The Commanders are in a bit of a slump heading into their first prime time appearance of the season. After Sunday’s overtime loss, Washington has now dropped back-to-back games following a 2–0 start.
A two-game skid is nothing to the Bears, though, who have dropped 14 in a row heading into Thursday Night Football and are a few weeks away from the one-year anniversary of their last win.
Given the dire straits in Chicago, the Commanders are 6.5-point home favorites over the Bears at FedEx Field on Thursday night. The total is set at 44.5 points, according to SI Sportsbook. Washington won the last meeting between these teams a season ago at Soldier Field, 12–7.
Bears vs. Commanders Odds and Game Info
Moneyline: Bears (+250) | Commanders (-333)
Spread: CHI +6.5 (-110) | WAS -6.5 (-118)
Total: 44.5 — Over (-110) | Under (-118)
Game Info: Thursday, Oct. 5, 8:15 p.m. ET | Prime Video
Bears vs. Commanders Best Bet: Over 44.5 (-110)
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Chicago and Washington Key Stats and Fun Facts:
- The over is 4–0 in Bears games this season and it was 10–7 in 2022.
- The under is 2–0 to date in Commanders home games in 2023.
- Chicago allows the fourth-most passing yards per game (267.8)
Chicago came close to ending its franchise-record losing streak Sunday against the Broncos. Justin Fields enjoyed his best passing performance as a pro with 335 yards and four touchdowns through the air and the Bears held a 28–7 lead near the end of the third quarter. However, Denver came storming back and scored 24 unanswered points to win, 31–28.
Only the Broncos, who surrendered 70 points to the Dolphins in Week 3, allow more points per game than Chicago (34.3). The Bears also own the second-worst point differential in the NFL (-62) and are one of the only two winless teams remaining, along with the Panthers.
The Commanders’ defense hasn’t been all that much better to date. Since holding the Cardinals to 16 in the season opener, Washington has allowed at least 33 points in every game. Most recently, it was the Eagles who had a big day against Jack Del Rios’ defense in a 34–31 overtime win.
Second-year quarterback Sam Howell played well against Philadelphia, completing over 70% of his passes for 290 yards, a touchdown and no turnovers. However, he was sacked five more times Sunday to bring his total to 24 in four games, which leads the league by a considerable margin. Chicago has the fewest sacks in the NFL (two), so Howell might fare better against that front Thursday.
The last time these teams met it was a slog on offense. Carson Wentz was under center for the Commanders and finished with 99 yards passing in four quarters. Meanwhile, the Bears had just seven points to show for nearly 400 yards of offense and three red-zone trips.
This season, these offenses are both roughly middle of the pack. Fields and Howell are coming off season-best performances and the Washington game is when Chicago finally decided to utilize Fields as a rusher last year to the tune of 12 carries for 88 yards. Perhaps that’s the case again this year, considering Fields has been lightly used as a runner on the heels of his 1,000-yard rushing season.
Forget what happened in 2022, when 19 total points were scored in this matchup, and instead look at what’s happened so far in 2023. The fewest points the Bears have allowed in a game so far was 27 to Tampa Bay and the Commanders have shown they’re liable to be exposed by mobile quarterbacks. This is a very modest total, though beware the under has hit at an extremely high clip in primetime games so far this year.
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