LANDOVER, M.D. – The comeback kids did it again in dramatic fashion Monday night, rallying for a second straight exhilarating road victory.
Two weeks after stunning the Raiders 25-24, the Bears defeated the Commanders by the same score on Jake Moody's 38-yard field goal as time expired. Elevated from the practice squad earlier in the day to replace the injured Cairo Santos, Moody made 4 of 5 field-goal attempts.
With the Bears trailing 24-22, the defense generated its third takeaway of the game when cornerback Nahshon Wright recovered a botched handoff between quarterback Jayden Daniels and running back Jeremy McNichols at the Chicago 44 on third-and-1 with 3:07 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The offense then marched 36 yards on nine plays, with running back D'Andre Swift carrying five times for 34 yards, including runs of 10 and 15 yards to set up the winning kick. Caleb Williams also sustained the drive with a 6-yard completion to rookie tight end Colston Loveland on third-and-5 from the Bears' 49.
"Thought it was a really good team win," said coach Ben Johnson. "That's a really good opponent that we went against in a very hostile environment, and I thought all three phases came through for us when needed. It was not our cleanest game. We made a number of mistakes. The penalties were an issue. But once again our team was resilient and they found a way to win. Very proud of them."
After the Bears had improved to 3-2 with their third straight victory, Johnson presented game balls to Moody and Swift. The veteran running back rushed for a season-high 108 yards on 19 carries and turned a short Williams pass into a 55-yard touchdown that drew the Bears to within 24-22 with 10:26 to play.
"He was huge," Johnson said. "This is the best most efficient we've ran the ball all year. Really felt an attitude with him. He did a great job finding a little crease and stepping on the gas as we talk about and played a physical style."
Swift's TD reception came immediately after the Commanders (3-3) had extended their lead to 24-16 on Daniels' 6-yard TD pass to tight end Zach Ertz.
Swift caught the pass in the left flat, stutter-stepped past a defender along the sideline and raced for a TD that Johnson described as "a game changer."
"That was a time in the game that we needed a little spark," said the Bears coach. "We were kind of faltering a little bit as a team, and all it takes is one guy to make a big play like that and really ignite us again. It's really who I thought he was going to be going into the season. We're looking for guys that can elevate the people around them, and he did that here tonight."
Williams had a solid game in his return to his hometown, completing 17 of 29 passes for 252 yards with one TD, no turnovers and a 98.6 passer rating.
The Bears offense scored 10 points off two takeaways by the defense to take a 13-0 second-quarter lead. The defense held the NFL's No. 1 ranked rushing attack to 124 yards—32 yards below its average—and sacked Daniels three times.
"The takeaways were huge for us," Johnson said. "I thought [defensive coordinator] Dennis Allen and the defensive staff did a phenomenal job coming up with a sound game plan. That's a very difficult offense to try to give answers for, and yet they were able to come up with something that we felt good about. And then the guys went out and executed it as well as they possibly could, so big shout out to them."
The Bears overcame penalties on both sides of the ball.
In the second quarter, the defense had seemingly forced a punt after Daniels threw an incomplete pass on third-and-six from the Chicago 48. But a facemask penalty on Wright resulted in an automatic first down, and Daniels eventually threw a 22-yard TD pass to receiver Chris Moore to cut the deficit to 13-7.
The Bears led 13-10 midway through the third quarter when Williams threw an apparent 11-yard TD pass to receiver Rome Odunze that would have resulted in another two-score lead. But the play was nullified by an illegal formation penalty and Moody followed with a 41-yard field goal that made it 16-10.
Moody excelled from the outset, hitting a 47-yard field goal on the game's opening possession to give the Bears a 3-0 lead.
The Commanders advanced to the Chicago 21, but safety Jaquan Brisker intercepted a Daniels pass intended for receiver Deebo Samuel at the 4 and returned it 30 yards to the 34. It was Daniels' first interception in four starts this season.
The Bears converted the turnover into a second Moody field goal, a 48-yarder, to extend their lead to 6-0 with 2:27 left in the first quarter. Williams connected with receiver DJ Moore on passes of 13, 17 and 12 yards to set up the kick.
The defense then generated its second straight takeaway as end Montez Sweat stripped the ball from running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and linebacker T.J. Edwards recovered at the Washington 35.
The Bears capitalized again, extending their lead to 13-0 on Williams' 1-yard TD run.
The Commanders later took a 17-16 lead on Daniels' 33-yard TD pass to wide open receiver Luke McCaffrey with 2:56 to play in the third quarter.
The Bears had an opportunity to re-take the lead. But Williams lost five yards after fumbling a shotgun snap on third-and-1 from the Washington 25 and Moody's 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked by defensive tackle Daron Payne.
Moody nailed his fifth attempt, however, lifting the Bears to their second straight heart-pounding comeback road victory.
"It says a lot about our locker room right now," Johnson said. "They're not just believing, but now they're starting to understand that 'Man, if this thing's close in the fourth quarter, someone's going to step up and make a play for us.' And we had a number of guys in the fourth quarter that did that. I think these wins sometimes can go a longer way for your program than those blowouts do, so it was good to see."
