4 burning questions as Commanders turn the page on Week 5 defeat

What lingering observations remain as the Washington Commanders turn the page on their Week 5 loss against the Chicago Bears?

With Week 5 almost in the books, an extra period of rest for the Washington Commanders will soon come to an end. Attention is turning quickly to the next challenge, which sees Ron Rivera's squad make the trip south to take on the Atlanta Falcons in pursuit of ending a three-game losing skid.

Big characters are needed, that's for sure. The Commanders have no more margin for error despite such a promising start, so the onus is on Rivera and his staff to make the adjustments needed to avoid further complications.

With that being said, here are four burning questions lingering around the Commanders as the page turns on their Week 5 primetime embarrassment.

Why are the Commanders underperforming on defense?

There were a lot of expectations surrounding the Washington Commanders' defense coming into this season. However, that's not the case anymore.

Washington's unit has given up 31.4 points per game to date. The secondary is getting torched, giving up big play after big play.

Emmanuel Forbes is enduring some severe rookie complications. He had another lousy game and was benched in the fourth quarter for Danny Johnson, which one could argue should have been done sooner.

This was supposed to be the year where the defense took another step forward in creating turnovers, but they've managed just one in the last three contests. They have been a doormat for opposing offensives - from the Buffalo Bills to the Chicago Bears.

On Thursday night, D.J. Moore carved up the Commanders' secondary with eight catches for a blistering 230 yards and three touchdowns. The defense is too talented to play so poorly.

Head coach Ron Rivera said he isn't making any coaching changes now, but he might not have much time if this defense continues to play at the same standard over the next couple of weeks. Magic Johnson called out the team after such a woeful display, so the two defensive figureheads - including coordinator Jack Del Rio - need to get their act together.