A lot to consider in that Commanders win — the Hail Mary (of course), the lost fumble by an offensive lineman on a Bears fourth-quarter possession, the lack of a touchdown before the final play of the game. Is this Washington Commanders team very good, very fortunate, or both?
Ted Nguyen: Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s play-calling was atrocious down the stretch. From the fumble on a handoff to an offensive lineman, to the quarterback draw on a later third down. The Bears were fortunate to be in position to win, and then they squandered it. This is a very good Commanders team and the defense seems to be getting better. Jayden Daniels was severely affected by his rib injury — he couldn’t run as much option with that injury, but he did enough offensively to put them in position to win. This was a gutsy performance that should all but lock in the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The questions I have regarding the Commanders is whether offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury can keep the offense humming, his offenses in Arizona sputtered out later in the season — I think it has to do with teams catching up with their no-huddle signals. Also, can this defense continue to show improvement? They’ve only given up more 15 points once in the last five games.
Dan Pompei: No one expects that the Commanders will be in the Super Bowl, but the whole of their team is greater than the sum of their parts, and they have a knack for doing what they need to do to win. That’s a credit to Dan Quinn and his coaching staff, and it’s a credit to Daniels, the instant star of 2024. The Commanders already have six wins — 10 might get them into the playoffs. If Daniels gets fully healthy (he clearly wasn’t on Sunday), stays that way and keeps playing the way he has, this should be a playoff team. And hardly anyone thought the Commanders could be a playoff team.
Jeff Howe: Never apologize for a win. Yes, the Commanders needed to catch a lot of breaks to beat the Bears, but good for them for competing in those situations to earn those breaks. A Hail Mary can be fluky, but the Commanders did everything right to be in position to execute. An offensive lineman shouldn’t be taking a handoff at the goal line, but the Commanders were heady enough to attack the ball. And Caleb Williams has been playing pretty well of late, but Dan Quinn’s defense made him struggle for much of that game. Most outcomes can be traced back to a few plays. While these plays were more dramatic than most, I still credit the Commanders for earning that win.
GO FURTHER
NFL Week 8 takeaways: Are the Commanders good, lucky or both? Are the Eagles back?
