Chicago Bears Score and Recap (Week 8): Commanders 18, Bears 15 – Chicago Loses Sloppy Game on Hail Mary
The Bears traveled to Washington after their bye week for a matchup between the top two picks in the 2024 draft. For the first three quarters on Sunday it appeared Jayden Daniels was going to be the QB that came out on top with the Commanders in complete control. It was at that point where Caleb Williams shook off what had been a horrible start and gave Chicago the lead with a touchdown in the final minute. Things then went completely off-the-rails when the home team connected on a Daniels’ Hail Mary to win the game with no time remaining.
Early in the game, the Bears came out seemingly completely unprepared for the game. The offense looked discombobulated the entire first half and did almost nothing. Defensively, Chicago bent several times but did not break, holding the Commanders to just three Austin Seibert field goals in the first half.
Seibert hit another three pointer in the third quarter to give Washington a 12-0 lead. D’Andre Swift finally injected some life into the Bears late in the period when he took a sweep and turned the corner for a 56-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 12-7.
Chicago’s defense continued to keep Daniels and company under control and set up a drive that made it all the way to the Commanders 1 yard line just under halfway through the fourth quarter. At that point, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron made the bizarre decision to attempt a handoff to backup center Doug Kramer Jr. on third down. Unsurprisingly, the timing between Williams and the inexperienced Kramer was off and the ball was fumbled and recovered by Washington.
Yet again, the Bears held on defense and got the ball back with just under four minutes left in the game. Caleb Williams was calm and cool and brought his team to the red zone again. Keenan Allen drew a pass interference penalty to again put the ball near the goal line. Wisely they gave the ball to an actual running back this time, as Roschon Johnson punched in the go-ahead touchdown with just 25 seconds left.
Chicago got the two-point conversion on a short pass to Cole Kmet, which made the score 15-12. The Commanders scrambled around for 18 yards to get the ball to their own 48 with 4 seconds left. Daniels rolled out to get some space and made a desperate heave towards the goal line. The pass deflected off of a group of players at the 5 yard line and floated to the end zone where somehow Washington’s Noah Brown was all alone to catch a game-winning touchdown for a stunning 18-15 defeat. (Box score)
Why the Bears Lost
They did almost nothing offensively through the first three quarters and the defense inexplicably let a receiver get behind them on the final play of the game.
Key Moment
The Bears made numerous mistakes in this one but a team should never lose a game on a Hail Mary. After a dramatic comeback you have to be able to close out a lead with just 25 seconds left and the opponent starting from their own 30 yard line.
Stats That Matter
- Williams had just 36 yards passing entering the final quarter but he threw for 95 in the fourth to seemingly win the game. He also had his most productive scrambling day with 41 yards.
- Swift was really the spark for this comeback with 129 yards on 18 carries and the long touchdown run.
- The Bears lost LT Braxton Jones to a knee injury in the first half and his replacement, Kiran Amegadjie, struggled mightily filling in.
Bottom Line
The Bears had absolutely no business winning that game so it was very encouraging to see Caleb Williams lead them to a dramatic rally. Obviously, that gets buried by the shocking ending but honestly it’s more important long-term than a rough loss. The coaching on display Sunday was not good to say the least. The team was not prepared to play and some of the offensive calls were very bad. It’s certainly raises more questions going forward.
Next Up
The Bears head to Arizona on Sunday, November 3 for a matchup with the Cardinals at 3:05pm CT with television coverage on CBS.
