Bears Game Day Live: TJ Edwards talks about Bears’ defensive opportunity against Washington
TJ Edwards loves it when the Bears defense gets a chance to show how good it is. Cassie Carlson spoke with Edwards this week about taking on the Commanders.
Oh. Oh no.
The Chicago Bears fell on the last play.
The commanders came out strong. Jayden Daniels was in control from the start. The Bears defense did everything they could.
Case in point: Washington had 300 yards of offense at the start of the third quarter; The Bears had 93 yards of total offense in nine minutes of the third quarter.
But the Bears were never really out of it and made a game in the end.
Here are our takeaways from the Week 8 game in Landover, Maryland.
The Bears came out very flat
Caleb Williams’ halftime stats reflected the entire performance as a whole: 3 of 8 passing for 33 yards.
It wasn’t just the lack of production, but the lack of trying. Washington simply controlled the ball and prevented the Bears from gaining momentum.
That momentum peaked in London. He evaporated during the bye week and the Bears spent most of the three quarters trying to find him again.
A good reason it never existed to begin with was because the Bears had nothing up their sleeve offensively.
Against the Panthers and Jaguars, the Bears had creative plays and attacked the middle of the field with different throws to different receivers. The Bears attacked Carolina with DJ Moore; The Bears attacked Jacksonville with Keenan Allen. Those plays did not shine against the Commanders.
The Bears woke up late in the third with a 56-yard touchdown by D’Andre Swift. It was a well-designed play that ended in a goal and showed Swift’s ability to make big plays.
But it took almost three quarters to get that play on the field.
The Chicago Bears defense was ready for Week 8
With all the struggles the Bears offense had, they had a chance to take a lead in the fourth quarter.
Chalk that up to another defensive posture.
It wasn’t the type of defensive performance Bears fans are accustomed to. They didn’t force a turnover, which was one way the Bears have cultivated momentum in the past.
There were a few moments where the Bears offense fell behind. One of those moments was the failed quarter in which the Bears threw a screen to Moore that exploded at the line of scrimmage and forced a turnover on downs. That gave Washington the ball in midfield.
Still, the bottom line was that the Bears’ defense didn’t break.
There were plenty of opportunities for the Bears offense. That was thanks to the Bears’ defense.
It was not a good game for the offensive line
In the third quarter, the Bears converted a third-and-2 with a pass to DJ Moore.
The play was called back for an illegal formation on Darnell Wright. That penalty was followed by a false start by Teven Jenkins.
Washington’s defensive front is talented. Da’Ron Payne and Jer’Zahn Newton provided constant pressure and the Bears were never able to get into a rhythm in the passing game or establish the run.
Swift’s long touchdown run was a big breakaway play. It took forever to get to that point. Washington was making life difficult for the Bears, and made matters worse when starting left tackle Braxton Jones left the game in the second quarter and was ruled out with a knee injury. Jenkins also went down with an injury in the fourth quarter, holding his left knee.
That placed rookie third-round pick Kiran Amegadije at left tackle and Bill Murray at guard. That was just a tough day at the office for the Bears frontcourt.
After all that…
The Bears still had a chance to win the game at the one-yard line.
Roschon Johnson scored.
But the Bears lost on the last play.
Heartbreak.
