CHICAGO (0-4) at WASHINGTON (2-2)
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon Prime
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK BETTING LINE: Commanders by 5 1/2
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Chicago 1-3; Washington 2-2
SERIES RECORD: Washington leads 27-24-1
LAST MEETING: Commanders beat the Bears 12-7 on Oct. 13, 2022, at Chicago.
LAST WEEK: Bears lost 31-28 to the Broncos; Commanders lost 34-31 in overtime to the Eagles.
BEARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (21), RUSH (13), PASS (24), SCORING (22)
BEARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (28), RUSH (18), PASS (29), SCORING (31)
COMMANDERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (20), RUSH (17), PASS (20), SCORING (17)
COMMANDERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (T-21), RUSH (21), PASS (20), SCORING (29)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Bears minus-6; Commanders minus-3
BEARS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Justin Fields. Fields threw for career highs of 335 yards passing and four touchdowns last week. Although he did it against a defense that ranked last in the NFL, he was able to find a rhythm with his receivers. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy moved him in and outside the pocket, and Fields was clearly more comfortable throwing the ball. He figures to face more pressure from a defense with 13 sacks.
COMMANDERS PLAYER TO WATCH: CB Emmanuel Forbes. The rookie had a rough game against the Eagles, and opponents are picking on him early and often. Forbes has been thrown at 25 times in his first four NFL games and is going through some growing pains. If Fields and the Bears do the same, Forbes will need to show quick improvement.
KEY MATCHUP: Commanders QB Sam Howell vs. the Bears defense. Even in a loss, Howell bounced back in a big way at Philadelphia after throwing four interceptions and getting sacked nine times in a blowout loss to Buffalo. Chicago is another chance for Howell, making just his sixth pro start, to string together consecutive strong performances and continue his maturation process.
KEY INJURIES: LT Braxton Jones (neck) remains on injured reserve. … S Eddie Jackson (foot) has missed the past two games. … CB Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) missed last week’s game. … Commanders WR Curtis Samuel is dealing with a quadriceps injury.
SERIES NOTES: Washington has won eight of the teams’ past nine meetings going back to 2004. The Bears won their previous visit to FedEx Field, 31-15 in 2019. … Commanders coach Ron Rivera spent his entire career as a linebacker with the Bears, playing 149 regular-season and playoff games from 1984-92 and helping them win the Super Bowl in 1985. He also had two separate coaching stints with Chicago, first as a defensive quality control coach in 1997 and ’98, then as defensive coordinator from 2004-06.
STATS AND STUFF: After blowing a 21-point lead against the Broncos, Chicago has lost 14 in a row since a Week 7 win at New England last season. … The Bears are 3-18 in two seasons under GM Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus. … The Bears are 0-4 for the first time since 2000. Only three times in franchise history have the Bears had a worse start: They opened 0-7 in 1969 and 1997 and 0-5 in 1945. … Chicago remains at the bottom of the NFL in sacks with two after getting to Russell Wilson once last week. … RB Khalil Herbert ran for 103 yards last week, more than doubling his total through the first three games and giving him 196 on the season. … Washington has lost two in a row since starting 2-0. … Howell’s completion rate of 70.7 percent against the Eagles was a career high. … RB Brian Robinson Jr. has rushed for 261 yards and three touchdowns so far this season. … WR Terry McLaurin led Washington with eight catches for 86 yards at Philadelphia. … The starting defensive line of Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Chase Young and Montez Sweat has combined for 8 1/2 sacks.
FANTASY TIP: Is it finally time for Commanders WR Jahan Dotson to break out with a big game? He made the tying TD catch at the end of regulation against the Eagles, and Samuel’s uncertain status could put Dotson in some important spots. Chicago’s defense isn’t exactly a scary matchup, either.
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