The Bears were thisclose to pulling out a come-from-behind victory. Instead, the Commanders held on for a 12-7 victory.
Both teams now are 2-4.
The Bears gained 392 yards. They scored seven points.
They went 0-for-3 in the red zone. In the first half, Jonathan Allen intercepted a tipped Justin Fields pass after the Bears reached the Washington 5; and Khalil Herbert was stopped at the line of scrimmage by Cole Holcomb and Montez Sweat on fourth-and-goal at the 1.
Then, there was the final drive.
On their next-to-last series, the Bears reached the Washington 48 with 2:34 remaining. But Fields’ pass intended for Ihmir Smith-Marsette fell incomplete on fourth-and-16. The Commanders reached the Chicago 30 on the ensuing possession, but Washington kicker Joey Slye hooked a 48-yard field goal.
The Bears’ final possession went 61 yards to get them back inside the Washington 5-yard line.
On third-and-four from the Washington 4, Fields threw up a pass to Dante Pettis, who somehow got two hands on the ball with defensive back Darrick Forrest all over him. Pettis could not, however, hold on.
That set up a fourth-down play.
Fields’ throw to Darnell Mooney would have been a touchdown if he had secured the ball initially. He juggled it, and when he finally pulled it in, Mooney was at the 1-yard line. (It appeared Mooney’s elbow might have touched out of bounds before he caught the ball, but the play was not reviewed. It was ruled a 3-yard catch to the Washington 1.)
Fields went 14-of-27 for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Pettis scored the team’s only touchdown on a 40-yard reception. Fields ran for 88 yards on 12 carries as the Bears ran for 238 yards as a team.
Washington’s only touchdown came on a two-play, 6-yard drive, with Brian Robinson scoring his first career touchdown on a 1-yard run after Bears punt returner Velus Jones fumbled a punt that Christian Holmes recovered.
Carson Wentz completed 12 of 22 passes for 99 yards as Washington gained only 214 yards.
Allen had one of the Commanders’ five sacks as well as the interception, four tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.