Chicago Bears vs. Washington Commanders: 5 storylines to watch in Week 8

LAKE FOREST – Following a week off, the Chicago Bears return to action with a big-time matchup against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. This game was expected to feature the No. 1 and No. 2 overall draft picks, but nobody expected both these teams to be multiple games over .500 in late October.

Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will play Sunday, but Washington’s Jayden Daniels is recovering from a rib injury that could keep him out of this contest. He’s expected to be a game-time decision. If Daniels doesn’t play, backup Marcus Mariota will make the start.

The Bears visited the Commanders just over a year ago and they are returning to the site of DJ Moore’s epic 230-yard, three-touchdown game against Washington, which snapped a 14-game losing streak.

The Bears (4-2) and Commanders (5-2) kick off at 3:25 p.m. from Northwest Stadium in Maryland. The game will be broadcast on CBS. Here are the top five storylines to watch in this Week 8 matchup.

1. Will Jayden Daniels play?

Daniels injured his ribs last week in a win over the Carolina Panthers. Mariota threw for two touchdowns and 205 passing yards after Daniels exited the game. Daniels returned to practice in a limited capacity for the first time Friday, but his status for Sunday’s game is in doubt.

The NFL would much prefer if this game, which the league flexed into a premium time slot, featured the top two quarterbacks from April’s draft. Daniels has been off to a great start. He has thrown for 1,410 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also second among NFL quarterbacks with 372 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Daniels is a true dual-threat quarterback, and he has shown a high-level understanding of the passing attack so far. The Bears don’t see much change in the offensive game plan when the Commanders go from Daniels to Mariota.

“I don’t anticipate it will [change] if he is the starter,” Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington said of Mariota. “They’re going to run their offense, and he is capable of executing exactly what they want to get done within all of the concepts.”

2. Montez’s return

Bears defensive end Montez Sweat will make his return to the Washington, D.C., area to face his former team. At the trade deadline last year, the Bears traded a second-round pick to the Commanders in exchange for Sweat. Sweat signed a four-year, $98 million contract extension with the Bears a few days later.

Sweat spent the first 4½ seasons of his NFL career in Washington. This will be the first time he has returned to face his old team.

“I’m feeling refreshed,” Sweat said. “It’s going to be good to go back and see some of the guys [with the team] that I got drafted to and created some great relationships with. It’s going to be good just being back in the stadium.”

Sweat played half the season in Washington and half the season in Chicago. He became the first NFL player to lead two teams in sacks during the same season. He totaled 6.5 sacks for the Commanders and six for the Bears. He earned his first Pro Bowl nod. This season, Sweat has 2.5 sacks and one forced fumble, all while facing a pretty high percentage of double teams.

3. Another homecoming

Sweat isn’t the only one having a homecoming this weekend. Williams grew up in the Washington area and was the star quarterback at Gonzaga College High School just four years ago.

“I’ve used all my tickets for the people that are coming, and I’m excited, for sure,” Williams said this week.

Williams heads home coming off three consecutive solid games. Over his past three performances, Williams has thrown for 229 yards per game, while tossing seven touchdown passes with only one interception.

Williams said he hopes Daniels plays in this game. He wants the challenge of going up against the No. 2 overall draft pick, and he anticipates doing it for years to come.

“Obviously, he’s on the same side, the NFC side, so I’ll be seeing him a good amount,” Williams said. “We’ll see from this game and in the future. I think it’s going to be great for us, and the battle between us is what y’all want to kind of talk about. But my job is to go out there and win the game for the Chicago Bears.”

4. Last time DJ Moore was in Washington

Sticking with the homecoming theme, Moore had his career-high 230 yards last year in Washington. The 27-year-old star receiver also is quite familiar with the Washington area after playing three seasons of college football at Maryland.

This week, Moore was asked if he ever thinks about that 230-yard performance.

“Do I say the real answer or do I just, like, come up with something politically correct?” he wondered aloud in the team’s media center.

Moments later, he added: “Yeah, I think about it; 230 [yards] don’t go out your mind when you playing a team from last year.”

Yeah, I think about it; 230 [yards] don’t go out your mind when you playing a team from last year.”

—  DJ Moore, Bears wide receiver

Moore had that epic performance on only eight catches (for 28.8 yards per reception). It was the second-most receiving yards for a Bears player ever in a game (Alshon Jeffery holds the record with 249 yards). The Commanders have a new coaching staff and a defense that is playing at a higher level through the first seven games. Still, expect Dan Quinn’s defense to zero in on stopping Moore.

But the Bears also have more weapons on offense than they did a year ago. Stopping Moore won’t necessarily stop this offense.

5. Can the Bears keep rolling?

The Bears have won three consecutive games. They’ve scored 35 points in back-to-back games for the first time in 11 years. A win this weekend would bring them to 5-2. Can Matt Eberflus’ team keep it going?

The defense has played well against every opponent so far, and that figures to be the case even without defensive backs Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and Kyler Gordon (hamstring), who were ruled out Friday. The bigger question mark is if the offense can sustain its recent success.

Eberflus said he expects the same starting five on the offensive line: Braxton Jones at left tackle, Teven Jenkins at left guard, Coleman Shelton at center, Matt Pryor at right guard and Darnell Wright at right tackle. That group has played well lately, but the past three defenses didn’t test them too much. Washington sports one of the best sack rates in the league (9.9% of pass attempts, which ranks sixth) and should stress the Bears’ offensive line.

Williams cruised in Week 6 against Jacksonville. He seems to be much more comfortable now than he was in his debut. But he’ll need the offensive line to keep him clean if he’s going to have success in his homecoming game this weekend.