The Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears faced off on Monday Night Football this week in a rematch of Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams. Last year, the Commanders took home the win after Daniels found Noah Brown in the end zone on a game-winning Hail Mary touchdown pass. This year, the ending was slightly different.
After taking a 13-7 deficit into the locker room at halftime, the Commanders seemed to come alive in the second half, scoring 10 points in the third quarter while holding the Bears to three in that period. But the Bears simply wanted it more this year, and they took advantage of the Commanders’ turnovers to get it done, including Daniels’ fumble at the end of the game that led to the Bears’ game-winning field goal.
Here’s how we graded each unit, including Daniels in the Week 6 loss.
Offense: B-
Three turnovers are what truly hurt this grade. The offense as a whole played relatively well, but seemed to be on the wrong side of everything. The effort was there; they racked up 329 yards of offense, and it was balanced: 205 yards through the air and 124 yards on the ground. We didn’t see as much of Jacory Croskey-Merritt as we would have liked. He did get 17 touches, but averaged just 3.6 yards per carry against one of the league’s bottom-10 run defenses. That’s a far cry from the 6.1 yards per carry he averaged through the first five weeks.
Defense: C-
The Commanders signed defensive end Drake Jackson on Tuesday, following a loss to the Bears marked by epically poor defensive play. Quarterback pressure was nonexistent; the Commanders ended with three sacks, five quarterback hits, and five hurries. Williams still managed to record 252 yards through the air. He spread the ball around, but the Commanders’ biggest thorn was D’Andre Swift. Swift had 14 carries for 108 rushing yards, and two receptions for an additional 67 yards and a touchdown. They recorded zero takeaways. We’ll cut them some slack because three turnovers put them in a horrible position.
Special teams: A-
This unit continues to be solid. Jaylin Lane and Luke McCaffrey both had solid returns on Monday, and while the Commanders only punted the ball once, the Bears had five kick returns for 120 yards. Matt Gay missed one of his field goal attempts, both of which were over 50-yard attempts. The Commanders’ coverage units were on point with both blocking and tackling. Gay’s miss is the only knock here.
Coaching: B
Honestly, it’s hard to say what the coaching staff could have done better or differently against the Bears. The Commanders were prepared, they had a game plan, and they executed it relatively well. They don’t have those turnovers, and they win the game; that’s not on the coaching staff. At this level, every player knows that they have to secure the ball; it’s something they literally practice their entire football careers. The play calling was fine, and in-game adjustments were made, but they couldn’t get the slightest bit of luck to go their way last night. The only knock is OC Kliff Kingsbury using the pistol on third-and-1 on the play where Daniels fumbled in the rain. Why not line up under center with the jumbo package?
Quarterback Jayden Daniels: B-
Despite his turnovers, Daniels played very well on Monday. He outplayed Caleb Williams by far, but he still seems somewhat bothered by that knee. Perhaps it’s the brace that he dislikes wearing, but it’s still affecting his game somewhat. Not a lot, but there were a couple of situations where he might have handled it differently if he trusted his knee. The fumbles are a problem that has to be addressed. Daniels is typically very good at securing the ball, so Dan Quinn and Kliff Kingsbury need to identify the issue so they can address it. Daniels carried the team at times, but the INT in the red zone (his first of the year) and the fumble were backbreakers.
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