The Chicago Bears have a short week in Week 6. They host the Washington Commanders under the lights of primetime on Thursday night. After two consecutive heartbreaking losses that ended after late turnovers, the Bears try to get back in the win column. It is frustrating to know that just one play here or there and the Bears could be driving people crazy by owning a 4-1 record.
Of course, those plays didn’t go their way so instead, they own a 2-3 record.
We can expect another grinding game from the Bears. They don’t have a lot of talent so they have to fight hard on every snap of every game. They are already doing better than most NFL analysts expected.
Now they want to do even more.
Previewing the Chicago Bears Week 6 matchup against the Commanders
The Commanders come in struggling. They are 1-4 and rank near the bottom on both offense and defense.
The Bears want to try to get better by facing a struggling team like Washington. This game likely won’t be a blowout but the Bears could look better than they have for most of this season.
Despite the two straight losses, the Bears have shown some improvement. However, they haven’t had a full game yet. They’ll dig themselves a hole early as they did against the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants, and Minnesota Vikings. When things start to look grim, they somehow find a way to dig their way back. Even if the result is still a loss, they make a game of it.
Now it is time for them to play a complete game. If they can, they’ll have a better chance of winning games. Their intensity and high motor, though, will help them wear down opponents.
Here are some things to look for in this game.
The rush defense gets a break this week
The Chicago Bears’ defense has taken it on the chin the last couple of weeks. They faced Saquon Barkley and Dalvin Cook in consecutive weeks and they struggled.
As a result, the Bears rank 31st in rushing yards allowed, 28th in rushing touchdowns, and 24th in rushing yards per carry.
Things could look up this week, however. They won’t have to face an elite running back this week. The Commanders rank 28th in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns and 27th in average yards per run. They don’t have the punch on the ground. That means the Bears could shut down the run. Making them one-dimensional makes it easier for the defense to succeed.
The Bears’ front seven needs to dominate the Commanders’ offensive line. They have to shut down the running game and force the Commanders to throw the pass and make mistakes.
This is a good game for the Bears’ run defense to turn its fortunes around. They should look better against the run and hopefully, that catapults them going forward.
If Washington’s run game doesn’t work, they will pass heavily
Ok, so now the Chicago Bears run defense shuts down Washington’s running game. That just means that the Commanders will end up throwing pass after pass.
That feeds into Washington’s strong point — the passing game. With Carson Wentz under center, the Commanders rank in the top ten in passing yards (10th) and passing touchdowns (5th).
That will put a lot of pressure on the Bears’ secondary. Thankfully, that secondary is much better than it was last season. This season, the Bears rank ninth in passing yards and fourth in passing touchdowns allowed.
So this game could come down to each team’s strengths. The difference, however, could be turnovers.
The Bears’ defense ranks fourth in interceptions. Eddie Jackson is back to being the turnover machine. After not recording an interception in two straight seasons, he already has three, second in the league.
While Wentz has completed 63 percent of his passes and has almost 1,400 passing yards, he gives the opposing defense an opportunity (or more) every game.
With Wentz, the Commanders rank 27th in interceptions thrown. Last week against the Tennessee Titans, Wentz and the Commanders were on their way to a victory. They had the ball on Tennessee’s two-yard line with nine seconds left in the game. Wentz dropped back and threw an interception to seal the loss.
If the Bears force Wentz to depend on the pass, then they’ll have more opportunities to cause turnovers. With the defense ranking eighth in total turnovers, having those opportunities are big.
David Montgomery could have a big game for the Chicago Bears
David Montgomery came back after missing most of the Chicago Bears’ game in Week 3 and the entire Week 4 game with a knee and ankle injury.
He had a pretty good game in his return. While he didn’t do much on the ground (he had 20 rushing yards), he did score a touchdown. Additionally, he was the Bears’ leading receiver with 62 yards. He gained big chunks of yards on two screen passes.
Having Montgomery play well is crucial for the Chicago Bears offense. Yes, Khalil Herbert did a pretty good job of running the ball in Montgomery’s absence. However, he doesn’t provide much in the passing game. We saw how big that could be when Montgomery returned.
Montgomery could play a big role in this game. The Commanders have trouble stopping the pass. They will have enough trouble trying to cover downfield. It will be an even more difficult task for them to account for Montgomery coming out of the backfield.
Montgomery could be a big help for Justin Fields. He’s had trouble finding open receivers throughout this season. While the receivers run around downfield, Montgomery should end up being Fields’ safety valve.
Watch for Montgomery to have a big game in the passing attack. In turn, it could help him gain big chunks of yards on the ground as well.
Fields should continue to show improvement
One of the biggest priorities for the Chicago Bears is Fields’ development. Yes, he had a rough first month of the season. He ranked at or near the bottom of most passing categories. Some fans even started to question his ability because of his poor play.
Fields has shown improvement since the calendar changed, however. He is throwing more passes, completing them at a higher rate, and has not thrown an interception in October.
Last week’s game against the Vikings was Fields’ best this season. He completed 71 percent of his passes, eclipsed 200 passing yards for the first time, and had a passer rating over 100.0, the first time he’s done so this season.
The Bears fell to a 21-3 deficit early on in the game, yet Fields kept his composure. He kept battling and brought the team back and actually had a lead for most of the fourth quarter.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy sees Fields’ improvement and loves it.
"There’s been progress, right? And we’re sticking to the plan. I thought he did a really nice job in that game in the sense of he kept his composure. They got off to a big lead, he kept the team together. Then, you know, he had three or four unbelievable escapes that were ridiculous. I thought he did a pretty good job. Again, we’re getting a little bit better each week and that’s truly our purpose, that’s our goal."
Fields should continue to show improvement this week. as I mentioned earlier, the Commanders have trouble against the pass. They rank 28th in passing touchdowns allowed and 27th in interceptions.
One of the improvements Fields made last week was throwing more short passes. He had screens that ended up with over 30 yards twice and he had slants and curls, passes that are high-percentage. Those passes help Fields get into a rhythm. He already does a good job of completing deep passes, so having some success underneath opens up the deep ball even more.
Just like he did last week, Fields continues to work hard and that work is starting to pay off. No, he has not all of a sudden turned into an elite quarterback. However, he is showing improvement and that is good for the Chicago Bears. That improvement should continue this week.