Winners and losers of 'Thursday Night Football': Bears snap 14-game losing streak
At last, the Chicago Bears have won a game.
DJ Moore and the Bears upended the Washington Commanders, 40-20, on Thursday night. The victory was Bears’ first win since Oct. 24, 2022, snapping a 14-game losing streak.
Moore had a career-high 230 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the victory. Quarterback Justin Fields had 282 passing yards and four touchdowns in easily his best game of the young season.
Chicago played with a sense of urgency. They jumped out to a 27-3 lead in the first half and looked like the more desperate club.
The 40 points scored by the Bears is their highest point total since Dec. 27, 2020.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Here are the winners and losers from "Thursday Night Football":
WINNERS
Career night for DJ Moore
Moore was without question the star of the night. The Bears wide receiver had eight catches for a career-high 230 yards and three touchdowns.
Moore had never had a single game with more than 200 yards or three touchdowns. He recorded both on a stellar night in the nation’s capital.
Chicago had 282 receiving yards. Moore had 230 of them.
Justin Fields shines
Fields perhaps put together his most impressive game of the season. The Bears quarterback was efficient and looked comfortable running Chicago’s offense.
The Ohio State product went 15-of-29 passing for 282 yards, to go with four touchdowns and no interceptions, resulting in a 125.3 passer rating.
Fields now produced back-to-back games with a passer rating of over 120.
Bears CB Greg Stroman Jr. gets INT
Stroman had seven tackles, one sack and one interception in the win.
Bears fans can celebrate
Bears fans have waited nearly a year to see their team win a ballgame. Thursday snapped a 14-game losing streak dating back to Oct. 24, 2022. Bears fans can finally celebrate a victory, perhaps with a Chicago style deep-dish pizza.
LOSERS
Commanders' first-half performance
The Commanders were abysmal in the first half.
Late in the first half, the Bears had outgained the Commanders 307 to 49 in total yards.
The crowd at FedExField booed the Commanders as they retreated for the locker room at halftime down 27-3.
Commanders secondary can’t stop DJ Moore
The Commanders' secondary couldn’t stop Bears wide receiver DJ Moore whatsoever. It didn’t matter if Washington was in zone coverage or man, they couldn’t contain Moore. Moore produced a career night on Washington’s helpless DBs.
Commanders kicker Joey Slye missed clutch FG
With 5:14 left in the fourth quarter, kicker Joey Slye missed a critical 46-yard field goal that would’ve made it a one-possession game.
Slye made two of three field goals on the night, but he missed a clutch field goal that might’ve turned the game.
Commanders home fans
The Commanders are 1-2 at home to start the regular season. Thursday was Washington’s first primetime game of the year, and they were upset by a previously winless Bears club.
— Tyler Dragon
Bears vs. Commanders highlights
The Bears snapped a 14-game losing streak, thanks for a career night from receiver DJ Moore. Justin Fields matched a career high with four touchdown passes as the Bears put aside off-field drama with a much-needed victory. Washington, meanwhile, lost for the third straight time after a 2-0 start to the season.
Magic Johnson critical of Commanders' play
NBA legend Magic Johnson, who is part of Josh Harris' Washington Commanders ownership group, was critical of the play of the team after Thursday night's loss to the previously winless Bears.
"Tonight the Commanders played with no intensity or fire. We didn’t compete in the first half and got down 27-3 heading into halftime. It was too big of a hole to climb out of and that is why we ended up losing 40-20," Johnson wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Bears 37, Commanders 20: DJ Moore caps career night with long TD
DJ Moore's career night continued with an exclamation point. Three plays after Joey Slye missed a 46-yard field goal that would have made it a seven-point game, Justin Fields found Moore on a comeback route down the left sideline. Kendall Fuller tried to jump the route and failed. All Moore had to do was turn and waltz into the end zone for his third touchdown of the game.
The three scores are the most in a game for Moore in his career. He’s up to eight catches for 230 yards, which is now the single-game high for any NFL receiver this season. Tyreek Hill and Keenan Allen both had 215 efforts earlier in the season.— Chris Bumbaca
Fields of gold
Prior to last week's loss to Denver, Bears QB Justin Fields had never passed for 300 yards or four TDs in an NFL game. With 18 more yards though the air tonight, he'll hit both benchmarks in successive games. — Nate Davis
Washington fans chant former team nickname
With about 7 minutes left in the game and the Commanders trailing by 10, Washington fans started a "Let's Go Redskins!" chant. Team president Jason Wright has been adamant that the team will not be returning to the name. But fans clearly have a sense of nostalgia regarding the nickname, which is a derogatory term to describe Native Americans and Indigenous populations. — Chris Bumbaca
Bear necessities?
Despite the 0-4 start, Chicago has played its best football — twice — over the past five days. And that's encouraging given you'll probably be seeing a lot more of the Bears than you might have imagined.
Counting tonight's game, the Monsters of the Midway will appear in prime time in four of their next eight games. They'll face the Chargers in Los Angeles on Sunday night in Week 8 (Oct. 29), host the Carolina Panthers for Week 10's Thursday nighter (Nov. 9) and will head to the Twin Cities to face the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings for Week 12's Monday night matchup. The contests against the Bolts and Vikes will both be eligible to be flexed if the Bears revert to their early season form. — Nate Davis
Bears 30, Commanders 20: Curtis Samuel TD trims lead
The Commanders had 11 passing plays on another quick 75-yard touchdown drive.
Washington scored on a great play design by offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy that had the Chicago secondary guessing in man coverage.
Receiver Curtis Samuel was wide open on a corner route and quarterback Sam Howell made an easy completion for a 3-yard touchdown.
The Commanders were unable to covert the two-point conversion after the TD. Washington still trails 30-20 with 10:51 in the fourth quarter. — Tyler Dragon
Who is Khari Blasingame?
With the Bears’ running back depth depleted – Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer were all banged up – the team turned to another member of its backfield: fullback Khari Blasingame.
An undrafted free agent from Vanderbilt, Blasingame broke into the league in 2019 with the Tennessee Titans. His only three rushing attempts came with the Titans in 2019. Last year, his first in Chicago, Blasingame did not touch the ball in six games. He has 10 career catches for 97 yards.— Chris Bumbaca
Bears 30, Commanders 14: Cairo Santos adds another field goal
The Bears scored their first points of the second half when Washington was starting to gain some momentum.
Justin Fields led the Bears on an eight-play, 50-yard drive to put the team in field goal range. Bears kicker Cairo Santos nailed a 43-yard field goal to extend the team’s lead, 30-14, with 14:09 in the fourth quarter.
The Bears were scoreless in the second half until the field goal.
Santos has made all three of his field goals Thursday night. — Tyler Dragon
Khalil Herbert has brief return to game
With Chicago’s running back depth depleted, running back Khalil Herbert checked back into the game late in the third quarter. However, Herbert’s time was brief.
Herbert took a handoff from Justin Fields and immediately went down when he tried to cut and his tender ankle. The running back limped to the sideline following the play for no gain. — Tyler Dragon
Career night for DJ Moore
Bears WR DJ Moore has established a new career high with 174 receiving yards.
His 5,676 career yards, most of them gained with the Carolina Panthers — they dealt Moore to the Windy City in the offseason in the transaction that brought the top pick of the 2023 draft to Charlotte — are more than any other player in Chicago's 104 NFL seasons. — Nate Davis
Bears 27, Commanders 14: Washington overcomes turnover, but settles for field goal
Commanders tight end Logan Thomas has been busy with eight catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. But his eighth reception proved costly; Thomas had the ball stripped loose and Bears and linebacker Terell Smith, who forced the fumble, recovered. But the Washington defense forced a three-and-out to give the offense another chance.
Sam Howell connected with running back Antonio Gibson, channeling his wide-receiver routes by lining up on the outside and running a go-route, for a 41-yard pickup. But the drive stalled when Howell took a sack and then nearly scrambled for a first down while evading another pass rush.
Joey Slye’s 32-yard field goal made it 27-14 with 3:17 left in the third quarter.— Chris Bumbaca
Khalil Herbert hurt
Justin Fields extended a third-and-5 play while pressured, but the attempt left one of the most essential members of the Bears offense on the FedExField turf.
Running back Khalil Herbert’s right leg bent awkwardly in an attempt to bring in a Field throw he made on the run across his body that didn’t have enough juice on it. Herbert was able to walk off the field with his training staff. Herbert was up to 76 rushing yards on nine carries.
Chicago punted once play resumed.
The Bears are also without second-stringer, rookie RB Roschon Johnson, who was ruled out with a concussion. — Chris Bumbaca
Justin Fields has 3 TD passes: Why that might be bad for Bears
Justin Fields has two other games of three or more touchdown passes. One was last year in a 35-32 loss to Miami. The other was last week vs. Denver, also a loss. — Chris Bumbaca
Bears 27, Commanders 11: Washington finally reaches end zone
The Commanders finally found the end zone in their first possession of the second half.
In their most efficient offensive series, the Commanders went on a 75-yard TD drive in three minutes, plus converted a two-point conversion to cut their deficit, 27-11.
The drive was sparked by a Bears pass interference penalty that put Washington on Chicago’s two-yard line. The Commanders were able to punch it in after the flag when Sam Howell passed to tight end Logan Thomas for a 2-yard touchdown. — Tyler Dragon
Bears dominant in first half
The Bears had the ball for eight minutes, 50 seconds longer than the Commanders in the first half. They also had 233 more total yards (307-84) and nine more first downs (14-5).
Running back Khalil Herbert has 76 rushing yards on nine carries. But the Bears have done most of their damage through the air, with DJ Moore catching all five of his targets for 137 yards and two touchdowns. Justin Fields is 12-for-20 for 189 yards and three touchdowns.
Of Sam Howell’s 71 passing yards, 24 came on the final play of the first half, with the Bears playing prevent defense. — Chris Bumbaca
Bears 27, Commanders 3: Boo birds come out after another Chicago score
The home team’s first-half effort was so poor that the boo birds are already out at FedExField.
When the Chicago Bears notched their third touchdown of the game – this one a 4-yard connection between tight end Cole Kmet and Justin Fields– and made it 27-3 with 24 seconds before the half, Commanders fans decided they had enough and the boos rained down.
The score came off Sam Howell’s interception, the first turnover of the game.— Chris Bumbaca
Bears pick off struggling Sam Howell
Aside from a possession that led to field goal, Washington’s offense has been nonexistent throughout the first half.
On the Commanders’ fourth drive, quarterback Sam Howell threw an interception on the very first play. Howell’s pass was intended for wide receiver Curtis Samuel, but it was picked off by Bears cornerback Greg Stroman Jr. on Washington’s 36-yard line.
Howell has just 36 passing yards late in the second quarter. His passing rating is 34.7. — Tyler Dragon
Bears 20, Commanders 3: Chicago builds on lead
Another drive, another score for the Bears.
Cairo Santos’ 36-yard field goal further extended Chicago’s lead and capped a 13-play, 57-yard drive that took 6:09 off the clock in the second quarter.
Justin Fields found tight end Cole Kmet for the big play of the drive. Fields also converted multiple short-distance third- and fourth-down plays to keep the possession alive.
Chicago led 20-3 with 2:24 before halftime.— Chris Bumbaca
Bears 17, Commanders 3: Washington finally gets on the board
The Commanders finally gave their home crowd something to cheer about in the second quarter.
Washington put together an 11-play, 42-yard drive to get into field goal range. The Commanders weren’t able to get into end zone, but kicker Joey Slye booted a 51-yard field goal right between the uprights.
The Commanders didn’t have a first down until their third possession of the game, which led to Slye’s field goal. — Tyler Dragon
Bears 17, Commanders 0: DJ Moore hauls in another TD
DJ Moore is having his way with the Commanders secondary, and quarterback Justin Fields is happy to keep supplying him with the football.
On this score, Fields floated a ball over Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller in the back-left corner of the end zone. Moore tracked the ball over Fuller and into his hands, tapping both feet down and celebrating up the Bears sideline with his second touchdown of the game in hand.
The grab put the Bears up 17-0 and capped a six-play, 69-yard drive with 14:15 left in the half. — Chris Bumbaca
Commanders lose key special teamer for game
Commanders special teams ace Jeremy Reaves will miss the rest of the game with a knee injury suffered on the team's first punt of the game. Reaves was an All-Pro for special teams in 2022; he had a team-high 17 tackles on special teams during the campaign. He's also a special teams co-captain with punter Tress Way. — Chris Bumbaca
Bears 10, Commanders 0: Cairo Santos' field goal extends Chicago's lead
The Bears were able to score points on back-to-back possessions.
Running back Khalil Herbert’s 34-yard run put Chicago in the red zone. The Bears weren’t able to reach the end zone, but kicker Cairo Santos made a short 22-yard field goal to extend Chicago’s lead to 10-0 late in the first quarter.
The Bears have gained 145 yards in two possessions. — Tyler Dragon
Commanders topped Bears in ugly 2022 TNF showdown
It's been almost exactly one year since the Commanders defeated the Bears, 12-7, in Chicago in an ugly Week 6 Thursday nighter at Soldier Field. Washington RB Brian Robinson Jr. scored his first NFL touchdown not two months after he'd been shot during a carjacking in the District of Columbia. — Nate Davis
Bears 7, Commanders 0: Chicago scores on first offensive drive
The 0-4 Chicago Bears' opening drive was a success.
Quarterback Justin Fields hit wide receiver DJ Moore on a deep pass for 58 yards to put the Bears in Washington territory. A few plays later, Fields found Moore again for a 20-yard touchdown.
Chicago’s first TD drive went six plays for 75 yards in just under three minutes.
Moore tallied two catches for 78 yards on Chicago’s first possession. — Tyler Dragon
What time is kickoff for Bears vs. Commanders?
Bears vs. Commanders will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET on Oct. 5.
How can I watch or stream Bears vs. Commanders?
Bears at Commanders will be streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video and will be broadcast in local markets only.
Dick Butkus honored before TNF
The first NFL game played following the passing of legend Dick Butkus fittingly includes the team Butkus played his nine-year NFL career playing for the Bears.
Prior to kickoff, the public-address announcer asked for a moment of silence in Butkus’ memory as Bears and Commanders players lined the sidelines. — Chris Bumbaca
Magic Johnson signs Ryan Fitzpatrick's Lakers jersey
Ryan Fitzpatrick had his “fanboy moment” on the pregame show when Magic Johnson joined the show’s C-block.
“Well Magic, my heart is beating out of chest right now,” said Fitzpatrick, seated immediately to Johnson’s right in the middle of the “TNF” desk.
“Fitzmagic” – whose childhood hero was Magic Johnson – unbuttoned his patented zany shirt to reveal a yellow Lakers No. 32 jersey.
“Fanboy, I love it,” Johnson said as he signed the jersey on the “2” with a black sharpie.
Johnson also signed pictures for Fitzpatrick’s seven children.
“I loved you growing up,” Fitzpatrick said. — Chris Bumbaca
Inactive players for Bears-Commanders game
The Washington Commanders declared RB Chris Rodriguez, DE KJ Henry, T Trent Scott, G Chris Paul, TE Curtis Hodges and WR Mitchell Tinsley inactive for Thursday night’s game.
Bears Chase Claypool is a healthy scratch. RB D’Onta Foreman, OT Aviante Collins, CB Jaylon Johnson, CB Duron Harmon and S Eddie Jackson are also inactive for Chicago. — Tyler Dragon
Bears vs. Commanders predictions
Lorenzo Reyes: Commanders 25, Bears 17
Chicago’s season is on the brink of collapse. The coaching staff is in danger of losing the locker room, players have publicly expressed discontent and feelings of being misused and Washington has been a plucky side. The Bears are yet to cover a spread so I won’t back them until they give me reason to think otherwise.
Tyler Dragon: Commanders 23, Bears 18
The 0-4 Bears might be the worst team in the NFL right now. While the Commanders have played well outside of a Week 3 blowout loss to Buffalo. Washington’s defensive front should be able to cause trouble for the Bears, and Eric Bieniemy has the club’s offense playing better than expected.
Victoria Hernandez: Commanders 30, Bears 23
The Bears woes continue after blowing a 21-point lead at home last week. After the game, it was evident the team just isn't fired up enough and are satisfied with "good moments." The Commanders, on the other hand, have shown that they're hungry to compete with the big dogs and should take the home victory easy enough.
Jordan Mendoza: Commanders 30, Bears 20
After last week's implosion, it's hard to find any optimism for Chicago as they enter the Caleb Williams sweepstakes. Washington put up a good fight against the reigning NFC champions, and the offense has showed much more promise. Expect the Commanders to pull away from this one late in the game.
Bears vs. Commanders odds
The Commanders enter the game as six-point favorites, according to BetMGM NFL odds.
Predictions: How might NFL Week 5 unfold?
Week 5 of the NFL schedule comes in a touch light, the arrival of byes taking four teams with postseason aspirations out of play. But a banger of a Sunday night matchup should help offset those teams' absences.
Here's which teams USA TODAY Sports' NFL experts see emerging victorious this week.
Sign up for our NFL newsletter
Do you like football? Then you'll enjoy getting our NFL newsletter delivered to your inbox
Get the latest news, expert analysis, game insights and the must-see moments from the NFL conveniently delivered to your email inbox. Sign up now!
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY operates independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.