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The Washington Commanders suffered a brutal loss on Monday Night Football. Washington fell 25-24 against Chicago thanks to a last-second field goal by none other than Jake Moody. The Commanders trailed the Bears for most of the game, but made a valiant attempt at a comeback during the fourth quarter. In fact, were it not for a few key mistakes, the Commanders could have easily won this game.
Chicago does deserve some credit for authoring such an impressive victory. They clearly had revenge on the mind after last season’s matchup ended with a hail mary.
Regardless, the Commanders should have been able to take care of the Bears. Washington had home-field advantage, and also boasts one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.
So what exactly went wrong for Washington on Monday night? And should Commanders fans be worried about the rest of the season?
Below we will explore the Commanders most to blame for Week 6’s last-second loss against the Bears.
Jayden was not careful enough with the football on Monday night.
The second-year quarterback made a handful of ugly plays that ended up being the different in a one-score game.
Daniels threw an interception early in the game that stole Washington’s momentum after what had been a successful offensive drive up to that point.
The speedy quarterback fumbled the ball twice during Monday Night Football. He got lucky the first time, as the ball bounced right back to him for the recovery. Unfortunately, he would not be so lucky the second time.
Daniels took the credit for a crucial fumble on 3rd-and-1 during the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
“I just lost the ball,” Daniels said after the game per The Athletic’s Nicki Jhabvala. “Completely my fault. Didn’t give Bill a chance, so it’s my fault.”
The Commanders were running a read option play with Daniels and Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Daniels did not handle the ball well and essentially fumbled the ball into Croskey-Merritt’s chest.
This could not have come at a worst point in the game. Washington was holding onto a two-point lead and could have won the game with a conversion. Instead, they surrendered the ball back to Chicago at midfield. They would never get the ball back.
Commanders fans should not panic about Daniels, as he’s already proven he’s a franchise quarterback. But he clearly has a few wrinkles to iron out of his game.
The Commanders are beginning to show signs of attrition on their offense.
Washington is down several important players on offense before the halfway point in the season. Austin Ekeler is already out with a torn Achilles, and the receiver room is not looking much better.
The Commanders were without both veteran Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown for Monday’s game against the Bears.
McLaurin has been banged up for the past few weeks with a quad injury....
