The Chicago Bears got vengeance on the Washington Commanders, rallying from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 25-24 victory. Jake Moody -- cut by the 49ers after a dismal Week 1 -- hit the game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired to give Chicago its third straight win.
The Bears' game-winning drive was set up by a Jayden Daniels fumble on a hand-off to Jacory Crosley-Merritt with 3:10 left. On third-and-1, Daniels mishandled the exchange, and the Bears recovered at their own 44. D'Andre Swift took over from there, rushing for 34 yards on the final drive to set up Moody's kick.
Moody hit 4 of 5 field goals in his first game on Chicago's active roster. His lone miss -- a blocked attempt -- contributed to the Bears blowing a 13-point first-half lead before rallying after Washington went up 24-16 in the fourth. Swift totaled 175 yards from scrimmage, including 108 rushing yards and 7.7 yards per carry in the win.
For a full recap, check out the live blog below. Here are the biggest takeaways from the sloppy yet dramatic game.
Moody certainly needed a debut like the one he had for the Bears. He finished 4 of 5 on the night, hitting the game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired to lift Chicago above .500. In his first game on the Bears' active roster, Moody connected from 47, 48 and 41 yards prior to the game-winner. His lone miss was blocked..
Moody missed two field goals in Week 1, leading the 49ers to cut him after an offseason filled with speculation about whether they would keep him. After struggling through the 2024 season -- when he made just 70.4% of his field goal attempts, the second-worst rate among kickers with at least 20 tries -- San Francisco decided to move on. The Bears signed him to their practice squad three days later.
Moody kicked in place of the injured Cairo Santos, even though Santos was active. The Bears had enough confidence in Moody to ride with him, and it paid off. Moody may be their kicker going forward.
Daniels had a good night throwing the football, tossing three touchdowns and finishing with a 119.2 passer rating. On throws of 20-plus air yards, he went 6 of 9 for 126 yards with two touchdowns and one interception (109.7 rating). When Daniels threw the ball, he was effective, also adding 52 rushing yards to keep the Bears honest.
The miscues, however, were what hurt Daniels and the Commanders. He threw an interception at the Bears' 21-yard line on a pass intended for Deebo Samuel in the red zone, and his late fumble on a hand-off led to Jake Moody's game-winning field goal. Those two giveaways overshadowed the good Daniels did for Washington - which committed three turnovers overall - and ultimately led to the loss.
Swift had arguably his best game with the Bears, finishing with 14 carries for 108 yards (7.7 yards per carry) and two catches for 67 yards - including a 55-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter that cut Washington's lead to 24-22. Swift had six carries for 40 yards in the fourth quarter - 34 of them on the game-winning drive - along with the 55-yard touchdown catch.
On a rainy fall night, the Bears needed someone to take over with Caleb Williams playing helter-skelter. Swift's reemergence was a welcome sign for a Bears offense intent on jump-starting its ground game. Chicago entered Monday night ranked 24th in rushing yards per game and 26th in yards per carry, making Swift's big performance all the more surprising.
If the Bears can ride Swift, it'll only make Ben Johnson's offense more dangerous going forward.
The Bears (3-2) host the Saints in Week 7 while the Commanders (3-3) travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys.
4 FGs tonight for Jake Moody in the rain as the Bears advance to 3-2 and the Commanders fall to 3-3. Moody goes 4 for 5 -- and his miss was a block -- in his first game on the Bears active roster. A second chance for Moody out of San Francisco pays off.
The fumble by Jayden Daniels -- his second turnover of the night -- sets up Moody's winner.
Swift is taking over this game in the rain. Great block by Darnell Wright on that 15-yard ru, giving Swift 108 yards on 14 carries 97.7 yards per carry). Swift has 175 yards from scrimmage tonight and the TD to make it 24-22. Jake Moody is set up to kick the winning FG.
Trying to get first downs with a 24-22 lead and chew clock, the Commanders have their third turnover of the night. On a rainy night in Landover, Jayden Daniels fumbles the handoff to Jacory Crosley-Merritt and the Bears get the ball around midfield.
Let's see if they can get in FG range with 2 minutes left.
They'll start at the 4-yard line after forcing Washington to punt. Let's see what Caleb Williams has with 7:14 left.
Jaquan Brisker hits Jayden Daniels at the legs on an incomplete pass on 3rd-and-5. Automatic first down for the Commanders. Is it the right call? Yes, but the rules are so ridiculously lenient for QBs.
Jayden Daniels is on fire in this second half. He finds Jeremy Lane on a touch throw for 37 yards that puts the Comamnders down to the 7. Two plays later, one week after not having a catch for teh firts time since 2014, Zach Ertz scores to put Washington up 24-16.
Commanders have all the momentum.
The Bears collapse continues. Jake Moody -- who was 3-of-3 tonight, had his kick blocked that would have put the Bears up again. This was a play after Caleb Williams fumbled on 3rd-and-1 -- all the Commanders miscues are going to the Bears this half.
33-yard TD pass from Jayden Daniels to Luke McCaffrey gives Washington the lead for the first time. The Commanders trailed 13-0 in the first half, but Daniels' arm has gotten Washington back in the game. Daniels is 14 of 19 for 138 yards and two touchdowns with an interception tonight.
Williams is 2 of 4 for 58 yards in the third quarter so far, as the 37-yard pass to Luther Burden set up Jake Moody's FG. The illegal formation penalty hurt on Williams' TD pass to Rome Odunze, which is why this is still one score game.
Williams deep ball has been on point in the second half.
The Commanders miscues in the first half include the Jayden Daniels INT in Bears territory, Jacory Croskey-Merritt fumble, and Matt Gay missing a 50-yard FG-- that's at least six points on the board taken off in a 13-7 game.
The opportunities are there to get back in the game, as Washington is only down 6 at half.
Jayden Daniels throws a bomb to Chris Moore for 22 yards in a TD. Moore gets both feet in to get Washington on the board. Daniels was 2 of 2 for 33 yards on the drive, recovering his own fumble prior to his TD pass -- huge play on the drive.
Commanders trail 13-7.
The Bears have scored on all 3 drives as Williams caps off a 5-play, 35-yard drive with a TD run. He's 8 for 11 for 79 yards and a score. This drive was started by a Croskey-Merritt fumble.
Bears up 13-0.
The Bears were looking to get deep into Commanders territory, as Caleb Williams found Loveland for 11 yards for a first down. Loveland was called for OPI, which put the Bears back to the Commanders 42. A 12-yard pass to D.J. Moore set up a Moody 48-yard FG.
Bears are up 6-0, but arguably could be more.
First INT thrown by Daniels this season. Only starting QB that doesn't have one is Justin Field. Jaquan Brisker picks off Daniels as he was looking for Deebo Samuel in the end zone. Kills a red zone drive for Washington and the Bears have the early momentum.
Daniels never saw Brisker as the free man up top. Too easy of a read for Brisker.
Caleb Williams goes 3 of 4 for 26 yards on the first drive. Bears go 41 yards on 9 plays in what was good start to the same. Jake Moody hits a 41-yard FG. D'Andrew Swift has 21 total yards on the drive.
"Bill" has 4 rush TD through 5 career games, which is tied for third among rookies drafted in 7th round or later since 1970 and most since Marion Butts' 6 in 1989.
Odunze is the only NFL player with a receiving TD in all of his team's games this season
The Bears defense allows conversions on 29.3% on third downs this season, 2nd in NFL. The Commanders convert just 32.7% of third downs this season -- 29th in NFL. Washington will have to convert third downs better if it wishes to beat Chicago.
Here's the tale of the tape:
Williams: 7-14 record, 29-13 total TD-TO in career
Daniels: 14-6 record, 35-9 total TD-TO in career
