Muffed punt, Robinson TD lift Commanders over Bears 12-7
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 13: Justin Fields #1 of the Chicago Bears reacts after losing to the Washington Commanders 12-7 at Soldier Field on October 13, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
CHICAGO - Christian Holmes recovered a muffed punt by Velus Jones deep in Chicago territory to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Brian Robinson midway through the fourth quarter, and the Washington Commanders stopped a four-game losing streak, hanging on to beat the Bears 12-7 Thursday night.
This one might not have been quite as ugly as the Colts-Broncos yawner that had famed play-by-play announcer Al Michaels launching zingers and creating a buzz on social media. There were plenty of bad reads, tipped balls, overthrown passes and sloppy play in general. But there was also no shortage of drama down the stretch.
The Commanders (2-4) took advantage of two turnovers after taking the ball away just once in the first five games in winning for the first time since beating Jacksonville in the opener. Jonathan Allen intercepted Justin Fields deep in Washington territory in the first half. Benjamin St-Juste stopped Darnell Mooney just shy of the end zone in the closing minute of the game, and the Bears (2-4) lost their third in a row.
Washington caught a huge break when it punted on fourth down at its 36. Jones had trouble tracking the ball, then let it hit off his arms.
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Holmes recovered it in a big pile at the 6, and Robinson scored two plays later, making it 12-7 with 7:21 remaining.
Carson Wentz overthrew Curtis Samuel in the back of the end zone on the 2-point conversion attempt, and Joey Slye missed a 48-yard field goal wide left with 1:48 remaining.
Chicago’s Justin Fields then broke off a 39-yard run to the 5. But after blowing two big scoring chances in the first half, the Bears let another slip away.
Dante Pettis was unable to hang onto a third-down pass in the end zone with Darrick Forrest all over him. A leaping Darnell Mooney got knocked out of bounds by Benjamin St-Juste inches shy of the goal line as he hauled in a pass.
Fields completed 14 of 27 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown after setting career highs in completion rate (71.4 %) and passer rating (118.8) against Minnesota on Sunday. He also ran for 88 yards.
Pettis had four catches for 84 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown.
The Bears, wearing orange jerseys and helmets, blew huge scoring chances on back-to-back possessions in the first half.
They had the ball at the Washington 5 late in the first quarter when Fields threw a laser that hit defensive tackle Efe Obada’s helmet and popped into the air. Jonathan Allen came away with the interception and just the second takeaway for Washington this season.
The Bears had another big chance early in the second, when Khalil Herbert broke a tackle and crossed the field on a 64-yard run to the 6. But Fields overthrew a wide open Ryan Griffin in the end zone and Herbert got stopped on fourth down at the 1.
Joey Slye gave Washington a 3-0 lead when he kicked a field goal in the closing minute of the first half.
INJURIES:
Commanders: TE Josh Bates (hamstring) was hurt in the first half.
Bears: C Lucas Patrick (concussion protocol) was hurt blocking on a run early in the third quarter. ... WR N’Keal Harry was a healthy scratch, potentially setting him up to make his Bears debut at New England on Oct. 24. Harry, a first-round pick by the Patriots in 2019, was acquired from New England in July and suffered an ankle injury in training camp that required surgery.
UP NEXT
Commanders: Host Green Bay on Oct. 23.
Bears: Visit New England on Oct. 24.