No one expected the Bears to go into Washington on Thursday Night Football and put up 40 points against the Commanders' defense. Yet here we are, looking at a 40-20 victory for the Chicago Bears.
The night couldn't have gone better for Justin Fields and company. The only downside to the emphatic romp is the Bears being one step further from locking in the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
While Chicago remains in play for the worst record in the NFL and the draft pick that comes with it, it will be far from a sure thing if the team keeps playing the way they did against Washington.
Bears that quieted the doubters on Thursday Night Football
3. DeMarcus Walker
The whole Bears defensive front came to play against the Commanders, sacking Sam Howell five times and providing more pressure than that throughout the game. So everyone up front deserves plaudits. The standout we've chosen to highlight is DeMarcus Walker, who logged one sack, two tackles for loss and QB hits on the night.
Walker has struggled with missed tackles at times this season but he was in the right spots on Thursday Night Football and made the plays that he needed to make, even if he did have a notable miss.
On the whole, Walker played with confidence and was representative of a Bears defense that wasn't always perfect but got the job in the end.
A defensive front getting to the quarterback like that consistently will mean more wins for Chicago.
Someone else also took care of business...
2. Justin Fields
We see you Justin Fields.
The Bears quarterback was the subject of ridicule in the opening weeks of the season. Then he caused a stir by commenting on Chicago's coaching. Everything about his career looked like it was rolling downhill toward certain disaster.
But the seeds of something more positive were planted early against the Broncos and they blossomed in full on Thursday Night Football against the Commanders. Fields, the one who carried so much potential at the start of his career, stepped all the way up.
The quarterback made all the throws in the first half. He led his team to touchdowns, hitting his receivers downfield and carrying the ball when he needed to. And while things were a bit more shaky in the second half, he didn't make any major mistakes and made sure the Bears were in a position to pull away for a comfortable lead.
On Thursday, Fields was 15-of-29 for 282 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 9.7 yards per attempt. He rushed for 57 yards and committed no turnovers.
And over the last two weeks, he's thrown eight touchdown passes with just one interception. His passer rating is 131.3.
Those kinds of numbers helped the Bears break their losing streak and if he continues on this path, wins will keep coming.
It helps having a playmaker to help the offense get going...
1. DJ Moore
It's no surprise that Justin Fields' best games are coinciding with DJ Moore finding his groove in 2023. And Moore was certainly in the groove on Thursday Night Football.
Moore exploded for 230 yards and three touchdowns on eight receptions. He was just on another level. The Commanders secondary had no chance against him whether he was going long or making moves after the catch.
The wild thing about Moore's 230 yards is he had an even longer gain cut short because the refs ruled he had stepped out of bounds. Good luck finding the angle that supports the idea that he actually stepped out though. There's a good chance he'd have added a fourth touchdown if that whistle hadn't blown.
When the Bears added Moore via the trade for the No. 1 pick with the Panthers, they saw him as a star wide receiver to help unlock Fields' potential. His career-high receiving in Carolina was 157 yards. He'd never caught more than two touchdowns in an NFL game.
A career-best performance was just what the Bears needed to end their long losing streak. Chicago can't expect him to recreate this exact performance every week, but when he's playing like this, winning gets a whole lot easier.
