Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams
match up again 1 year after Hail Mary decided Bears-Commanders
[October 10, 2025]
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Chicago (2-2) at Washington (3-2)
Monday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, ABC/ESPN.
BetMGM NFL Odds: Commanders by 4 1/2.
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.
Bears player to watch
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.
Commanders player to watch
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.”
Key matchup
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.
Key injuries
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.
[to top of second column] |
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) is
congratulated by Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) after
the Commanders won 18-15 in an NFL football game, Oct. 27, 2024, in
Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)
Commanders: Brown, who caught the Hail Mary from
Daniels in the win over Chicago last season, has missed the past
three games with groin and knee issues but he returned to practice
Wednesday. ... WR Terry McLaurin, the team's top wideout, sat out
the last two games with a quadriceps injury. ... 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.
Series notes
The Commanders have won two of the three most recent meetings,
including last year's victory on a 52-yard, final-play touchdown
pass.
Stats and stuff
Chicago QB Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft,
is 7-14 as an NFL starter; Washington QB Jayden Daniels, the No. 2
overall 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.
Fantasy tip
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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