Commanders survive late Bears charge for much-needed win

CHICAGO -- The Washington Commanders improved to 2-4 aft beating the Chicago Bears (2-4) 12-7 connected a windy Thursday nighttime successful Chicago.

Washington Commanders

The Commanders won't apologize for the aesthetics. They didn't request to look pretty, they conscionable needed to win. And that's each they did.

Whether oregon not this triumph implicit the Bears gets their play pointed successful the close absorption remains to beryllium seen. There's plentifulness of enactment that remains aft this victory. They perpetrate excessively galore penalties -- 27 successful 3 games. They don't people galore points -- 47 successful the past 4 games.

But, for now, it allows the Commanders (2-4) to exhale aft losing 4 consecutive games. For a franchise successful which each week seems to bring a caller circular of issues, winning provides a indispensable salve.

Pivotal play: Midway done the 4th quarter, Washington punted aft failing to person connected 3rd down yet again. But it turned retired to beryllium a beneficial move. Returner Velus Jones Jr., fumbled the punt and rookie Christian Holmes recovered the shot connected the 6-yard line. Two runs by rookie Brian Robinson later, Washington took a 12-7 lead. Robinson's archetypal transportation gained 5 yards, helped successful portion by a Wentz artifact aft the rookie chopped outside.

QB breakdown: Wentz's deficiency of mobility limits the offense. It's not conscionable connected blitzes. He struggles to widen plays. Washington besides ran him connected what looked similar a powerfulness expanse successful the reddish zone, a funny telephone fixed however he's moving these days. Wentz wounded his manus and entered with a atrocious enarthrosis truthful that mightiness person wounded his passing connected a windy night. He did person 2 passes dropped by Curtis Samuel, including 1 that would person enactment them wrong the Bears' 10-yard line. But, bottommost line, helium needs to play amended if this discourtesy is to make points -- and hope.

Promising trend: Defensive extremity Montez Sweat was held without a sack for the archetypal 4 games of the season. There were times he'd get close, but needed a small much assistance from the sum to decorativeness the play. He's received that assistance the past 2 games and has recorded 3 sacks and 8 backmost hits. Sweat recorded a sack and harassed Justin Fields connected galore occasions Thursday night. If Washington is going to marque immoderate sound the remainder of the play it needs Sweat to proceed being a force.

Troubling trend: Third downs. In their past 4 games Washington has converted conscionable 14-of-54 3rd downs, a relation of an immobile backmost and an discourtesy seemingly unprepared to grip blitzes. Teams cognize Washington likes to tally crossers truthful they often instrumentality distant that option, but they besides cognize Wentz volition conflict vs. pressure. Washington needs to physique successful much assistance for Wentz successful those situations.

Underrated statistic to know: Leading 3-0 astatine the break, Washington's 88 yards successful the archetypal fractional were the fewest this play by a squad up astatine halftime.

Next game: vs. Packers (1 p.m. ET, Oct. 23)

Chicago Bears

The Bears are the 2nd squad this play to apical 390 yards of discourtesy and people little than 10 points successful a game. Chicago near 14 points connected the committee successful the archetypal fractional and couldn't decorativeness the occupation erstwhile Fields had the discourtesy successful presumption to triumph the crippled connected the Bears' last drive, which ended conscionable abbreviated of the extremity line.

On that play, Fields connected with wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who caught the shot astir a Washington defender and bobbled it, and near moving backmost David Montgomery unfastened successful the level connected the different broadside of the field.

Same issues, antithetic game. And that goes beyond backmost play.

Fields was pressured 18 times connected Thursday, tied for his astir successful a crippled successful his career. Fields has present been pressured connected 46% of his dropbacks this season. That's the highest complaint of unit a QB has faced successful his archetypal six games since ESPN began tracking pressures successful 2009.

QB breakdown: Fields' beardown second-half show successful Minnesota didn't transportation implicit to Thursday night. The Bears had 2 trips wrong the reddish portion successful the archetypal half, the archetypal of which resulted successful Fields' archetypal interception wrong the 20-yard enactment aft helium threw a shot into the helmet of Commanders' antiaircraft lineman Efe Obada, which was recovered by his teammate Jonathan Allen. The Bears' adjacent thrust ended with different scoreless travel wrong the reddish zone. Fields had choky extremity Ryan Griffin wide unfastened successful the extremity portion and sailed a shot past him connected second-and-3 astatine the 3-yard line. Griffin had 4.05 yards of separation connected that play, according to Next Gen Stats. Chicago had 1 much travel wrong the reddish zone, acceptable up by the longest tally of Fields' vocation -- an 88-yard scramble successful the 4th fourth -- that ended with Darnell Mooney catching and bobbling a walk conscionable shy of the extremity line. These 3 trips wrong the reddish portion without a people ties the astir red-zone drives without a constituent successful a crippled since 2000.

Bold prediction: Dante Pettis volition instrumentality punts against the Patriots. Rookie Velus Jones Jr. has handled each of Chicago's instrumentality duties since his debut successful Week 4. But a fumble connected a punt instrumentality that allowed Washington to retrieve the shot astatine the Chicago 6-yard enactment and people 2 plays aboriginal -- aft a muffed punt against the Giants with 2 minutes to play squashed immoderate realistic accidental of a comeback -- volition unit the Bears to reconsider who they person heavy connected punt return.

Silver lining: The Bears don't play again until Oct. 24, which gives them 10 afloat days of betterment earlier they look the New England Patriots successful Foxborough. Guards Lucas Patrick (concussion) and Teven Jenkins (shoulder) some near the crippled concisely successful the 3rd quarter, which led to a shuffle up beforehand that brought Michael Schofield III disconnected the seat earlier the 2 returned. Fields volition beryllium feeling the effects of getting deed implicit 11 times and taking 4 sacks. He was dilatory to get up aft a mates crushing blows to the ribs and appeared to injure his near enarthrosis successful the 2nd half.

Troubling trend: Chicago's walk unreserved has been virtually non-existent. Entering Week 6, the Bears had a 28% unit complaint (19th), a 5% sack complaint (22nd) and lone 8 sacks (tied for 25th). They upped that past fig against Carson Wentz, sacking the Washington backmost 3 times --two of which came connected blitzes -- but lone pressured the Commanders' QB connected 4 of his 25 dropbacks (16%).

Underrated statistic to know: Fields has taken astatine slightest 2 sacks successful each crippled this play and successful 14 consecutive games, which is the longest progressive streak successful the NFL.

Next game: astatine Patriots (8:15 p.m. ET, Oct. 24)