second quarter when rookie Ozzy Trapilo was inserted on the right side.
The Bears will face a Commanders defense that is tied for ninth in the NFL in points allowed per game (20.2). The unit ranks 24th in total yards (352.0), 17th against the run (117.0) and 23rd versus the pass (235.0). Washington is led in tackles by linebacker Bobby Wagner (56), in sacks by end Dorance Armstrong (5.0) and in interceptions by nickel back Mike Sainristil (2).
"Their guys play sound football," Williams said. "Being able to go out there and do our job, execute our plays, execute our techniques is the challenge for us because that's what those guys are going to do, and they're going to play hard-nosed football.
"They're going to come out and they're going to try to make a bang on plays and come downhill and hit on run plays, and when the ball is in the air, they're going to try to go attack it. So, it's our job for me to be able to throw good passes, give wide receivers the best chance, and it's our guys' job to be able to have the right technique and go grab the ball, run and protect the football, lower pad level and all the different things that it takes to win games."
Key matchup: Bears right tackle Darnell Wright vs. Commanders defensive end Dorance Armstrong
Wright is expected to return after sitting out the Raiders game with an elbow injury he sustained a week earlier in a win over the Cowboys. He will be entrusted with protecting Williams and opening holes in the running game against Armstrong, an eighth-year pro who has already matched his sack total from all of last year.
When the Commanders have the ball
The Bears will be challenged by one of the NFL's best dual threat quarterbacks in Daniels, the first player in league history to pass for at least 4,000 yards and rush for at least 1,000 yards in his first 20 games.
A proficient passer, Daniels also keys a running game that ranks No. 1 in the NFL, averaging 156.4 yards per contest.
"He's a big reason why their running game is what it is," Johnson said. "He strikes a lot of fear into opposing coaches, because you look at him and you know you've got to account for him, not just as an accurate passer, not just as a scrambler, but the quarterback-driven run game that they do a lot of. It's going to take all 11 guys playing disciplined football to make sure we contain their attack."
"The engine to this thing is the quarterback and the ability of the quarterback to run the football, and that makes you play 11-on-11 football," added defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. "You can't just isolate on the running back."
Daniels will make his second straight start after missing the first two games of his career due to an injury. In three contests this season, he has passed for 664 yards and four TDs and rushed for 124 yards on 26 carries without committing a turnover.
Washington's primary running back is rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who has rushed for 283 yards and four touchdowns on 43 carries. His 6.6-yard average is tops among all 40 NFL running backs who have rushed for at least 135 yards this season.
The Bears also focused on improving their run defense during the bye week.
"When teams are able to run the ball effectively and get explosive runs, it's all three levels," Allen said. "We just looked at it and we just have to do a better job of attacking and getting off of blocks. Then we have to do a better job of tackling, in particular in space. That's probably the biggest thing we have to work on. Our guys are working extremely hard on it and we are going to get better at it."
"A lot of times, the run stuff comes down to fundamentals: shedding blocks, getting off blocks and making tackles," said linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. "When we have a chance to make a negative play, make it. Not leaving stuff out there, just making sure we get off the field when we have a chance to get off the field."
The Bears defense has excelled on third downs this season, holding opponents to a league-leading 29.3% conversion rate. The unit has also generated four takeaways with three interceptions and one fumble recovery in each of its last two games.
On Monday night, the anticipated return of linebacker T.J. Edwards and nickel back Kyler Gordon from injuries should provide an additional boost.
Edwards missed the last two games and three of four contests this season with a hamstring injury. He led the Bears in tackles in 2023 and was second in 2024. Gordon has missed all four regular-season games this year.
"Hopefully it does [help]," Johnson said. "You always talk about affecting the quarterback through the marriage of rush and coverage. They're probably more coverage players than they are pass rushers, but with that being said, if you're stickier in coverage, then you potentially have more time to get to that quarterback.
"If you look at this week in particular, they'll certainly help us out, getting them back. But we're facing a different challenge here at quarterback than most weeks. This guy, not only is he accurate throwing from the pocket, but he's very elusive and he can find a little crease in there and explode for an explosive scramble as well."
Key matchup: Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards vs. Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt
The veteran tackling machine returns just in time for the Bears, who will look to make the Commanders offense one-dimensional by containing Croskey-Merritt and the NFL's top-ranked rushing attack.
Fun facts
- Since the Bears' last game Sept. 28 in Las Vegas, the Jets, Dolphins, Bengals and Broncos have all played three games—on Sept. 29, Oct. 5 and Oct. 12.
- Williams and Daniels are two of five quarterbacks in NFL history to pass for at least 25 touchdowns with fewer than 10 interceptions in their first 21 career games. The others are Nick Foles, Dak Prescott and C.J. Stroud.
- Over the last 10 seasons, the only quarterbacks with a better TD-interception ratio than Williams in their first two campaigns are Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes.
