Chicago Bears vs. Washington Commanders preview: 5 storylines to watch in Week 5

LAKE FOREST – Is it a blessing or a curse that the Bears have a quick turnaround this week?

Following Sunday’s disastrous loss to the Denver Broncos, during which the Bears blew a 21-point lead in the second half, the team returns to action Thursday night with a Week 5 matchup against the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field in Maryland.

At this point, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus is coaching for his job. The Bears have lost 14 consecutive games dating to last season. Quarterback Justin Fields had the best passing performance of his career Sunday, and still the Bears couldn’t find a win.

The Bears (0-4) and the Commanders (2-2) kick off at 7:15 p.m. Thursday. The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime and locally on Fox-32. Here are five storylines to watch.

1. Can Matt Eberflus end the losing streak?

The Bears have a nine-day layoff after Thursday’s game. If they lose again and drop to 0-5, it could be an optimal time to make a change at head coach. The team would have an extra few days to prepare for its Week 6 contest.

The Bears, however, never have fired a coach midseason. They also never have lost anything close to 14 consecutive games. These are unprecedented times, and they could call for unprecedented measures. The Bears have a new president and CEO in Kevin Warren, who probably doesn’t care what the team has or hasn’t done in the past.

Eberflus desperately needs a win. His seat is beyond hot already. Another loss only is going to make matters worse. A win doesn’t alleviate much of the pressure on him, but it likely would at least buy him a little more time to try to right this ship.

2. Can the offensive explosion carry over?

The Bears did a lot of nice things, offensively, in Sunday’s loss against Denver. For three quarters, Fields and the passing attack looked unstoppable. Fields threw for a career high 335 yards and four passing touchdowns. At one point, he set a franchise record with 16 consecutive completions. For the first time all season, there was a flow on offense.

The big question facing this offense now is this: Was that a breakthrough or was it a factor of the Bears playing the worst defense in football? Fields and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy both believe there were things that can carry over from the team’s success Sunday.

Washington has an impressive defensive front, but the secondary has its flaws. If the Bears can stave off Daron Payne, Montez Sweat and the pass rush, the offense might have a chance.

Receiver DJ Moore played his best game last week, catching eight passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. Look for the Bears to keep him heavily involved again.

3. Teven Jenkins could give O-line a boost

The offensive line played its best game last week against Denver, and it could be receiving a boost. Left guard Teven Jenkins could return from injured reserve Thursday. Jenkins practiced all week and is listed as questionable for the game. The team would have to activate him from IR if he is to play Thursday.

The Bears have been without Jenkins through the first four games. He injured his calf during training camp and went on IR before Week 1. The Bears had been slotting Jenkins into the left guard position during camp. This was after he played at right guard all of last season.

If Jenkins returns to left guard, the Bears could shift veteran Cody Whitehair back to center, where he practiced all offseason. That would move Lucas Patrick back to the bench. It would bring the Bears closer to full strength, with four of their five expected starters in the lineup (left tackle Braxton Jones remains on IR).

4. Sam Howell takes a lot of sacks

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell has allowed a league-leading 24 sacks through four games. The Commanders are allowing pressure on 24.6% of dropbacks, which ranks 12th worst among NFL offenses, and it’s resulting in sacks on 17.1% of dropbacks (ranked 31st).

The Bears’ defense, meanwhile, has only two sacks on the season. If ever there was an offense and a quarterback that were ripe for sacking, this Commanders offense is it. Sacks often come in bunches. Thursday could be the Bears’ best chance to reach the quarterback.

“I feel like this Thursday night we can spark something special, you know what I mean?” said defensive end Yannick Ngakoue, who has one of the team’s two sacks. “We’re just going over the game plan, we’re definitely evaluating tape and seeing what we can do better, but I’m still optimistic. I’m very excited to see what this group can really do.”

Howell, a 2022 fifth-round draft pick, has thrown for 961 yards on 67% completions, with four touchdowns and five interceptions.

5. Bears secondary remains banged up

With numerous injuries in the secondary, the Bears made several additions at defensive back this week. Cornerback Kyler Gordon remains on injured reserve for at least one more game, and the team added his backup, Josh Blackwell, to IR last week.

Safety Eddie Jackson (foot) and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) have been ruled out for Thursday’s game.

This week, the Bears added veteran safety Duron Harmon and cornerback Christian Matthew to the active roster. Harmon is a veteran who won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.

Last week, the Bears played in their base 4-3 defense (with three linebackers and four defensive backs) on 65% of defensive snaps. That is more than in previous games. Most teams typically prefer to have five DBs on the field against modern offenses. With reinforcements on the way, could the Bears have a little more trust in their DBs this week?

The Commanders could test this secondary with receivers such as Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson and Curtis Samuel.