"We let America down," Amukamara said.
Amukamara wasn't talking about the defense's effort on a night the Bears produced five takeaways. He was referring to the failed team tug-of-war celebration the defense had planned for a touchdown, which came when safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix returned an interception 37 yards to paydirt just more than five minutes into the game. The enactment didn't come together as hoped and represents one of the few areas for the Bears to clean up on defense.
As for the actual football, the Bears accomplished something they hadn't done since 2013 by forcing those five turnovers. Clinton-Dix had two interceptions, and cornerback Kyle Fuller added another. Star edge rusher Khalil Mack had a strip-sack that he recovered.
In the fourth quarter, linebacker Danny Trevathan sealed the victory by punching the ball out when Redskins quarterback Case Keenum's extended his arms and the ball away from his body in search of a first down on fourth-and-1. Bears safety Eddie Jackson scooped it up.
"Any time you have five turnovers and you only turn the ball over one time -- that's a plus-four-ratio -- you're going to win a lot of football games that way," Bears coach Matt Nagy said.
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For Clinton-Dix, the two-interception performance was extra special, considering he was traded to the Redskins during the 2018 season and then allowed to walk in free agency. Clinton-Dix read the eyes of Keenum on both plays and swooped in for the big plays.
"Hell yeah there is," Clinton-Dix said of whether there was extra significance.
The Bears defense had a breakout 2018, leading the NFL in fewest points allowed and takeaways. The prevailing thought was regression would be coming in some form in 2019, but that hasn't been the case. The Bears are allowing just 13.0 points per game.
Creating turnovers had been where the Bears were coming up short, and the defense gathered last week to express its frustration in having forced just one turnover in the first two games. So the Bears made that their focus. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano drove the point home by showcasing video of his players at their best -- jumping routes for interceptions, punching the football loose, attacking the football in the quarterback's grasp.
The Bears took the field Wednesday and produced four takeaways in practice. It's then that the defense knew it was in for a big Monday night.
"We practice it," Amukamara said. "It was definitely a point to do it this game. I'm glad we got it done."