The Chicago Bears pulled off a needed upset to beat the Washington Commanders. It was not pretty, but it got the team to 1-4 and got the winless talk out of the way. The team still has work to do, but these five players help guide a victory.
5. D.J. Moore has remained the Chicago Bears star in an awful season
Even in the 0-4 start to the season, D.J. Moore was a big-time playmaker. He was only targeted twice in week one, but both moved the chains. He had a huge game in week two, he caught a garbage time touchdown in week three, and then in weeks four and five, he has taken over a dominant threat.
Some of it is that he has played lesser pass defenses, after facing off with Jaire Alexander in week one. Some of it is that D.J. Moore was a monster. We knew coming into the game that Moore had his best matchup to date.
Even against the Broncos he had to escape from Patrick Surtain. This week, it was Kendall Fuller, Benjamin St. Juste, and Emmanuel Forbes. He was so violent against Forbes that they had to bench him.
What was great was that Luke Getsy let D.J. Moore get the ball early. He was able to get the team on the board quick and put the pressure on the Commanders. The season may not have gone as well as the Bears want, but the trade for D.J. Moore and the Panthers future first round pick will be an all-time for Ryan Poles.
4. The Chicago Bears started to get improvement on their offensive line
The Chicago Bears' offensive line is starting to come together, and it is starting to show. Continuity has a lot to do with success on the offensive line, so when Nate Davis did not do anything this offseason and Darnell Wright was a rookie, it was no shock that the right side of the line was a disaster to start.
However, Davis has been back for two weeks, and Wright has his sea legs now, and the Chicago Bears have started to get better play from the right side of their line. You could see it last week, and this week, the pockets were very clean, even against a loaded Washington defensive front.
Even more than that was seeing Teven Jenkins make his debut. It is unfortunate that Lucas Patrick was injured, but sliding Cody Whitehair into center and playing Jenkins may be the best combination. Even when Ja'Tyre Carter took snaps, it was better than a lot of what Patrick has done this season.
The Chicago Bears always wanted the line to be Wright, Davis, Whitehair, Jenkins, and then Braxton Jones. They can get four out of the five for the end of the season after struggling to get any of these guys in their spots together earlier.
3. Andrew Billings has played well for the Chicago Bears
Andrew Billings has been the best signing the Chicago Bears made all offseason. We all figured it would be Tremaine Edmunds, or maybe T.J. Edwards, or what about Yannick Ngakoue? No, it is Andrew Billings.
Like D.J. Moore, Billings has been excellent all season despite the losses. So, that is what makes it so good to see Billings perform in this game when the team had their success. The game pretty much started with him and Moore. Moore made big plays, and the Bears led 7-0.
Then, the Commanders picked up nine yards, and they faced a third down with one yard to go. Surely they would move the chains. Andrew Billings had other plans. He blew the play up in the backfield and caused a one-yard loss. That forced a punt.
The Chicago Bears immediately went down the field and scored from there. Just like that, it was 14-0, and the Commanders only ran three plays. One of them was blown up by Billings. He set the tone from the start and made big plays to shut down the run. This is a game to recognize the efforts of Billings all season long.
2. The Chicago Bears got help from Greg Stroman in the slot
Greg Stroman is starting to find his place in the slot. To start, it has been nice that he has not been a complete disaster. To be fair, part of that is because every other position has been a disaster. Teams have felt comfortable picking on other positions, and Stroman ended up not being picked on.
However, he also has come into his own. The talent has not been the issue, but Stroman has not been healthy since about 2018. Now, he is back and fully healthy and looks good. Stroman had a huge interception in the first half. The Bears scored on the ensuing drive. It took the game from 20-3 to 27-3 before the half. It capped off a dominant first half.
Then, in the second half, as the Commanders were coming back, he had a key sack. When the score was 27-11, he pushed the Commanders back. They got to 4th down with two yards to go and kicked a field goal. Considering the sack was a nine-yard loss, this was the play that helped keep the field goal unit on and did not allow the Commanders to make the score closer.
Greg Stroman is coming into his own and had the best game of his career in a national spotlight to give the Chicago Bears their first win of the season.
1. Justin Fields did what was needed for the Chicago Bears to win
The last two weeks were easily the best two weeks of Justin Fields' career. Against the Denver Broncos, it was his best statistical game, but he did not finish it. He threw the late interception and had the backbreaking fumble that led to a game-tying score.
This week, he did all of the dynamic things against the Broncos, but he capped it off with a turnover-free performance and a win. Fields played loose and free this week. He was scrambling and making plays with his feet. Luke Getsy gave him designed runs. The Bears also got D.J. Moore the ball early, which gave Fields confidence in making passes down the field.
Overall, this has to be the best start of his career, especially when you consider the win capped it all off. Now, the question is what the Chicago Bears can do to build off of this.