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"It's definitely a must-win," Commanders defensive tackle
Jonathan Allen said. "We're 1-4. I don't know too many teams
that have started out 1-5 and still had a good season."
Washington has lost by nine, 16, 15 and four points since edging
the Jacksonville Jaguars in the season opener.
Next comes a challenge from a young Bears team that squandered a
late lead in a road loss to Minnesota but might finally be
feeling optimistic about the play of second-year quarterback
Justin Fields.
Fields was 15-of-21 passing for 208 yards and a touchdown
against the Vikings while rushing for 47 yards on eight carries.
He appeared poised to lead a possible game-tying drive at
Minnesota before a late fumble by Ihmir Smith-Marsette ended the
Bears' chances.
Fields indicated he never had felt more comfortable as a pro
than he did Sunday, an encouraging development to offensive
coordinator Luke Getsy, who hopes for more of the same from
Fields as Chicago (2-3) returns home for the first time since
Week 3.
"That's the experience part of it that's hard for everybody to
have patience with," Getsy said. "It's cool that he's seeing
that or saying that, but hopefully what he sees and how he views
everything 10 games from now, hopefully he can even say that
more dramatically. That's part of playing this position. You
can't say or feel those things unless you experience it in the
games."
Commanders fans can attest to the uneasiness many Bears backers
were feeling about Fields before this week.
Washington quarterback Carson Wentz has been more inconsistent
than not in his first season with the team, and he recently came
under fire from coach Ron Rivera. While Wentz passed for 359
yards and two scores against Tennessee a week ago, his
interception at the 1-yard line with six seconds to play ended
any comeback hopes and overshadowed much of the good vibes. The
Commanders lost 21-17.
Rivera gave a one-word answer why his team was further behind
division rivals in their respective rebuilds: "Quarterback." But
he issued a mea culpa for his comments Tuesday and reiterated
his faith in Wentz and the rest of the Commanders.
"Going forward, I feel good about what we have," Rivera said.
"It's just now a matter of putting it together, and we've got to
do it one game at a time. And we've got to focus in on Chicago
and going out and playing better. It starts with me. We've got
to make sure that we are doing the things that we give these
guys the best opportunity to show up on game day and play well."
Washington (18 points per game) and Chicago (17.2 ppg) rank 26th
and tied for 27th in scoring, respectively, so each defense
could get the chance to turn the tide with a big play.
The Bears hope to receive a boost from the return of cornerback
Jaylon Johnson (quad injury), who has been a full participant in
practice this week.
"Short week, long week," Chicago defensive coordinator Alan
Williams said. "Any time we get him back, that's a good thing.
... That's another able body and another veteran body, another
really good player that helps us out.
"And it's another guy that's been in the battles and
communicates on the field to help the other guys out."
Dyami Brown (105 receiving yards, two touchdowns) and Terry
McLaurin (76 yards) were prominent targets for Wentz last week
vs. Tennessee.
--Field Level Media
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