Losers from Chicago Bears Week 5 matchup vs. Commanders

The Chicago Bears ended their 14-game losing streak this week against the Washington Commanders in big fashion. They were dominant in a 40-20 win to put them at 1-4 on the season through the first quarter of the year. Still, there were some points in the game where they looked primed to fall into the same bad habits that have plagued this team from closing out games. Fortunately, they were able to keep their foot on the gas at the right times to prevent another comeback, and ultimately one of the worst streaks in sports was no more.

While this was a game where most players actually played well for the most part, there were a few players who stood out for the wrong reasons. The winners list this week was full of several great options, and this week the losers list is a bit scarce. Starting off, the connection between Justin Fields and his former favorite target looks very off since the beginning of the season.

Chicago Bears Week 5 Loser No. 1: Darnell Mooney

It is clear that Darnell Mooney is still such a weapon to have on this team. While facing man coverage for the majority of the game he was able to get open several times. Whether Justin Fields targeted him or not, Mooney is still an underrated route runner with his speed and footwork.

Mooney has had some struggles with drops and tracking balls in his career, and he has worked on those weaknesses a lot. This season, he has just been a bit off in bringing in some of the throws from Fields. The game against the Commanders showed how the connection between them just has not been there this year. They opened the game with a deep shot to Mooney, and he just did not judge the ball well in the air and underran the route. Fields did put the ball in a good spot.

There were a couple of other plays where Mooney and Fields either weren't on the same page or Mooney just did not have the best play on the ball. We have seen plenty of highlight reel catches, but if he wants to establish himself as a great number-two receiver for the Bears and earn another contract from them, he needs to just clean things up a bit and work on bringing back that electric connection that he found with Fields over the last couple of years.