The Chicago Bears hit a field goal as time expired to defeat the Washington Commanders on a rainy Monday night, 25-24. After starting the season 0-2, the Bears have now won three straight games.
Chicago running back D’Andre Swift was amazing in this one. He finished the game with 108 receiving yards, 67 receiving yards, and a TD catch. Furthermore, quarterback Caleb Williams went 17-for-29 with 252 yards and two total touchdowns.
The Bears looked really good out of the gate by putting together a nine-play drive that ended with a field goal to take a 3-0 lead into the first quarter. D’Andre Swift accounted for 21 of Chicago’s 41 yards in that series.
Leaders seemed ready to respond to this registration drive when they made a critical error. On the Chicago 21, quarterback Jayden Daniels threw an interception that was returned 30 yards to the Bears 34-yard line. It was Jayden Daniels’ first interception of the season.
The Bears’ promising campaign was derailed by a penalty. The offensive pass interference came on a play that brought the Bears to Washington’s 21-yard line, so instead of getting a 1st-and-10 just outside the red zone, they were stuck with a 1st-and-2 at their own 42. This blunder forced them to settle for another field goal to increase their lead to six points.
As bad as the Bears’ early mistakes were, they were nothing compared to Washington’s mistakes. Bill Croskey Merritt was stripped of the football that the Bears picked off at the Leaders’ 35-yard line. This was Croskey-Merritt’s second straight game with a losing streak.
With its good field position, Chicago had no problem scoring the first touchdown of the game. From one yard out, quarterback Caleb Williams found the end zone on a determined quarterback keeper for a 13-0 advantage.
The Leaders offense finally came to life at this point. Shortly after the Bears put on a face mask, Jayden Daniels hit wide receiver Chris Moore near the side of the end zone for an acrobatic 22-yard TD catch to cut the lead to 13-7. Moore, who had a season-high three receptions tonight, finished the game with three catches for 46 yards and a touchdown.
The Bears made their first big decision of the night a little more than halfway through the second quarter. Facing fourth-and-1 on Washington’s 31-yard line, Caleb Williams’ pass intended for wide receiver Roma Udunze was batted down by a Commanders defender, resulting in a turnover on downs.
Bill Crosky-Merritt has done everything he can to make up for this earlier confusion. He scored four straight touchdowns for 24 yards to get the offense into enemy territory. Then Jayden Daniels hit tight end Zach Ertz for a ten-yard touchdown to get to the Chicago 35, bringing us to the two-minute warning. The Leaders eventually attempted a 50-yard field goal, which they missed with 1:10 left in the first half.
Although Washington forced a three-pointer to get the ball back. They wouldn’t be able to get anything going with just 25 seconds left, so they knelt down and went into halftime trailing 13-7.
Coming out of the break, the leaders came close to tying this up. They had a 25-yard drive from eight plays that allowed them to attempt another field goal from 53 yards out. This time, kicker Matt Gay slid the ball through the goalposts to cut the deficit, 13-10.
Chicago had an answer. Caleb Williams hit wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III for 21 and 37 yards respectively to get into the red zone. Unfortunately for the Windy City faithful, the relegation was wiped off the board by an illegal penalty kick. That led to Caleb Williams getting a seven-yard sack, forcing the Bears to settle for a 41-yard field goal and a 16-10 lead.
Washington had no problem responding to the six-point deficit. They put together a nine-play, 84-yard drive that was capped by a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Luke McCaffrey to give the Leaders their first lead of the night, 17-16. It was McCaffrey’s third TD in the last four games.
The Bears had a chance to get the lead back, but made critical mistakes on back-to-back plays. On third-and-1, Caleb Williams fired a punt up the middle, resulting in a five-yard loss. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 48-yard field goal attempt by Jake Moody was blocked, allowing the Commanders to take over at their own 37.
Washington did an excellent job of taking advantage of that extra possession. Jayden Daniels connected with rookie wideout Jaylin Lane for a 37-yard pickup to get to Chicago’s seven-yard line. Two touchdowns later, Daniels hit Zach Ertz in the back of the end zone for a touchdown and a 24-16 lead.
This time, the Bears knew how to answer the call. On third and fourth at their own 45, D’Andre Swift had a 55-yard catch-and-run that took it home with a 24-22 deficit. However, Caleb Williams failed to complete the pass on the two-point attempt, so Chicago found itself trailing with 10:26 left in the game.
After exchanging punts, Jayden Daniels hit running back Jeremy McNichols for a 15-yard gain on third-and-13 to give the Chiefs a fresh set of downs at the Chicago 49. They were quickly tasked with third-and-1 with 3:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, but a handoff between Daniels and Bill Croskey-Merritt was blocked, leading to a fumble that Picked even by bears. It was Washington’s third turnover of the evening, matching the total for their first five games this season.
The Bears picked up five yards before the two-minute warning, meaning they had third-and-5 at the 49. Caleb Williams completed a six-yard pass for a new set of downs. D’Andre Swift then gained 14 yards on back-to-back carries to get to Washington’s 31 with 1:22 remaining. After the Leaders burned their final timeout, D’Andre Swift ran 15 yards to get into the red zone. From there, they were able to run the clock and kick a 38-yard winning field goal as time expired.
With this loss, the Leaders drop to 3-3, meaning they currently hold second place in the NFC East.
*Author’s Note: All information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
https://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/3CXARDG.jpg
Source link