Bears are best equipped to cause damage to commanders

The Bears have yet to win a match on the road this year, meaning Caleb Williams has not won a single match on the road.

That’s an additional factor that will come into play this week against the Bears’ rookie quarterback, who will try to extend the team’s winning streak to four and Washington’s hot pass streak to five.

Just because the Bears haven’t done it with Williams doesn’t mean they can’t.

“We’re talking about a small sample here. The beginning of his career,” said coach Matt Eberflus.

After all, these were only two away games, and they took place in the second and third week. Much has changed over the last three games as Williams has learned how to play offense and involves teammates in passes. The running game also came to life.

“I would say he is where he is now and he wants to improve every week,” Eberflus added. “This week is no different. Really just overall improvement, overall quarterback leading the team. That’s what he’s going to do this week.”

Eberflus had to admit that after his recent success, back-to-back road losses to the Texans and Colts seem like a distant memory.

“It’s true, it seems so,” he said. “It happens week to week, and each week feels like it lasts about four weeks. It seems like a long time ago.

“You put in a lot of work and preparation every week, preparing for a specific opponent, preparing our team, meeting with the guys who were putting together a game plan. Every week is a lot of work and he still has a few weeks left. He’s in a good place.”

Williams’ success in his hot streak came as he learned the offense and his own weapons within it. This is not the same offense that caused frustration in Indianapolis. Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has learned what works for his group, and the running game has improved.

These are the Bears who could give Washington the most problems in Sunday’s 3:25 p.m. game at Northwest Stadium, and it shouldn’t be surprising to see most of them on offense, as Washington’s strength lies in possession.

1. QB Caleb Williams

2. RB D’Andre Swift

Although the ranking of commanders. Only five teams have a worse average yards allowed per carry than the Commanders’ 4.9, and it’s not like the Bears have to choose where to send Quick because the defensive line has been inconsistent up and down. Losing Jonathan Allen didn’t exactly help their defense, even if they have former Illini Johnny Newton for him. The Commanders rank 23rd in attack, stopping in front of the left back, 25th behind the left back, 26th in the middle, 21st behind the right back and 20th behind the right back. According to NFLGSIS.com, the best they managed was 4.38 yards per rush behind either hole at the line. Quick and patient, he can be a real problem for commanders, even with Hall of Famer Bobby Wagner playing guard.

3. WR DJ Moore

He did that last year with eight catches, 230 yards and three touchdowns, but he never had a problem receiving them in a game. Moore is averaging 90.2 yards per game and 5.6 catches in five games against the Commanders and 16.1 yards per catch. Washington has a different defense now, but it hasn’t had enough time to get its personnel into the scheme and is experiencing problems all over the field. Attacking corner Benjamin St-Juste is one way to replicate that success. His passer rating is 114.3 and he has allowed three passing touchdowns.

4. WR Keenan Allen

He got a taste of it last game, but Allen is capable of much more than two TD passes and third-down catches. Confidence in the new offense and new QB is growing. Allen will face Noah Igbinoghene, a cornerback who has a 101.5 passer rating and two TDs, according to Stathead/Pro Football Reference. Igbinoghene only allows 5.2 yards per target, but gives up catches. Allen may be the leading candidate.

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5. WR Rome Odunze

If Odunze can get to a deep route and challenge Washington safety Quan Martin, or if any of the receivers do, they could do some damage. Martin has a 118.7 passer rating and his five completions allowed meant 24.2 yards per catch. Secondary commanders should not see a big player challenging the secondary depth when there are already too many threats to overcome.

6. DE Montez Sweat

The Commanders block every position in the line solidly, but the Bears may like any attacking matchup with a top pass forward. If he moves to the left side of the tackle, he will face former Bears forward Cornelius Lucas. Lucas, now on his fifth team, appears to be settling in in Washington and has the highest pass-blocking rate among the captains, but stopping his former teammate won’t be easy. On the other hand, he will face Andrew Wylie, the former Chiefs defenseman who left last year in free agency.

7. CB Jaylon Johnson

Terry McLaurin will get a solid dose of a sixth-year player in the league who was last year’s top cornerback according to Pro Football Focus. Stathead has a Johnson pass rate of 27.3 this year. He gave up 50% completions and 5.6 yards per completion, numbers that won’t benefit anyone. Last year, McLaurin caught four balls for 49 yards against the Bears, but had just one catch for 3 yards in the first half as the Commanders trailed 27-3.

8. T. Darnell Wright

According to ESPN, the Bears’ second-year right guard, who ranks seventh in the league in run block win rate, will be the top blocker against Dorance Armstrong. Although Armstrong was a pass rusher, he was rated 98th out of 112 edge rushers by Pro Football Focus. Wright has started playing well after a somewhat slow start and is now making progress as a pass blocker as well. One of his better games last year, and perhaps his first big game, came against Commanders.

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