Game Balls from the Bears’ critical Week 5 win over Commanders

The Chicago Bears dominated the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field Thursday night, winning by a score of 40-20 in a game that, although it became nerve-wracking early in the fourth, was never truly close.

Just like last week’s loss against Denver, the Bears started hot and took a 27-3 lead into halftime. They struggled in the third quarter, allowing the Commanders to get within 10 points, but a missed field goal took the wind out of Washington’s sails, and the Bears took over for the remainder of the game.

The performance was so good across the board that I had difficulty narrowing down my list of game balls to award. But don’t worry, several Bears will receive honorable mentions.

DJ Moore

We have to start with the man of the hour and the new owner of the second-most receiving yards in a single game by a Chicago Bear, DJ Moore.

His final stat line was ridiculous: 8 catches, 230 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Moore had Washington’s entire secondary in a blender almost all night, and he may have ended up with even better stats had a referee not called Moore out of bounds after one catch, which would have resulted in a walk-in touchdown.

If the Bears had lost, I may have been more upset about that call, but this is a victory Friday. So we’re only going to focus on the positives, and Moore provides the biggest positive of them all.

Justin Fields

QB1 is dangerously close to fulfilling my wish to make me look like the world’s biggest idiot. After a horrendous start to the season, during which Fields was undeniably underwhelming, he has now put together back-to-back games of more than 275 yards and four touchdowns.

This is what we expected to see from him in this critical development year. This is the Justin Fields we all knew he could be. Poor play and even poorer coaching muddied that water in the first quarter of the season, but we’re starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel again. Taking all five games together so far, Fields is on pace for 3,886 passing yards, an astonishing 38 touchdowns, and a 62% completion percentage.

It’s still too early to crown Fields the franchise quarterback. Stacking performances means many games like last night, not just two in a row against struggling teams. We’ve got to see this against the good teams, too. But there is once again reason to be excited about this team and the potential for Fields to be the franchise quarterback we’ve never had.

The Offensive Line

My biggest fear in this game was that the Commanders’ front four would pummel Fields into oblivion. My worst fears foresaw a repeat of the 2021 Week 3 Cleveland game. But o my surprise, the offensive line turned in arguably its best game of the year.

Fields had plenty of time in comfortable pockets to find his man, and the run game found several lanes to blast through.

It’s hard to credit just one man for this turnaround, but Teven Jenkins making his season debut on the same night the offensive line performed at its best all year has to excite you. If Jenkins can stay healthy, Fields’ protection for the rest of the season could be well into the league’s top half.

Greg Stroman Jr.

Take a bow, Mr. Stroman! Starting in place for the injured Kyler Gordon, Stroman turned in a magnificent performance that included an interception (the first interception the Bears have made on a starting quarterback this season) and a sack. Washington’s offense is not exactly Super Bowl caliber, but they had been rolling, and Stroman deserves props for his level of play on Thursday night.

Honorable Mentions: You have to give credit where credit is due, coaches Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy had a good game. They’re still not off of the hot seat, but for now, I think we can table the calls for their jobs.

Cairo Santos for going 4/4 on field goals (he’s now a perfect 8/8 on the season), the defensive line for generating constant pressure and getting five sacks, and Khalil Herbert, who had racked up 7.6 yards per carry before an injury forced him out of the game.

Lastly, Cole Kmet for his second consecutive game with a touchdown catch, and Khari Blasingame. After all three of Chicago’s running backs left the game with injuries, fourth-quarter rushing duties fell to the fullback who had just three career rushing attempts. He played a critical role in keeping the offense on the field and icing the game.

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