Bears building momentum with 3 straight wins after thriller at Washington

CHICAGO (AP) — No “Fail Mary.” Just another nail-biter.

This time, Chicago prevailed on the final play in Washington. And unlike last season, when a loss on a desperation pass sent them into a freefall, Caleb Williams and the Bears have some momentum after squeezing past Jayden Daniels and the Commanders 25-24 on Monday night.

They can thank Jake Moody, who went from having a 48-yard field goal blocked to kicking a 38-yarder as time expired. That gave the Bears (3-2) three straight wins heading into a home game against the New Orleans Saints this week.

“When it’s ugly, we’re still finding a way to win, and we’re developing that belief,” coach Ben Johnson said on Tuesday. “But at the same time, holy cow, how far can we push this thing? Let’s see how good we can really get this season.”

The Bears are no doubt in a better place than they were just a few weeks ago, let alone after their trip to Washington last season. They were 4-2 headed into that game, when everything fell apart.

Former coach Matt Eberflus made some questionable decisions down the stretch that players questioned in the aftermath, and Tyrique Stevenson made two big mistakes on the final play — a 52-yard touchdown from Daniels to Noah Brown.

He had his back turned to the line of scrimmage and was motioning toward the crowd when the Commanders snapped the ball. Stevenson was late to the play and made things worse by sprinting toward the pack and jumping to deflect the pass rather than block out Brown. That sent Chicago into a 10-game skid, with Eberflus getting fired after an embarrassing Thanksgiving loss at Detroit.

The Bears began this season by blowing an 11-point lead against Minnesota at Soldier Field and getting blown out at Detroit. They then beat Dallas by 17 at home before pulling out 25-24 victories at both Las Vegas and Washington. That gave Chicago consecutive road wins for the first time since 2020.

What’s working

Takeaways. The Bears have 11 in the past three games after forcing three against Washington — and all three led to points. Chicago forced turnovers on the Commanders’ first two possessions, with Jaquan Brisker intercepting Daniels at the 2 and Montez Sweat forcing a fumble by Jacory Croskey-Merritt. The interception led to a field goal, and the recovery helped set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Williams. Most critical was the botched handoff late in the game between Daniels and Croskey-Merritt that Chicago’s Nahshon Wright recovered, leading to the winning drive.

What needs help

Penalties. The Bears will need to clean up the penalties after committing nine for 84 yards, including one in the third quarter that negated a touchdown. Left tackle Theo Benedet got flagged for an illegal formation, nullifying an 11-yard TD pass from Williams to Rome Odunze on third down, and Chicago settled for a field goal.

Stock up

RB D’Andre Swift. The one-time Pro Bowler had what might’ve been his best all-around game in two seasons with the Bears. He ran for by far a season-high 108 yards on 14 attempts and added a highlight-reel touchdown reception when he turned a short pass into a 55-yarder early in the fourth quarter, pulling Chicago within 24-22. The 2-point conversion pass failed.

Stock down

No one. Moody, filling in with Cairo Santos sidelined by a quad injury, might have been in this spot. But he redeemed himself in the end after having that earlier attempt blocked. It was quite a moment for someone who was cut by San Francisco after missing two field goals in Week 1.

Injuries

WR DJ Moore (groin) was back in Chicago after spending a night in a Washington-area hospital for precautionary reasons and is day to day. “We did get good news there from that visit,” Johnson said. … LB Noah Sewell (concussion) left the game with a concussion.

Key number

4 — The Bears haven’t won four in a row since the 2018 NFC North championship team closed the regular season with four straight wins. Chicago also had a five-game run that season.

Next steps

The Bears will try to keep the streak going when they host the NFC-worst Saints (1-5).

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