Instant reactions to the Commanders’ narrow victory over the Bears

In what was one of the most unsatisfying wins a team can possibly have, the Washington Commanders broke their four-game losing streak with a narrow 12-7 win at Soldier Field. By narrow, think one inch narrow.

After Joey Slye missed a 48-yard field goal, the Bears marched down the field into a goal-to-go situation. Like the Commanders had done all night, they came up clutch in the red zone, stopping the Bears receiver at the one-inch line on 4th & Goal.

The good news is the win, as ugly as it may be, bought the Commanders some time to right the ship. The likelihood that occurs is unlikely but for now, a win is a win.

With that said, let’s dive into instant reactions to the Washington Commanders’ second win of the season.

Reactions to the Commanders’ narrow win over the Bears

The Offense

The Good 

• Brian Robinson ran hard and tough tonight for the Burgundy & Gold, as he ground out the tough yards in a low-scoring game in his first career start. He totaled 60 yards and a touchdown on the night.
• Terry McLaurin, once again, finds himself in this slot. On a night where yards were difficult to come by, McLaurin totaled nearly 30% of the team’s total yards. He remains a constant and consistent for a wildly inconsistent football team.
• Antonio Gibson, on limited carries, was incredibly efficient on the ground. He ran for seven yards a pop and was a solid check-down option for Wentz in the passing game.

The Bad 

• I will give 100% credit to Carson Wentz. He was banged up heading into the game, and he hurt his finger at the end of the second quarter. And he still played super hard and even pancaked Roquan Smith on one play. But his inaccuracies, inability to capably handle pressure and scattershot accuracy were particularly noticeable.
• The offensive line is still putrid at pass protection. It just doesn’t have enough consistency to give a largely immobile quarterback time in the pocket.
• The usually reliable Curtis Samuel had probably his worst game to date. He dropped a Carson Wentz seam ball that was his best pass of the night, and it surely would’ve gone for a touchdown. He had another drop on the next drive. Samuel didn’t provide that usual explosiveness tonight.
• The conservative playcalling to not go for the win at the end, nearly came back to haunt the Commanders. The conservative playcalling isn’t all on the coaching staff, there are personnel (offensive line) limitations, but at some point, aggressiveness is needed. Taking the kill shot against the inferior opponent was the play there, and not pulling the trigger nearly cost the Commanders in the end.