Coming into Monday night, the Washington Commanders were searching for two things: momentum and consistency. They left with neither. And after six weeks, they’re staring down the barrel of a four-game stretch that will very much define their season.
Washington sits at 3-3, right in the middle of an NFC that’s rapidly evolving into a tough conference. The early talk about another deep playoff run has faded into the background. The conversation now is different and much more uncomfortable. This team isn’t scoping out the postseason plan; they’re now just trying to stay in the picture.
Everything about Monday night felt like an opportunity. Coming off a win on the West Coast against the Chargers, this was Washington’s chance to find some rhythm and string together back-to-back wins for the first time this year. Instead, from the opening series, things simply weren’t passing the eye test. The energy was off. The execution was off. It was another primetime meltdown waiting to happen.
The Bears are not a particularly good football team. Yet they controlled the line of scrimmage, dictated tempo, and hung around long enough for Washington to give the game right to them. They looked faster, tougher, and better prepared. The Commanders looked reactive all night, never in control, and it is evident to anyone watching that Chicago left plenty of points on the field.
Defensively, things are unraveling at a rapid clip. The Bears came in ranked near the bottom of the league in rushing, but Washington let DeAndre Swift average 7.7 yards per carry. That number says it all, but the final drive was the perfect summation of the night in Landover, Maryland.
After Jayden Daniels’ fumble on a third-and-one handoff attempt to Bill Merritt, Chicago took over on their own side of midfield with control. Everyone in the stadium knew what was coming. You knew it. I knew it. Everyone sitting on their couch half-asleep on a Monday night knew what was coming. The Bears were going to run the ball, burn the clock, and line up for the game-winner. Washington’s defense knew it, too — and still couldn’t stop it. They got gashed play after play, until Chicago turned what should’ve been a 50+ yard kick into a chip shot.
That drive summed up everything that’s gone wrong with this defense. The tackling was sloppy. The pursuit angles were off. There were miscommunications everywhere. Quan Martin’s whiff on what should’ve been an easy stop turned a short out route to Swift into a 55-yard touchdown earlier in the game — a perfect snapshot of a unit that looks disorganized and disconnected.
For six weeks now, that’s been the theme.
On the other side of the ball, Jayden Daniels fought but never found a rhythm. He finished 19 of 26 for 211 yards and three touchdowns, but the two turnovers — an interception early and the fumble late — were brutal. His mistakes hurt, but his playmaking was the only thing keeping Washington in it. Without him, this game would’ve been over long before the fourth quarter.
That alone is this team’s biggest issue.
When you go back to January’s NFC title game loss to Philadelphia, everyone knew what needed to change. Daniels needed help. Washington couldn’t keep asking him to carry the offense on his shoulders. Yet six weeks into 2025, nothing has changed. The team’s success still lives or dies on whether Jayden Daniels can play Superman.
The defense is regressing. The offense hasn’t found its footing. The line is inconsistent. Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown have been banged up, and Zach Ertz didn’t get meaningfully involved until last night. They’re running out of excuses — and running out of time.
And let’s be honest: the scoreline flatters them. Chicago left points everywhere. Olamide Zaccheaus dropped what would’ve been a 97-yard touchdown on a blown coverage. Rome Odunze had two scores wiped away — one because of an underthrow from Caleb Williams, and another on a questionable illegal formation penalty that shouldn’t have been called. If the Bears had cleaned up even half of their own mistakes, this would’ve been a blowout.
This wasn’t about one bad game. It was a window into a bigger problem. Because so far, Washington’s defense has beaten a Russel Wilson-led Giants (who is now no longer the starter in New York), the lifeless Raiders, and a Chargers team whose offensive line is in shambles.
The cohesion is off right now. The urgency is not there from anyone on the sidelines. The discipline that defined this team’s rise last year has yet to show up.
Washington is entering a stretch that will decide everything — Cowboys, Chiefs, Seahawks, and Lions. Four games that will tell us if this team is going to get real about competing with the big boys. Because, like it or not, next week will mark 7 weeks of football in the books, and time isn’t slowing down. If they can’t find a way to steal at least two of those games, this season could be gone before December even starts.
Dan Quinn and his staff have to figure this out — quickly. What was once seen as a slow start now appears to be something a bit more serious.
Conor Forrest is the Editor-in-Chief and Senior Commanders Insider for SportsJourney.com. As a graduate of George Mason University, Forrest has spent the last eight years sharing his love for sports with listeners and viewers in the DC area and around the world. He hosts the “After Further Review Podcast” and has held numerous on-air and writing roles covering the DC area sports, Division 1 Basketball, and the NFL. His work has been featured on outlets like NBC Sports Washington, Fansided.com, Heavy.com and The Fourth Estate.
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