Game Preview, Week 8: Chicago Bears at Washington
October 25, 2024
by Steve Thomas
Washington whipped up on the Carolina Panthers last week, but this week’s matchup against the Chicago Bears at home in Raljon brings a whole new level of both competition and intrigue. So much so, in fact, that the NFL actually flexed this game to the late afternoon slot in order to better feature it on a national audience. The most obvious source of interest for the NFL community at large, of course, is going to be the faceoff between this year’s top two draft picks, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels. Unfortunately, Daniels is currently recovering from an injury suffered last week, so we won’t know how limited he’ll be, if at all, until he (hopefully) hits the field. Outside of that, though, this is a also a game between two good teams, with Washington at 5 – 2 and Chicago at 4 – 2. Unbelievably, Washington will be a focus of the NFL world this week, and for good reasons, not bad ones. It’s amazing how much things have changed in just a year. Our game preview starts below.
Game time & location: Sunday, October 27, 2024, 4:25 p.m. ET, Northwest Stadium, Raljon, Maryland; Gates open 2:25 p.m. ET; Red Zone parking lots open 11:25 a.m.; all other parking lots 12:25 p.m.
Television: CBS
Television announcers: Jim Nance, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson
TV broadcast map: Click here
DC-area radio: BIG-100 (WBIG FM)
Washington radio network: Click here
Bears radio network: Click here
Satellite radio: Sirius: 83 (Wash. broad.); SiriusXM: 227 (Wash. broad.); internet: 831
Washington roster: Click here
Washington depth chart: Click here
Bears roster: Click here
Bears depth chart: Click here
All-time head-to-head record vs Bears: 23 – 22 – 1 (last 10: 8 – 2)
Last meeting: L, October 5, 2023, 20 – 40
Washington record: 5 – 2 overall / 3 – 0 home / 3 – 1 vs NFC
Bears record: 4 – 2 overall / 0 – 2 away / 2 – 0 vs NFC
Early odds: Chicago, -2
3 KEYS TO THE GAME
Live up to the moment
Washington has some momentum and is beginning to gain some respect throughout the league, which is something that very few people expected heading into the season, including any of us on The Hog Sty staff. The principal task this week sounds simple: keep it up. What I mean by that is that Washington can’t afford to have an off day on either side of the ball. Job #1 this week is to play mistake free football, without turnovers or significant penalties. The Bears don’t give up points – they are tied for third in the NFL with just 101 points surrendered – so Washington needs to continue to excel. They don’t necessarily need to do anything crazy on offense, even if Jayden Daniels can’t play, just keep up the outstanding performance.
Rely on the run game more than the pass
Surprisingly, the Bears have one of the best pass defenses in the league this year. They are #1 in opposing quarterback rating, #9 in opposing completion percentage, and are 5th in interception percentage. However, they have surrendered an average of 4.6 yards per rushing attempt, which is tied for 22nd in the NFL. This means that Washington needs to lean even more on its rushing attack in this game, particularly if Jayden Daniels either can’t play or is limited. Washington ought to be able to gain good yardage both on the inside and on the edge, and they need to focus on that aspect of their game this week.
Play mistake-free zone play in the secondary
Granted, last week was only the lowly Panthers, but we finally saw a game in which Washington’s secondary didn’t make any obvious, game-killing mistakes. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams is still learning, clearly, but he’s getting better and will be able to pick apart Washington’s secondary if they revert back to their pre-Panthers habit of regularly blowing coverages. The Bears have a trio of receivers in D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, and Keenan Allen who may not be on too many 2024 All Pro ballots, but all have above-average talent and can take advantage of the situation if Washington’s corners and safeties allow it. This will be a critical part of this game.
3 KEY MATCHUPS
Jayden Daniels vs. Caleb Williams
This one is, of course, assuming that Daniels actually plays in this game, which isn’t a guarantee. This matchup is different from my usual ones in that Daniels and Williams aren’t directly facing each other. Regardless, this is clearly the most visible and anticipated battle in the game, and likely the primary reason why the NFL flexed this game to late afternoon. The entire NFL will be watching this battle to see which one of these two quarterbacks puts up the better stats and drives his team to victory. Washington shouldn’t be fooled by Williams’ poor start to the season – he’s improved by quite a bit since then. The Hog Sty will dive into this matchup in detail after the game, along with every other NFL media outlet.
Sweat seemed to be fairly bitter about his trade from Washington at the trade deadline last year. This is his first game against his old team, so he will doubtlessly be fired up to make an impact. Unfortunately, his principal combatant is going to be the biggest weak spot on Washington’s line, right tackle Andrew Wylie. This is a prime example of things sure to go wrong. Sweat hasn’t put up particularly noteworthy numbers so far this season, with 2.5 sacks and 11 tackles, but given the circumstances, we should fully expect him to be amped up and go all out to get a sack or two on either Jayden Daniels or Marcus Mariota. Keep a close eye out on this matchup.
Benjamin St-Juste vs. D.J. Moore
The Bears are a pretty terrible running team; specifically, they are ranked 31st in yards per carry. They are a much better passing team. Therefore, they will likely try to take advantage of Washington’s weak secondary and get big gains. This is where St-Juste comes in. As Washington’s #1 corner, he’s likely going face the talented Moore quite a bit in this game. Watch out for how many blown coverage St-Juste suffers in facing him, as it will be a critical part of Washington chances of winning this game.
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT (active roster only)
LP – limited practice FP – full practice DNP – did not practice
NIR – not injury related Q – questionable O – out
D – doubtful
| Washington | Bears |
| T B. Coleman, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri; DNP; game: O | DB J. Brisker, concussion; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| QB J. Daniels, rib; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP; game: Q | DB K. Gordon, hamstring; Wed: DNP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: DNP; game: O |
| DE C. Ferrell, knee; Wed: LP; Thurs: DNP; Fri: LP | TE M. Lewis, NIR (rest); Wed: NL; Thurs: DNP; Fri: FP |
| G N. Allegretti, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | DB T. Stevenson, calf; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP |
| DE D. Armstrong, rib; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP; game: Q | OL L. Borom, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: Q |
| C T. Biadasz, thumb; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | LS S. Daly, knee; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| WR D. Brown, ankle; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | RB T. Homer, finger; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: Q |
| S D. Forrest, neck; Wed: NL; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | DL J. Martin, toe; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP; game: Q |
| OLB D. Fowler Jr., groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: LP | DL Z. Pickens, groin; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| T C. Lucas, neck; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP; Fri: FP | DB T. Smith, hip; Wed: LP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
| S T. Owens, shin; Wed: LP; Thurs: LP ; Fri: FP | |
| CB E. Forbes Jr., thumb; Wed: FP; Thurs: FP; Fri: FP |
Steve’s Prediction
This will be a much closer game than last week, but at the end of the day, Washington’s offense is much more capable than is the Bears’ offense. Plus, this game is in Raljon, which helps. I think Washington squeaks by in a fairly low scoring game, relatively speaking. Washington will win 24 – 20.