What We Saw: Week 6 – Monday Night Football

Brett Ford
What We Saw 7 Hours Ago
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Introduction
Bills @ Falcons
Bears @ Commanders

 Bears @ Commanders

Final Score: Chicago 25, Washington 24

Writer: Kyle McCarthy (@KyleStats1738 on Twitter)

 

Jayden Daniels vs. Caleb Williams.

A rematch of last season’s clash between the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, a game that ended in a dramatic Hail Mary win for Washington and marked the beginning of the end for the Bears’ 2024 season. It ended much better for the Bears this time around as they won for just the second time out of a bye week since 2014. It looked like Washington was going to pull away early in the fourth quarter as Daniels found tight end Zach Ertz for a touchdown to take an eight-point lead, but on the ensuing drive, D’Andre Swift turned a five-yard conversion on third down into a 55-yard touchdown to bring Chicago back within two points at 24-22. The teams exchanged punts, then Daniels lost a costly fumble on Washington’s final drive, setting up Chicago for Jake Moody’s game-winning 38-yard field goal. Another thrilling matchup between these two squads that ends in walk-off fashion.

Two Up

  • D’Andre Swift – 175 total yards is the second most in a game of his career. 108 rushing yards is the most in a game since last season against Washington. Swift has ten career games with 129 total yards or more, and three of them are against Washington.
  • Jayden Daniels – His 52 rushing yards were his most since Week 1. It wasn’t the sharpest game for the superstar QB, but he still finished as QB2 for the week.

Two Down

  • Jacory Croskey-Merritt – Another lost fumble for Bill. That’s two in two weeks, and it wasn’t an efficient day as a runner. He’ll see better days in the future.
  • DJ Moore – Moore left the stadium in an ambulance and is apparently staying overnight in Washington for precautionary reasons.

 

Chicago Bears

 

Quarterback

 

Caleb Williams (CHI): 17/29, 252 yards, 1 TD | 4 Carries, -2 Yards, 1 TD

Williams was fine for most of the game, operating in structure and delivering on time. He took three sacks for a loss of 16 yards, but otherwise managed to avoid negative plays and rode the Chicago run game that gashed Washington all night. However, there were a couple of close calls where he was fortunate to avoid interceptions. He never saw linebacker Frankie Luvu when targeting Rome Odunze on a crosser on a fourth down in the first half, and then threw a pass right to corner Mikey Sainristil later in the game in the red zone that was dropped. But positively, Williams found the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the season and first since Week 1. The second-year quarterback found D’Andre Swift on a crucial third down in the fourth quarter, and Swift did the rest as he took it to the house for a 55-yard touchdown.

 

Running Back

 

D’Andre Swift: 14 Carries, 108 Yards | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 67 Yards, TD

The Washington defense made Swift look like Walter Payton as he ripped off chunk run after chunk run Monday night. Chicago owned Washington in the trenches in this game, and head coach Ben Johnson consistently got Swift out on the edge and into open grass. On one of the game’s biggest third downs, he caught a short pass, burst up the sideline, then slipped a tackle from safety Quan Martin on his way to a 55-yard touchdown. He’s still an explosive player on the right night and took advantage of a vulnerable Washington defense.

 

Kyle Monangai: 5 Carries, 19 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 25 Yards

Monangai didn’t see a big boost in his workload in Chicago’s first game post the bye week. With Swift’s standout performance and Roschon Johson getting involved, he may be stuck in a rotational role. However, rookies often see their roles expand as the season progresses. He’s still a watch list guy.

 

RB Roschon Johnson: 1 Carry, 6 Yards

His first snaps on offense and only carry of the season. Maybe getting more involved?

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Rome Odunze: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 32 Yards

Odunze had a touchdown grab wiped out by an illegal formation and had his quietest game of the season. It was his first game without a touchdown this season and his lowest target number. He caught a drag route for an explosive 21-yard gain on their first drive of the second half, but that was his last reception of the game in a matchup where Chicago opted to keep it on the ground more often. It’s one of those unfortunate games for Odunze, who continues to look great and is Chicago’s clear No. 1.

 

DJ Moore: 2 Carries, 10 Yards | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 42 Yards

Moore left the game early with an injury, but was having the most productive day among Bears pass catchers before leaving. That sort of usage was encouraging to see out of the bye week after a slow start to the year for Moore. He has yet to clear six targets in a game this season and hasn’t been a focal point of the offense with second-year WR Rome Odunze making that leap. We’ll be hoping for positive news on his injury and continued involvement in an improving Bears offense.

UPDATE: Moore spent the night in a DC area hospital with an undisclosed ailment. He left the stadium in an ambulance. Keep an eye on his health this week.

 

Luther Burden III: 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 51 Yards

The post-bye rookie bump may be here for Burden. He looked super explosive on his four catches tonight. When given opportunities this season, the second-rounder has delivered. He’s caught 11 of his 12 targets on the year and is averaging 13 yards per touch. And with veteran Olamide Zacheaus making a few costly drops, the time could be arriving for Burden.

 

Olamide Zaccheaus: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 24 Yards | 1 Carry, 4 Yards

Zacchaeus has been a reliable veteran for the Bears through the first handful of games, but he struggled against his former team on Monday night. He and Caleb Williams were out of sync from the start, miscommunicating multiple times on the opening drive. He also dropped a pass with plenty of room to run, missing a chance for an explosive gain deep in their own territory. We could see Burden take over more of the slot role in the coming weeks.

 

Colston Loveland: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 11 Yards

Loveland returned from injury and didn’t see a big increase in his role. He was playing firmly behind Cole Kmet in the early weeks, so we will see how that trends.

 

Cole Kmet: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 0 Yards

Kmet has been locked in as the Bears’ TE1, but had his quietest day of the season following a nine-target game in Week 4 at Las Vegas.

 

Washington Commanders

Quarterback

 

Jayden Daniels: 19/26, 211 Yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 1 FUM | 10 Carries, 52 Yards

It wasn’t the sharpest game for Daniels and the Washington offense as they started slow again, but cranked it on as the game went on. He threw his first interception of the season on the opening drive in the red zone as he was late on a throw to Deebo Samuel in the end zone. That delay allowed safety Jaquan Brisker to jump in and pick it off. Daniels also lost the first fumble of his NFL career on Washington’s final drive, where he botched the handoff to running back Bill Croskey-Merritt. But Daniels still moved the ball up and down the field without multiple pieces on offense and Chris Moore as one of his primary receiving options. He’s just incredibly calm and under control at all moments. He continues to look and move super well after his knee injury. His ability to bob and weave in and out of pressure so effortlessly is impressive to watch, and he made edge defender Montez Sweat look silly a couple of times. It was not one of Daniels’s best games, but he still finished as QB2 for the week. A shootout next week in Dallas awaits.

 

Running Back

 

Jacory Croskey-Merritt: 17 Carries, 61 Yards, 1 FUM | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards

It was a career-worst game for Bill as he lost a fumble for a second consecutive game, and he was held in check as a runner. Against a Chicago defense that was allowing a ridiculous 6.1 yards per carry coming into the game, Croskey-Merritt was unable to find much running room and averaged just 3.6 yards per carry Monday night. It’s encouraging that the coaching staff went back to him and trusts him to work through the issues. There will be better days for the rookie back as his peripherals are all still extremely optimistic, and these kinds of games just happen sometimes. A date against a Dallas defense that just allowed Rico Dowdle to go for over 200 yards awaits.

 

Jeremy McNichols: 2 Carries, 5 Yards | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 30 Yards

McNichols looked awesome tonight behind Croskey-Merritt. With Chris Rodriguez Jr. active but not playing, McNichols rotated in and made a few huge plays. He made a pivotal block in pass protection on Washington’s first touchdown to Chris Moore. Then, on the team’s final drive, he caught a checkdown from Daniels on a third and 13 and burst upfield and picked up tough yards after contact to pick up what could have been a game-clinching first down. But Daniels fumbled just three plays later. McNichols is a super versatile back and someone to keep in mind on the waiver wire.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Deebo Samuel: 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 15 Yards | 1 Carry, -1 Yards

Samuel has been battling a heel issue over the last two weeks, and it’s unclear if that impacted him in this game. It was his quietest game since Week 3’s blowout win against the Raiders, when he caught two of three targets for 11 yards and rushed for 18 yards on three carries. But Samuel wasn’t able to generate much after the catch on most of his touches. And then Daniels was late to recognize that he was open in the end zone on Washington’s first drive, leading to an interception. Samuel will see more productive days as the top target in Washington and should bounce back next week in Dallas.

 

Chris Moore: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 46 Yards, TD

Moore has been the primary beneficiary of Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown missing time as he’s operated as the primary outside wide receiver in their absences. The 32-year-old had drawn only seven targets in four games before this week, but stepped up Monday night and made an athletic spinning grab in the end zone for Washington’s first touchdown of the game.

 

Luke McCaffrey: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 33 Yards, TD

McCaffrey looks like a playmaker for Washington. He’s now found the end zone in three of his last four games, and in Week 5, the game he didn’t score, he made a spectacular diving catch on a 50-yard deep ball from Jayden Daniels. The volume hasn’t been high for McCaffrey with just 10 total targets in six games this season, but the trust in him from the coaching staff is growing. It’s also worth noting that he had another nice catch and run as the first read on an RPO play, but it ended up getting called back. Not to mention, he’s one of the best kick returners in the NFL, ranking second in average yards per return.

 

Jaylin Lane: 1 Carry, 7 Yards | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 37 Yards

Lane and McCaffrey both stepped up for Washington tonight. Lane used a nasty double-move to cook Bears’ corner Tyrique Stevenson and haul in a deep pass from Daniels for a 37-yard gain, setting up a Zach Ertz touchdown. Lane has been tabbed a slot receiver due to his size and shiftiness, but he’s been given opportunities to play as an outside wide receiver, and he’s made some plays. It was also exciting to see him get a rush attempt and get the ball in his hands. That’s often how he was used at Virginia Tech, and his elite athleticism and speed make him a dynamic ball-in-hand guy.

 

Zach Ertz: 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 43 Yards, TD

Ertz was held catchless last week against the Chargers for the first time since the 2014 season, which is crazy. Especially because he and Jayden Daniels built such a strong connection last season, but Ertz dropped his one target in Week 5. The veteran tight end bounced back and led Washington with six receptions and scored a red-zone touchdown. It was typical Ertz usage with plenty of short area targets over the middle of the field and no yards after the catch whatsoever. He’s an ideal safety blanket for a young quarterback and a perfect red zone threat, but it’d be cool if he could slip a tackle now and then.

 

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Introduction
Bills @ Falcons
Bears @ Commanders