Getty Head coach Ron Rivera of the Washington Commanders greets head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears after the Bears defeated the Commanders Week 5.
The Chicago Bears won their first game of the season Week 5, taking care of business on the road against the Washington Commanders.
The 40-20 road victory was Chicago’s best offensive game of the year so far, and based on postgame comments from Bears offensive lineman Teven Jenkins, Washington’s inability to disguise its coverages may be a primary reason the game was so lopsided.
Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio’s units had given up 40 or more points three times in 119 games prior to the team’s loss to the Bears, according to the Washington Post. The Bears and quarterback Justin Fields became No. 4 and Jenkins explained how Fields and company exploited Washington’s defense in a big way.
Teven Jenkins: Commanders Were Either Completely Unaware or ‘Lazy’
Teven Jenkins vs. the Commanders
37 snaps
0 sacks allowed
0 pressures allowed
Jenkins suggested that Washington’s secondary failed for the most part when trying to disguise its Cover 2 defense, with one safety consistently lining up deep. Jenkins noted that whenever a second Commanders DB followed by rotating high, the Bears knew exactly what was coming.
“Like safety rotations,” Jenkins explained, via Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post. “False rotations, all of that. They’d go like cover two, then it was like a false cover two and they’d show one. One comes back, fills the hole, fills the gap. Couple times they were trying to give false looks and it seemed like some of the guys either weren’t aware or they were just being lazy about making the shift and that led to some really open plays for us.”
Jenkins also said the Commanders “showed weak boxes and weak rotations,” which would explain why the Bears’ O-line generally performed well throughout the game.
Bears Offense Came Alive Against the Commanders
The top 6 PFF grades for #Bears players last night:
1. DJ Moore (93.6)
2. Terell Smith (85.6)
3. Teven Jenkins (85.2)
4. Justin Fields (80.3)
5. Gervon Dexter (75.6)
6. Darnell Wright (72.5)
Great to see the young guys stepping up on the big stage.
The Bears scored on eight of their 11 possessions on offense in their win over Washington, and they racked up seven plays of 20 or more yards, including two 50+ yards touchdown receptions from wide receiver DJ Moore.
Jenkins played 37 snaps against the Commanders, and he didn’t allow a pressure while in the game. He earned an 82.2 pass block grade from Pro Football Focus on the night. Last year, in 576 snaps, he allowed 2.0 sacks and 10 hurries.
Fields and Moore also had excellent nights. The Bears quarterback went 15-29 for 282 yards, four touchdowns and a 125.3 rating. Moore had a career night, catching eight passes on 10 targets for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
It was encouraging to see Fields, especially, stack his second straight impressive game together after he completed 80% of his passes for 335 yards, four touchdowns and an interception in Week 4’s loss to the Denver Broncos.
“He showed what he was capable of. He’s shown it before. He did the same thing to us last year, gave us fits,” Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said about Fields, via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. “He’s a heck of a young football player, and again sometimes he’d get hot, make some plays. He threw to probably one of the really good receivers in this league in DJ Moore, somebody I’m very familiar with. They have a solid running game and when you have that kind of rhythm going it’s tough. It really is. And you’re right, this is the NFL, everybody’s capable. That’s exactly what happened today.”
Comments
Bears OL Has Telling Comments on ‘Lazy’ & ‘Weak’ Commanders