Uninspiring win is enough to keep Commanders relevant — for now originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
A very sleepy football game capped a ridiculously eventful Thursday for the Commanders. Fortunately, Washington’s season won’t be put to bed thanks to the results of that contest — for another handful of days, at least.
Did Ron Rivera’s squad deserve the 12-7 victory it picked up in Chicago? Eh, that’s debatable. Honestly, a tie would’ve been a fitting finish for the two NFC operations who competed with one another to begin Week 6. Or even a forfeit.
What isn’t debatable, however, is how much the team needed the tight win considering what transpired in the hours leading up to kickoff at Solider Field.
An ESPN story centered on owner Dan Snyder was published in the morning and proceeded to dominate the NFL world. Among many, many other things, the piece claimed that Snyder has enlisted the help of private investigators to gather information on commissioner Roger Goodell and many of Snyder’s peers in the ownership circle to discourage them from attempting to force him to sell the club.
Later on, NFL Network reported that William Jackson III is seeking a trade due to his lack of fit in the defense’s scheme. Typically, the guy with the second-largest cap hit on the roster asking to be shipped elsewhere would easily represent the most newsworthy development for a given franchise. In Washington, though, it was simply a side salad to the beefy Snyder exposé.
The Commanders-Bears tilt was played as scheduled, however, even with the barrage of press that preceded it. And while it definitely didn’t inspire hope that Rivera’s crew will engineer a dramatic turnaround, it did put a halt to a dreadful four-game losing streak and provide a brief and strange and clumsy distraction from all the, well, distractions.
Brian Robinson Jr.’s first career touchdown, which he recorded a few snaps after a muffed punt by Chicago midway through the fourth quarter, was the primary highlight for the visitors.
In his second appearance after coming back from the two gunshot wounds that he suffered during an attempted robbery in August, Robinson bullied his way across the goal line to put his side up, 12-7.
Rivera’s club then got the ball back and, eventually, attempted a 48-yard field goal in an effort to extend its lead to eight points. But Joey Slye yanked it left, giving the Bears a chance to steal the matchup late.
The Commanders’ defense nearly allowed them to do so, too, as Justin Fields guided his clunky offense down to the four-yard line.
But in a welcome twist considering what occurred this past Sunday at FedEx Field, it was Washington’s opponent and not Washington itself that stalled in the deep red zone; Chicago couldn’t notch what would’ve been the decisive touchdown on its four tries.
So, thankfully, the Commanders will enter the weekend at 2-4 as opposed to 1-5. Having said that, what’s going on beyond the box scores is far more explosive than anything that’s unfolding in between the whistles.
In that sense, all is normal with this very abnormal organization.
