Chicago Bears vs. Washington Commanders: 5 things to watch in Week 6

LAKE FOREST – Thursday night’s matchup between the Bears and the Washington Commanders feels like a classic Thursday Night Football game. Two NFC teams with losing records will square off at windy Soldier Field in Chicago, and the football-watching portion of America will just have to deal with it.

There’s probably not a lot of appeal for this game in a prime time slot outside of Chicago or Washington, D.C. It is, however, the matchup the NFL has provided. The Bears (2-3) and the Commanders (1-4) will kick off at 7:15 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video and locally on FOX 32.

The Bears beat Washington in 2019, ending a seven-game losing streak against the organization. Prior to 2019, the Bears hadn’t beaten Washington since 2003. This will be Washington’s first trip to Chicago since 2016.

Here’s what to look for this time around.

1. New-look Bears

Orange is apparently the new navy blue. The Bears will be wearing orange helmets for the first time in team history. In fact, it will be the first time in team history that the primary color of the team’s helmet will be anything other than navy blue.

The helmet looks much like the team’s traditional helmet, but with the colors inverted. Most of the helmet will be orange, while the wishbone-shaped letter “C” is navy blue with a white outline. The face mask is navy blue.

The Bears will wear the orange helmets with orange jerseys Thursday. They will wear the look again on Oct. 30 against the Cowboys in Dallas.

“Love it,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said after practice Wednesday. “I do. ... They’re really good looking and we just tried them on for the first time.”

2. ‘Quarterback’

Commanders coach Ron Rivera made headlines this week when asked what the issue was with his team, he said, “Quarterback.” Rivera later apologized for the remark.

Whether he apologized or not, there’s some truth to the comment. The key to beating the Commanders is forcing quarterback Carson Wentz to make mistakes, and he has been making a lot of mistakes in recent weeks. Wentz has six interceptions on the season and he has fumbled six times (although the Commanders have lost only one of those six fumbles). Pressure Wentz and things start to fall apart for Washington.

The Bears pass rush has produced only eight sacks in five games this season. Thursday night should be a great opportunity to improve that number. Wentz has been sacked 20 times already.

In three career starts against the Bears (all with the Eagles), Wentz is 3-0 with five touchdown passes and zero interceptions.

[ Chicago Bears defense isn’t sacking the QB, but underlying numbers indicate that could change ]

3. Jaylon Johnson’s return

The Bears defense should be closer to full strength with the return of starting cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Johnson has missed three games with a quad injury. The Bears missed Johnson, particularly last week when Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson went off for more than 100 yards in the first half.

Johnson returned to full participation in practice this week and holds no injury designation ahead of Thursday’s game. He believes he can step right in and play at a high level.

“I work hard,” Johnson said. “I do extra work outside of [Halas Hall]. So I feel like my film study, the extra time that I put in, I’m confident coming back, for sure.”

[ Chicago Bears notes: CB Jaylon Johnson, WR N’Keal Harry both likely to return vs. Commanders ]

4. Something to build on for Fields?

Quarterback Justin Fields had one of his best halves of football in the second half last week against Minnesota. He helped the Bears erase an 18-point deficit and briefly take the lead. Statistically, it was his best game of the season. He threw for 208 yards and a touchdown.

Now, can he build off of it?

Fields had good halves last season, but he never seemed to carry those performances over into the next half or the next game. Washington’s defense has created just one takeaway in five games. Fields should be able to take care of the football, if he makes good decisions.

The Bears aren’t going to start airing it out just because Fields had a good game last week. But maybe there’s a little bit more trust there after seeing some positive results.

5. New weapon?

In addition to Johnson returning at cornerback, the Bears could have some help returning at receiver. N’Keal Harry will be back after missing about two months with an ankle injury. The Bears traded a seventh-round pick to New England for Harry in July. He injured his ankle just two weeks into training camp and needed surgery.

Harry has had only two weeks of practice, so his snap count and impact may be limited. But the Bears’ passing attack is in need of just about any spark it can find. Harry has a big body and could be a key target in the red zone.

“It’s been hard just sitting here watching, especially once I started going to the games and standing on the sidelines,” Harry said. “It just brings you so much closer to the actual game. So I’m excited. I’m ecstatic.”