(670 The Score) For the second straight season, the Bears and Commanders played a game at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., that came down to the final snap.
Nobody needs to be reminded any longer how the infamous “Fail Mary” in 2024 sent the Bears reeling on their way to a 10-game losing streak.
But now, after their 25-24 comeback victory on Monday night – clinched on new kicker Jake Moody’s 38-yard walk-off field goal in blustery conditions – the Bears returned home from the nation's capital believing a run of success awaits.
What a difference a year makes.
What a difference a coach makes.
“It says a lot about our locker room right now (that) they're not just believing but they understand that, ‘Man, if this thing is close then somebody is going to step up and make a play for us,’” Bears coach Ben Johnson told reporters postgame. “I think these wins can go a longer way for your program than the blowouts do.”
That's what happens in the NFL when a team beats a playoff opponent on the road to win its third game in a row after an 0-2 start. That's how a team thinks after pulling out two consecutive games in the final seconds. That's how players cruelly conditioned how to lose gradually learn how to win.
Suddenly, the Bears have a winning record in mid-October. And instead of preparing to brag about how they handle adversity, now they must worry about handling success – which includes avoiding a peek ahead at a forgiving schedule.
The Bears’ next four opponents – the Saints, Ravens, Bengals and Giants – have six combined victories through Week 6.
Now sitting at 3-2, it isn’t inconceivable that the Bears could approach midseason as part of the playoff conversation.
Officially, the Bears might remain in the NFC North basement, but after three straight wins, you’ll find them among the league leaders in confidence.
"We know we can win these games in these moments,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said.
The rest of us are forgiven for not being quite so certain until Moody's kick sailed through the uprights.
For most of the night, the Bears matched the Commanders in an entertaining showdown between the top two quarterbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft, Williams and Jayden Daniels.
Daniels posted better numbers in going 19-of-26 for 211 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and a 119.2 passer rating. But that interception by Bears safety Jaquan Brisker stalled a Commanders drive early, and Daniels' fumble that was recovered by cornerback Nahshon Wright at Chicago’s 44-yard line with 3:10 left gave the Bears hope.
"God works in mysterious ways,” safety Kevin Byard said postgame.
You could say the football gods owed the Bears.
As for Williams, he again avoided an interception, completing 17 of 29 passes for 252 yards and a touchdown with a 98.6 passer rating. His 1-yard touchdown run on a quarterback sweep to give the Bears a 13-0 lead early in the second quarter showed a burst that often deceives tacklers.
Perhaps most importantly, and most difficult to measure, was the way Williams comfortably led the offense down the field again late in the fourth quarter, looking like someone who had been there before.
Because he had.
Forget the numbers. Williams outplayed Daniels in this one because he won the game and didn’t turn the ball over, as opposed to Daniels the ball over twice to hurt his team.
Overall, the Bears came out sharp and prepared, a credit to the way Johnson handled the bye week. The offensive line, featuring new starter Theo Benedet at left tackle, opened holes wider than usual. D’Andre Swift, perhaps the most unappreciated Bear, zipped through them for 108 yards on 14 carries and made the most important offensive play of the night on a 55-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown with 10:26 left that pulled Chicago within 24-22.
Somehow the Bears defense – which ranked 31st against the run entering Week 6 – found a way to slow the NFL's top-ranked rushing offense.
The Commanders managed just 124 yards on 31 carries against a Bears defense coming off a game in which the Raiders amassed 240 yards on the ground.
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds bounced back and made 13 tackles. T.J. Edwards returned to play his first full game and added nine tackles. Byard stayed active. Nickelback Kyler Gordon made his season debut and had ups and downs but helped the Bears combat one of the league's most dynamic quarterbacks.
Yes, overpaid edge rusher Montez Sweat went sack-less again, but defensive tackle Gervon Dexter had 1.5 sacks. Yes, Daniels proved to be escapable, but his longest touchdown pass, a 33-yarder to receiver Luke McCaffrey late in the third quarter, came on a blown coverage.
Yes, the Bears committed too many penalties, getting flagged nine times for 84 yards, but several seemed fixable. A questionable illegal formation call on Benedet negated a great touchdown catch by receiver Rome Odunze in the third quarter, so the Bears settled for a field goal. An offside call on receiver DJ Moore thwarted a drive. A roughing-the-quarterback penalty on Brisker illuminated the impossible task a blitzer faces – go high and risk helmet-to-helmet contact or go low as Brisker did and get flagged for essentially making the tackle.
The point is, the Bears resembled a good football team that beat another one. This was a game between two playoff-caliber teams led by dynamic young quarterbacks who give their respective organizations reason to be ambitious.
This was a game decided by a kicker who was elevated to the active roster Monday afternoon.
The 49ers cut Moody after he missed two field-goal attempts in Week 1. Days later, the Bears signed the former Michigan product, but he still hasn't met all of his teammates.
"It's a big team (so) you're not going to get a chance to meet everyone right away,” said Moody, who finished with four field goals and also had a 48-yard attempt blocked. "I can't wait to formally meet everyone else.”
Nobody was more popular in the locker room than the new guy wearing No. 16, who received a game ball. Everybody wanted a piece of Chicago's Moody enhancer.
"I didn't fully know who he was,” Williams said. “But to hear his story, to have his moment ... It's important to him and to us. Kudos to him.”
On a night Moody introduced himself to some new friends, the Bears announced plans to be different under their new coach.
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show from 5-10 a.m. weekdays on 670 The Score. Click here to listen. Follow him on X @DavidHaugh.