Bear Digest

Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders Week 8 Game Day Preview

A look at how to watch the Bears and Commanders game with key statistics and trends in the Week 8 battle and the biggest individual matchups.

Gene Chamberlain

Cole Kmet drops the ball after crossing the goal line and begins celebrating after scoring a touchdown against Washington last year.
Cole Kmet drops the ball after crossing the goal line and begins celebrating after scoring a touchdown against Washington last year. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
In this story:

Chicago Bears (4-2) At Washington Commanders (5-2)

Where: Northwest Stadium, Landover, MD.

Kickoff: 3:25 p.m. 

TV: CBS (Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson)

Radio: ESPN AM-1000 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie)

Compass (Chris Carrino, Brian Baldinger)

Spanish Radio: Latino Mix 93.5 (Omar Ramos, Mateo Moreno)

The Line: Bears by 2 1/2, over/under 43 1/2

Bears On SI Pick: Bears 26, Commanders 20

The Series: The 54th overall meeting, with Washington ahead 27-25-1. The Bears won the last two held in Washington, including 40-20 last year, and have won two of the last three. Before those three Washington had won seven in a row. The road team has won six of the last seven games in this series.

The Coaches: Bears coach Matt Eberflus is in his third season and is 14-26, including 1-1 against the Commanders. Eberflus' teams are 3-16 on the road and 1-1 following bye weeks.

Commanders coach Dan Quinn is 51-46 in six NFL seasons and is in his first season as Commanders coach. He led the Atlanta Falcons to Super Bowl LI and was their coach from 2015-20. Quinn and Jim Caldwell were finalists with Eberflus for the Bears job in 2022 when Eberflus was hired. Quinn was defensive coordinator in Seattle and in Dallas prior in addition to being Falcons head coach.

The Teams: It's the No. 1 pick in the draft, Caleb Williams, possibly against injured No. 2 pick Jayden Daniels. The Bears are trying to win for the fourth straight time and are in their longest winning streak under Eberflus. for their first three-game winning streak under Eberflus. They won over the Rams, Panthers and two weeks ago in London over Jacksonville. The Bears defense has given up no more than 21 points to 12 straight opponents while Williams has thrown nine touchdown passes in the past four games to four different receivers, three to Cole Kmet and three to DJ Moore, two to Keenan Allen and one to Rome Odunze.

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The Commanders are coming off a 40-7 rout of Carolina in which Daniels played only 10 plays and suffered a ribs injury. His status will be announced on Sunday prior to the game. Marcus Mariota finished the game and completed 18 of 23 for 205 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 34 yards on 11 attempts. The Commanders had lost the previous week to Baltimore, 30-23.

Stat Leaders: Williams has completed 130 of 199 for 1,317 yards with nine TDs and five interceptions for a passer rating of 88.7. D'Andre Swift leads the Bears in rushing with 325 yards on 91 attempts (3.6-yard average) and three TDs. DJ Moore leads the Bears in receptions with 31 and in receiving yards with 314. T.J. Edwards leads the Bears in tackles with 47. Gervon Dexter leads the Bears defense in sacks with four and Jaylon Johnson has a team-high two interceptions. Tyrique Stevenson and Johnson are tied for the team lead in pass breakups with five each.

Daniels has completed 127 of 168 for an NFL best 75.6%. He has 1,410 yards, six TDs and has thrown two interceptions. WR Terry McLaurin leads the Commanders with 35 receptions and also in receiving yards with 454 and TD catches with four. Brian Robinson Jr. has the team lead in rushing with 396 yards on 85 carries (4.7 ypc) and six TDs. LB Bobby Wagner leads in tackles with 62 and Dante Fowler is the sacks leader with 4 1/2. Benjamin St-Juste leads in pass breakups.

Injury Report: For the Bears, S Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and CB Kyler Gordon (hamstring) are out. DE Jake Martin (toe) and RB Travis Homer (finger) have been activated from injured reserve. 

For the Commanders, OL Brandon Coleman is out (concussion) and Daniels is questionable.

Matching Up: The Bears rank 24th on offense, 20th in passing and 24th rushing. They are 12th in scoring. Chicago's defense is fifth overall, seventh against the pass and 11th against the run. They are fourth in fewest points allowed.

The Commanders rank fourth on offense, 14th in passing and third in rushing. They lead the NFL in scoring with 218 points. Washington's defense is ranked 16th, 12th against the pass and 18th stopping the run. They are 15th in fewest points allowed.

Of Note: The Bears are going for their first four-game winning streak since 2018, when they last wo the NFC North title. ... The teams the Bears beat have a combined 6-20 record. ... Williams has the best won-lost record after six games for a No. 1 draft pick at QB in league history. ... The Bears are plus-6 in turnover differential and the Commanders plus-3. ... Wagner has five tackles or more in 19 straight games. ... The Commanders are 3-0 at home for the first time since 2005. If they win, they'll be 4-0 at home for the first time since 1978.

Key Individual Matchups

Bears WR DJ Moore vs. Commanders CB Mike Sainristil

The best Commanders cornerback is a rookie from Michigan and has been graded only 50th in the league by Pro Football Focus. PFF says he gives up a 115.9 passer rating in coverage when targeted and he has one interception. At 5-10, 182 pounds, he's not giving up a great deal of size to Moore. Moore caught eight passes for 230 yards and three TDs last year against the Commanders in a different defensive scheme. Moore was targeted the fewest times in a game he has all season against Jacksonville, just five times. Moore has 28 catches for 451 yards and five TDs in five games against the Commanders.

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Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Commanders WR Terry McLaurin

Jaylon Johnson's passer rating against remains an obscene 27.3 according to Stathead/Pro Football Reference. He's allowed 10 completions this year in 20 targets for 11.1 yards per catch and 5.6 yards per target. Johnson hasn't allowed a touchdown pass this year and has given up three over the last three seasons. It seems a no-brainer that the Bears defense would have Johnson chasing McLaurin around all game. McLaurin has been targeted at least 120 times a year each of the last four years and this year averages seven targets a game. His catch rate of 71.4% per target is the highest of his career. Both Johnson and McLaurin are 6 feet tall but McLaurin, at 210 pounds, has a 14-pound weight edge.

Bears DE Montez Sweat vs. Commanders T Andrew Wylie

Sweat faces his old team and is off to a slower start this year in sacks with just 2 1/2 and in pressures with nine. He had 12 1/2 sacks and 40 pressures last year. His impact has been felt, though, as the defensive line has flourished as opponents double-team Sweat, leaving single coverage for the other players. Sweat has a 17% pass rush win rate, according to PFF, which is 19th best among all edge rushers. Wylie, a former Chiefs player, is familiar with Sweat from one season with the Commanders after coming over from Kansas City. He is graded 45th among all tackles this year in the league by PFF and 44th at pass blocking. He has committed five penalties and allowed no sacks, one QB hit and 10 pressures.

Bears LB Tremaine Edmunds vs. Commanders TE Zach Ertz 

At times Edmunds might be on Ertz in seam route coverage or in short patterns, as he comes up rallying to the ball. At 6-5, 250, Ertz is almost 34 years old and not the speed threat downfield he once was. Edmunds would have a huge speed edge, as would safety Elijah Hicks. But Hicks is 5-11, 200 pounds and would be a size mismatch trying to cover Ertz. Edmunds is 6-5, 250. Jack Sanborn could also be covering Ertz in the base defense. Edmunds has an outstanding 59.9 passer rating against and has given up just 7.9 yards per catch made against him. Ertz was in the Cardinals offense under Kliff Kingsbury in 2021 and 2022 and has the best yards per catch he has had since 2017 at 10.7. He has 25 receptions in 34 targets.

Bears DT Andrew Billings vs. Commanders G Sam Cosmi

Billings has been an effective all-around defender inside for the Bears, and ESPN rates his pass rush win rate as No. 5 in the league among tackles at 15%. His run stopping has taken a step back this year according to PFF but Billings has been there to help with the big stops inside. Cosmi graded seventh in the league as a pass blocker among guards. The 6-foot-7, 309-pounder is coming off his best season in the league according to PFF grade and this year has allowed one sack and nine pressures.

Bears WR Keenan Allen vs. Commanders CB Noah Igbinoghene

At 5-11, 197, Igbinoghene is bigger than many slot cornerbacks and could match up in those terms with the 6-2, 211-pound Allen. Allen started to be heard from in the last game as a third-down threat and is key in extending Bears drives. Igbinoghene has a 101.5 passer rating against, which is so-so for a slot cornerback and has allowed completions on 20-of-30 targets.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.