Bears building momentum with 3
straight wins after thriller at Washington
[October 15, 2025]
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
CHICAGO (AP) — No "Fail Mary." Just another nail-biter.
This time, Chicago prevailed on the final play in Washington. And
unlike last season, when a loss on a desperation pass sent them into
a freefall, Caleb Williams and the Bears have some momentum after
squeezing past Jayden Daniels and the Commanders 25-24 on Monday
night.
They can thank Jake Moody, who went from having a 48-yard field goal
blocked to kicking a 38-yarder as time expired. That gave the Bears
(3-2) three straight wins heading into a home game against the New
Orleans Saints this week.
“When it's ugly, we're still finding a way to win, and we're
developing that belief,” coach Ben Johnson said on Tuesday. “But at
the same time, holy cow, how far can we push this thing? Let's see
how good we can really get this season.”
The Bears are no doubt in a better place than they were just a few
weeks ago, let alone after their trip to Washington last season.
They were 4-2 headed into that game, when everything fell apart.
Former coach Matt Eberflus made some questionable decisions down the
stretch that players questioned in the aftermath, and Tyrique
Stevenson made two big mistakes on the final play — a 52-yard
touchdown from Daniels to Noah Brown.
He had his back turned to the line of scrimmage and was motioning
toward the crowd when the Commanders snapped the ball. Stevenson was
late to the play and made things worse by sprinting toward the pack
and jumping to deflect the pass rather than block out Brown. That
sent Chicago into a 10-game skid, with Eberflus getting fired after
an embarrassing Thanksgiving loss at Detroit.
The Bears began this season by blowing an 11-point lead against
Minnesota at Soldier Field and getting blown out at Detroit. They
then beat Dallas by 17 at home before pulling out 25-24 victories at
both Las Vegas and Washington. That gave Chicago consecutive road
wins for the first time since 2020.
What’s working
Takeaways. The Bears have 11 in the past three games after forcing
three against Washington — and all three led to points. Chicago
forced turnovers on the Commanders' first two possessions, with
Jaquan Brisker intercepting Daniels at the 2 and Montez Sweat
forcing a fumble by Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The interception led to
a field goal, and the recovery helped set up a 1-yard touchdown run
by Williams. Most critical was the botched handoff late in the game
between Daniels and Croskey-Merritt that Chicago's Nahshon Wright
recovered, leading to the winning drive.
[to top of second column] |
Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift celebrates a run during the
second half of an NFL football game against the Washington
Commanders, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP
Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
What needs help
Penalties. The Bears will need to clean up the penalties after
committing nine for 84 yards, including one in the third quarter
that negated a touchdown. Left tackle Theo Benedet got flagged for
an illegal formation, nullifying an 11-yard TD pass from Williams to
Rome Odunze on third down, and Chicago settled for a field goal.
Stock up
RB D'Andre Swift. The one-time Pro Bowler had what might've been his
best all-around game in two seasons with the Bears. He ran for by
far a season-high 108 yards on 14 attempts and added a
highlight-reel touchdown reception when he turned a short pass into
a 55-yarder early in the fourth quarter, pulling Chicago within
24-22. The 2-point conversion pass failed.
Stock down
No one. Moody, filling in with Cairo Santos sidelined by a quad
injury, might have been in this spot. But he redeemed himself in the
end after having that earlier attempt blocked. It was quite a moment
for someone who was cut by San Francisco after missing two field
goals in Week 1.
Injuries
WR DJ Moore (groin) was back in Chicago after spending a night in a
Washington-area hospital for precautionary reasons and is day to
day. “We did get good news there from that visit,” Johnson said. ...
LB Noah Sewell (concussion) left the game with a concussion.
Key number
4 — The Bears haven't won four in a row since the 2018 NFC North
championship team closed the regular season with four straight wins.
Chicago also had a five-game run that season.
Next steps
The Bears will try to keep the streak going when they host the
NFC-worst Saints (1-5).
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
