LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Chicago (2-2) at Washington (3-2)
Monday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, ABC/ESPN.
Against the spread: Bears 2-2; Commanders 3-2.
Series record: Commanders lead 28-25-1.
Last week: Bears were on a bye; Commanders beat Chargers 27-10.
Last meeting: Commanders beat Bears 18-15 at Washington on Oct. 27, 2024.
Bears offense: overall (17), rush (24), pass (24), scoring (11).
Bears defense: overall (27), rush (31), pass (17), scoring (28).
Commanders offense: overall (13), rush (1), pass (24), scoring (8).
Commanders defense: overall (24), rush (17), pass (23), scoring (10).
Turnover differential: Bears plus-5; Commanders even.
CB Tyrique Stevenson. The third-year pro delivered strong performances in wins over Dallas and Las Vegas after struggling in the first two games. Now he returns to the site of last year's “Fail Mary." Stevenson had his back turned to the line of scrimmage and was motioning toward the crowd with 2 seconds left when the Commanders snapped the ball on the final play, a 52-yard TD pass that gave them an 18-15 win. Stevenson was late to the play and made matters worse by dashing into the crowd and leaping to deflect the pass rather than box out receiver Noah Brown, which was his assignment. The ball got tipped to Brown for a touchdown, sending the Bears into a 10-game losing streak that cost former coach Matt Eberflus his job. Stevenson comes into the rematch on a bit of a roll, with two pass breakups in each of the past two games and an interception against Dallas.
DE Dorance Armstrong. He is tied for third in the NFL with five sacks after picking up two in last week's win at the Los Angeles Chargers and has at least one in every game this season except in Week 4. “He’s got versatility that he’s able to (use to) work more this year — inside, outside, different spots, knowing when to take a shot,” coach Dan Quinn said. “And so that’s a big piece for us.”
Commanders RB Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt vs. the Bears' run defense. Croskey-Meritt, a rookie seventh-round draft pick, turned in a breakout performance in Week 5, piling up 111 yards on 14 carries against the Chargers, his first 100-yard game in the pros. He also scored on two runs. He paces the league's highest-gaining ground game; Washington averages 156.4 yards rushing per game. Chicago, meanwhile, ranks 31st of 32 clubs at stopping the run, allowing opponents 164.5 yards rushing.
Bears: CB Kyler Gordon expects to play after missing the first four games with a hamstring injury. ... TE Colston Loveland indicated he’s ready to play this week after missing the Las Vegas game because of a hip injury, saying “it feels good now.” ... DT Grady Jarrett (knee) and RT Darnell Wright (elbow) missed the Raiders game. ... K Cairo Santos was dealing with a quadriceps problem. ... LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring) has played in just one game — a Week 2 loss at Detroit. ... The Bears opened 21-day practice windows this week on DE Austin Booker (knee) and RB Travis Homer (calf) to return from injured reserve.
Commanders: Brown, who caught the Hail Mary from Daniels in the win over Chicago last season, will miss his fourth consecutive game with groin and knee issues. ... WR Terry McLaurin, the team's top wideout, is sidelined for his third game in a row because of a quadriceps injury. ... WR Deebo Samuel has been dealing with a bruised heel and his game status won't be announced until Monday. ... RG Sam Cosmi's 21-day practice window opened last week; he has been sidelined since tearing a knee ligament during the playoffs last season.
The Commanders have won two of the three most recent meetings, including last year's victory on a 52-yard, final-play touchdown pass.
Chicago QB Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, is 7-14 as an NFL starter; Washington QB Jayden Daniels, the No. 2 pick in that draft, is 14-6 so far and led the Commanders to the NFC title game last season. ... Chicago beat the Raiders when Williams orchestrated a late touchdown drive and Josh Blackwell blocked a last-minute field goal to preserve the victory. ... The Bears are coming off their bye. Before that, they collected back-to-back wins, beating Dallas and Las Vegas after blowing an 11-point lead in the opener against Minnesota and losing big at Detroit. ... Chicago joined Green Bay as the only franchises with 800 regular-season wins when it beat the Raiders. ... WR Rome Odunze can become the first player since Mike Evans in 2020 to record a touchdown reception in each of his team’s first five games. He's tied for second in the NFL with five TD catches, one behind Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown. ... S Kevin Byard had two interceptions against the Raiders. It was the two-time All-Pro’s fifth career game with multiple INTs — the most among active players. ... Williams has been sacked seven times through four games after being taken down a league-leading and franchise-record 68 times as a rookie last season. ... Washington is 2-0 at home so far and is coming off its first road win of the season, 27-10 at the Los Angeles Chargers. ... In that victory, Washington held Chargers QB Justin Herbert to 166 yards passing, the eighth-lowest total in his 84 NFL starts. ... Washington is 3-2 after starting 4-1 a year ago en route to going 12-5. This is the first time since 2017 and 2018 that the team got off to a 3-2 or better start in consecutive seasons. ... Daniels has 4,232 yards passing and 1,015 yards rushing as a pro, making him the first player in NFL history with at least 4,000 passing and 1,000 rushing in his first 20 games. ... Daniels missed two games with a knee injury; in the three games he's played this season, he has four TD passes and zero interceptions. ... Armstrong had a pair of sacks against the Chargers, his first two-sack game since Week 1 of the 2023 season. ... Croskey-Merritt's two TDs on the ground against the Chargers made him Washington's first rookie with multiple running scores in a game since Daniels did it in Week 1 last season. ... The Commanders lead the NFL with 156.4 rushing yards per game.
WR Deebo Samuel. The Commanders' do-everything Samuel catches passes, carries on running attempts and even sometimes returns kicks. He already has four touchdowns this season — three through the air and one on the ground — plus has more than twice as many catches and more than twice as many yards receiving as anyone else on Washington's roster in 2025.
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