LANDOVER, Md. (WGN) — The Bears didn’t give Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders the chance to complete a game-winning Hail Mary this time around.
Instead, they made sure they had the final word in the rematch at rainy Northwest Stadium.
Just two weeks shy of a year since Daniels’ walk-off Hail Mary touchdown pass to Noah Brown stunned the Bears and sent their 2024 season into a tailspin, Chicago returned to the scene Monday night and flipped the script, defeating Washington, 25-24, on new kicker Jake Moody’s 38-year field goal with no time left.
The Bears, coming off their bye week, extended their winning streak to three games under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, improving to 3-2 on the season. They pulled into a tie with the Minnesota Vikings, on their bye this week, for third place in the highly competitive NFC North, behind the Green Bay Packers (3-1-1) and Detroit Lions (4-2).
D’Andre Swift carried much of the offensive load for the Bears on Monday night, rushing for 108 yards on 14 carries and grabbing a pair of receptions for 67 yards — including a 55-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown.
It was also a game of redemption for Moody, cut by the San Francisco 49ers — who drafted him in the third round in 2023 — this September after two missed attempts in Week 1. The Bears signed Moody off the practice squad because regular kicker Cairo Santos was out with an injured quadriceps.
Moody came through big-time, making field goals from 47 and 48 yards in the first quarter and 41 in the third. He had a 48-yard attempt blocked on the opening play of the fourth quarter, but he came back to kick the game-winner, which was set up by a Washington fumble, its third turnover of the night.
Moody’s teammates mobbed him, then raised him up off the ground in a mass celebration on the field.
“I got here not too long ago,” Moody said. “But for everybody to embrace me and take me in as one of their own is an amazing feeling.”
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams played turnover-free football in the rain, finishing the game 17-of-29 passing for 252 yards and a touchdown. He led the Bears on the nine-play, 36-yard closing drive that set up Moody’s field goal, with Swift doing the majority of the work on the final drive, carrying the rock five times for 35 yards.
Williams and Daniels, who both won the Heisman Trophy in college and entered the NFL together as the top two overall selections in the 2024 draft, are now 1-1 against each other as pros.
“You play versus great players, you want to have those games, have those moments, where you’re playing versus somebody else on the opposite side, where you’re going to have a battle,” Williams said. “He knows that. I know that.”
The Commanders, who reached the NFC Championship Game last season, dropped to 3-3 and continued their pattern of alternating wins and losses in 2025. They also missed out on a chance to pull even with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles atop the NFC East.
Here’s more on how Monday night’s game played out.
Game Recap
Heading into halftime, it looked like it could be anyone’s game. As was the case in this matchup last year, it came right down to the wire this time, too.
The Bears scored on each of their first three possessions, while their defense forced back-to-back turnovers on the Commanders’ first two drives of the game. But Chicago only cashed in a touchdown on one of those three possessions, settling for two Moody field goals and a 13-0 lead.
Washington elected to receive the second-half kickoff and put the Bears’ offense on the field to start the game after Chicago lost the opening coin toss.
The Bears went 41 yards before their opening drive stalled at the Commanders’ 29-yard line. Jake Moody cashed in his first field goal as a Bear with a 47-yarder, and Chicago took an early 3-0 lead.
Jaquan Brisker then stepped in front of a Daniels pass intended for Deebo Samuels at the Bears’ 2-yard line and returned the interception 32 yards in the other direction to halt Washington’s first offensive drive. The pick was Brisker’s first of the season and also the first thrown by Daniels this year.
However, Chicago’s offense failed to capitalize with six points after the turnover. The Bears drove 36 yards on eight plays before Moody hit a 48-yard field goal to make it 6-0.
Chicago forced a second turnover on the second play of the Commanders’ second drive, this time courtesy of a Montez Sweat forced fumble, which was recovered by Kyler Gordon.
This time around proved that “the third time’s the charm” is more than just a saying when the Bears can maintain rhythm on offense.
After Williams found Rome Odunze for an 11-yard completion on the first play of Chicago’s third drive, the Bears reeled off four straight runs, capped by a 1-yard Williams TD run inside the right phylon to make it a 13-0 ballgame.
But then, from the 14:17 mark of the second quarter until the end of the third quarter, Washington outscored Chicago 17-3. After a 22-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Chris Moore was followed by a 53-yard Matt Gay field goal to open the second half, the Commanders took their first lead of the game on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Luke McCaffrey with just under three minutes left before the fourth quarter began.
Momentum continued to swing in Washington’s favor in the fourth.
Moody’s fourth field-goal attempt of the night was a low line drive blocked at the line of scrimmage, and the Commanders followed up the special teams miscue by Chicago with a six-play, 63-yard scoring drive that ended with Daniels finding tight end Zach Ertz on a 6-yard touchdown pass.
Fortunately enough for the Bears, Swift broke a 55-yard pass from Williams up the left sideline to make it a 2-point game, 22-24, with 10:26 left on the clock.
As the rain fell late in the game on Northwest Stadium, the Bears offense went three-and-out after their defense forced Washington’s first punt of the second half.
But wet conditions then contributed toward the Commanders’ third turnover of the night, this time on a botched handoff between Daniels and Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Nahshon Wright pounced on the fumble, giving the Bears new life with 3:07 remaining.
Swift took it from there, with Moody hitting his fourth field goal of the game, this time a 38-yard game-winner in the rain.
“Going into that last drive, I was thinking, ‘This is going to be it for us,'” Johnson said after the game. “I want(ed) to make sure that they didn’t have a rebuttal drive, either.
“So I told Caleb on the headset, ‘Tell the big guys up front that we’re going to ride the run game on into victory.'”
Injuries
Bears: WR D.J. Moore was going to stay overnight in the Washington area for precautionary medical attention, the Bears said after the game. … LB Noah Sewell was ruled out with a concussion in the second quarter.
Commanders: Daniels was without two of this top three receivers: Brown, who sat out his fourth game in a row with knee and groin issues, and Terry McLaurin, sidelined for a third straight week with a quad muscle issue. … DE Dorance Armstrong hurt his hamstring but returned in the third quarter and picked up his sixth sack of the season. He then left again.
Up next
The Bears host the New Orleans Saints for a noon kickoff on Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Commanders go to Dallas to play the NFC East rival Cowboys at 3:25 p.m. Sunday.