The Washington Commanders entered Week 6 with a 3-2 record, and a home Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears. This was a big game for both teams a they try to move up in their divisions
and conference rankings. The Commanders turned the ball over three times and lost 25-24. It was a demoralizing loss, that drops them to 3-3, and makes every game going forward critical to their postseason hopes.
The Commanders had risen back up in the rankings, but their lack of consistency has plummeted them further down most lists. Washington has been alternating wins and losses every week, and won’t get back into the Top-10 if they can’t string two wins together. They also have a lot of things that need to get cleaned up, with turnovers being high on that list. Jayden Daniels threw an early interception, and also lost the ball during a critical 4th quarter handoff attempt to Bill Croskey-Merritt, who had his own fumble earlier in the game.
The season started with high expectations after the Commanders made it to the NFC Championship game last season. The team is 3-3, and still in 2nd place in the NFC East. They’re still in the playoff hunt in the NFC, but are currently 11th in the conference. Washington had the opportunity to take the lead in the division title race in the NFC East, but fumbled that away. The Commanders travel to Dallas to face their second division opponent of the season. The Cowboys are 2-3-1 and coming off a last-minute loss to the Carolina Panthers.
- Winning the Super Bowl odds: +2200 —-> +3000
- Winning the NFC Odds: +1200 —-> +1600
- Winning the NFC East Odds: +260 —-> +230
- To Make the Playoffs: -106 —-> +148
- Washington Commanders Win Total O/U: Over 9.5(-110 —-> +165), Under 9.5(-110 —-> -195)
High: 9
Low: 20
Average: 11.2 —-> 15.7
#9
Walter Football
I thought Jayden Daniels would be rusty in his first game back from his knee injury, but after a slow start, he looked like his usual, amazing self. Daniels nearly led his team to a victory over the Bears to improve to 4-2, but sloppy mistakes did in the Redskins. Last week: 7
#10
Washington Post(Greenberg)
Last week: 16
For the Numbers(Kelley)
The Commanders fumbled the game away Monday night, and with it they fumbled away their chance to tie the Eagles atop the NFC East. Last week: 9
Team Rankings
Last week: 9
#11
Sharp Football Analysis(Mauro)
A blocked field goal maintained the Commanders’ lead as the fourth quarter began, and a 6-yard strike to Zach Ertz on the ensuing drive set them up with an 8-point lead as they prepared to salt away their fourth victory of the season. Three plays later, the secondary is sucked inside on a screen pass to D’Andre Swift, which he took for a 55-yard Chicago score. An inexcusable error so late in a winnable conference game, and one that would have been perfectly redeemable had Jayden Daniels just hung on to the football on Washington’s final drive. A bad snap with a wet ball wouldn’t allow that, and the Bears stole the ball back before stealing the win at FedEx Field on the leg of Jake Moody. Adequate revenge for last year’s Hail Mary as Washington falls to an uncomfortable 3-3 in an unexpectedly narrow NFC East race. Last week: 7
#12
NFL.com(Edholm)
Monday felt like a missed opportunity for the Commanders, who had the ball twice in the fourth quarter with the lead but punted and fumbled, opening the door for the Bears to snag a one-point win. Jayden Daniels rallied from his early pick to take command of the game, but he coughed the ball up late in the misty weather. The Bears had no trouble hanging onto the ball, and they promptly marched down the field for the game-winning field goal. Washington held them to 1-for-3 in the red zone, but it was not a particularly good defensive showing for the Commanders, especially after such an encouraging outing against the Chargers. The offense did its part with three turnovers, and Matt Gay also missed a kick, so the breakdowns were all around. Last week: 9
The Ringer(Lee)
Against the Bears on Monday night, it felt like everything was going wrong for the first time in quarterback Jayden Daniels’s pro career. Washington moved the ball well, but poor ball security cost the offense two scoring opportunities in plus territory, and one of those mistakes set up Chicago’s game-winning drive.
While Washington’s offense has been objectively good all season, the margins for success are just as tight this year as they were in 2024, and the schedule is brutal the rest of the way. The Commanders can’t afford more losses to less talented teams if they hope to make the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Last week: 12
For the Win(D’Andrea/Zeglinski)
Last week: 12
#15
USA Today(Davis)
They doubled their season turnover total from three to six Monday night. QB Jayden Daniels kept them in their loss to Chicago ’til the end regardless but could really some of his weapons back. Last week: 11
Sportsnaut(Johnson)
The Washington Commanders only have themselves to blame for that Monday Night Football loss. Three turnovers, two by Jayden Daniels, turned into 13 points for the Chicago Bears. Injuries, which Washington has its fair share of, can’t even be pointed to as the reason why the Commanders are now a 3-3 team. Fortunately, this defense continues to play relatively well and as long as Daniels avoids the giveaways in Week 7, Washington will rebound to beat the Dallas Cowboys. Last week: 8
#16
Sports Illustrated(Orr)
This was not a great Jayden Daniels game, but I think we can all agree that it was also not a great Commanders defensive performance, which was obviously more costly. We’re going to get Daniels on nights—especially in a nor’easter—-when he cannot be Superman. We cannot, however, depend on Washington to outscore its opponents so regularly without some help. Last week: 7
The Score(Wilkins)
Does Jayden Daniels need another weapon? Terry McLaurin’s absence is putting a spotlight on Washington’s shortcomings at receiver. This passing game likely can’t be expected to match last year’s production with depth players like Chris Moore and Luke McCaffrey forced into primary roles alongside Deebo Samuel. Last week: 11
Clutch Points(Johrendt)
A fumbled exchange between Jayden Daniels and Jacoby Crowley-Merritt near the three-minute mark resulted in a mid-field turnover, writing the losing script for the Washington Commanders in Week 6.
The WAS offense was pretty sloppy all night, as Daniels threw an interception and lost two fumbles, and JCM lost a fumble of his own. Chris Moore, Zach Ertz, and Luke McCaffrey all caught TDs, but Deebo Samuel was very quiet (14 total yards) in the loss. Last week: 13
Bleacher Report
Monday night’s game was a big one for the Washington Commanders, and their loss was telling.
A win over Chicago would have given the Commanders a share of the NFC East lead at a time when the reigning-champion Eagles might be showing some cracks. Unfortunately, Washington fell behind early, failed to stop Chicago late, and lost on a last-second field goal.
A year ago, the Commanders simply seemed destined to win one-score games. Their latest loss serves as a reminder that winning everything close isn’t sustainable. Washington is talented. It’s also a .500 team. Last week: 13
Windy City Gridiron(Leming)
Following an impressive win in Week 5 against the Chargers on the road, it felt like things were starting to click for the Commanders. Despite their slow start, which found them down 13-0, they fought back and had every opportunity to win on Monday night. Three turnovers were the story in Week 6, and now, they have to go back to the drawing board. The offense will be fine, but the defense has some holes. Last week: 12
#17
ESPN
Lesson learned: Javon Kinlaw’s deal has been a bargain.
When Washington signed the veteran defensive tackle to a contract that averaged $15 million per year, many scratched their heads. But Kinlaw ranks 13th among defensive tackles with a 40.2% run stop win rate (his previous career best was 35%). He has been credited with seven run stops, already a career high. Washington wanted Kinlaw because it believed he was still ascending after multiple injuries hampered his growth. He has now been healthy for two straight seasons and is really producing. Washington’s run defense still needs some work — it ranks 20th after finishing 30th last season — even with Kinlaw doing his part. — John Keim Last week: 14
DraftKings Network(Tucker)
Last week: 12
#18
Yahoo Sports(Schwab)
There was no Hail Mary to beat the Bears this time. The Commanders caught a lot of breaks last season, and that’s hard to replicate. On Monday, a botched handoff was fumbled away and led to a rough loss. The Commanders are fine at 3-3, but some regression was inevitable. Last week: 12
Fox Sports(Vacchiano)
The Commanders beat themselves with three turnovers, all of which led to Bears points. Meanwhile, Dan Quinn’s defense may end up being the real problem for this team. Last week: 13
DAZN(Muehlhausen)
A lapse in judgment by Jayden Daniels cost the Commanders a golden opportunity to even things in the division with the Eagles. Last week: 14
New York Post(Dunleavy)
Last week: 14
#19
The Athletic(Graff/Kendall)
Fantasy focus: Jayden Daniels
The Commanders’ second-year quarterback is overplaying his draft position for fantasy managers this year. His ADP was 28th, but he’s the 18th-leading scorer on a per-game basis (19.65). He didn’t get a win Monday night, but he threw for three touchdowns and rushed for 52 yards. Last week: 11
CBS Sports(Prisco)
They lost a tough one to the Bears, and the biggest concern remains the defense. They give up a lot of big plays because of poor tackling. Last week: 12
Sporting News(Iyer)
The Commanders got a bit sloppy early and late with Jayden Daniels and the rest of the offense, making uncharacteristic mistakes to put extra pressure on the defense. Daniels is now 1-1 vs. Williams early in their fun duel. Last week: 12
Pro Football Talk(Florio)
They blew an opportunity to catch the Eagles; they might now be caught by the Cowboys or the Giants. Last week: 12
AZ Central(Cluff)
The Commanders were in position to beat the Bears until Jayden Daniels fumbled the ball on a 3rd & 1 play at the Chicago 40 with 3:10 left in the game, spoiling his 19-for-26 passing for 211 yards and three touchdowns effort. Ouch. Last week: 12
Cowboys Wire(Drummond)
Last week: 12
#20
Pressbox Online(Clark)
I am to understand that fumbling the ball away with 3:10 left when you’re leading and marching into scoring range is, objectively, not great. Last week: 13
AtlantaFalcons.com(McElhaney)
Last week: 16
#7
Pro Football Focus(Valentine)
Welcome back, Jayden Daniels. The Commanders’ franchise quarterback stepped back into the limelight after missing two weeks due to injury, and immediately delivered an 85.9 overall PFF grade against the Chargers in the Week 5 win. It’s been hard to get a real reading of who the Commanders are through five weeks, in part because they’ve missed Daniels. But now at 3-2, they can hopefully start to build upon themselves as the season progresses. Last week: 7
List Wire(Werner)
All the Commanders needed to get the offense in high gear was the return of Jayden Daniels. They throttled the Chargers and the offense ran smoothly with the quarterback returning. Last week: 7
#8
Sports Illustrated
Deebo Samuel has been an excellent addition to the Commanders. He’s not only been a productive player offensively but also on special teams. He’s garnered 300 receiving yards, three receiving touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and 221 kickoff-return yards. Not looking like a bad trade thus far for Adam Peters and the front office. Last week: 8
#9
FanDuel(Nader)
Last week: 9
#12
NFL.com(Reynolds)
The offense is, of course, going to miss Jayden Daniels at QB. But the attack led by Marcus Mariota was not the problem in losing to Atlanta. The defense had too many let-downs. Washington are now 0-2 on the road and three of their next four are away from home. Last week: 12
Total Pro Sports(Hoegler)
Jayden Daniels’ return after a two-week hiatus made Washington look like last year’s Commanders. T’was a near-perfect performance in LA, with the visitors winning 27-10 to move back above .500.
Even without Terry McLaurin, Washington moved the ball at will over LA’s elite defense, including 163 rushing yards and two scores on the ground. Now…if the Commanders could just go on a run instead of alternating wins and losses? Last week: 12
Bleeding Green Nation(Gowton)
Jayden Daniels’ return won’t change the fact that their defense is old and vulnerable. The Marshon Lattimore trade has been a big bust for Washington. Last week: 12
