Thursday Night Football‘s Week 6 matchup may not be a future playoff preview, but the game between the Washington Commanders and Chicago Bears should be a very good on-field battle. Both teams have quarterbacks who need to prove themselves, albeit under different circumstances. Each team also has less-than-spectacular offensive attacks that rank in the bottom tier of the NFL.
While neither the Commanders (1-4) nor the Bears (2-3) have had the starts they had hoped for, Thursday is a chance to correct their course. Even if the NFL community may not think highly of either team right now, a dominant showing in primetime can go a long way toward changing an organization’s narrative. Here are five players we’ll be keeping a close eye on during tonight’s showdown.
Montez Sweat looks to build off early-season momentum
After selecting pass-rusher Montez Sweat 26th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft class, Washington envisioned the former Mississippi State star becoming the next freakish athlete who developed into a problem on gameday. After running a 4.41 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, Sweat was officially on the map among several talent evaluators.
Sweat has been far from a bust in his three-plus seasons with the team, tallying 23 career sacks, but he’s yet to post a double-digit sack total in one individual season. The 26-year-old defensive end dropped Ryan Tannehill twice last week and now faces one of the worst offensive lines in football per Pro Football Focus. Not only that, Justin Fields is taking just over three seconds to release the ball, the second-lengthiest rate among QBs. Expect to hear Sweat’s name a lot in this one.
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Is Jaquan Brisker the real deal?
Looking to improve their secondary, the Bears spent their first two draft selections on defensive backs. Cornerback Kyler Gordon was selected 39th, and safety Jaquan Brisker went nine picks later at No. 48. Gordon’s had some early growing pains, allowing 80.6% of targets his way for 397 yards and two scores through five weeks.
Brisker’s catch-allowed rate is slightly better at 76.9%, but he’s allowed just 78 yards and no touchdowns. However, the strong safety has already missed nine tackles this season. It’s the sixth-highest rate among safeties who have played at least 50% of a team’s snaps. Yet, Brisker’s been all over the field, racking up 30 tackles, a sack, a fumble recovery, two tackles for loss, and a QB hit thus far. He’s certainly made an impact, he just needs to gain more experience.
Expect to see the Commanders not only test these young rookies in pass coverage but also run right at Brisker, trying to see just how up to the task he’s feeling on a brisk night at Soldier Field.
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Brian Robinson makes first NFL start
The NFL has seen several running backs enter the league out of Alabama in recent years. You know Derrick Henry, you know Najee Harris, and pretty soon, we’ll all know Brian Robinson too. Sure, right now, he’s most recognized by an unfortunate incident that occurred in the preseason, where the third-round rookie was shot twice in the leg when thieves tried to steal his car, but we’ve seen to see in on-field impact. That all changes tonight when Robinson is set to get the first start of his young NFL career.
Robinson made his NFL debut last week, taking nine carries for 22 yards. But the Bears come into the matchup allowing the second-most rushing yards per game, at 170 a pop. We’re likely to see a heavy dose of the 6-foot-1, 225-pound back in Chicago. Robinson won’t blaze past the Bears, as he ran a 4.53 40-yard dash at the combine, but don’t be surprised if he does his best Derrick Henry impersonation and sends a few defenders crashing to the turf.
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Carson Wentz looks to avoid fifth-straight loss
Five games in, the Carson Wentz experiment has blown up in Washington’s face. With backup QB Taylor Heinicke thrust into action last season, the Commanders averaged 19.7 points per game, ranking 23rd in the NFL. This season, they average just 18 points per contest and rank 26th in the NFL. This is despite the fact that the Commanders have the third-most passing attempts through five weeks.
Wentz may still be learning the offense, and he’s likely still getting on the same page with his cast of receivers, but at some point, he needs to start winning again. Washington is on a four-game losing streak heading into a very winnable game against the Bears. The Commanders may only be favored by one point at home, but many expect them to leave Soldier Field with the ‘win. Wentz can not afford to make mistakes in this one.
Can Justin Fields take advantage of his opportunity?
At one point, the Bears’ top brass felt Justin Fields was their potential future face of the franchise. They traded their 20th selection, along with what ended up being the seventh overall pick in 2022 (Evan Neal) and other selections to select Fields 11th overall out of Ohio State in 2021. Unfortunately for Fields, the decision-makers who believed in his future success have all now been canned, and he’s left trying to prove himself to a new group of talent evaluators.
The Bears haven’t exactly given him elite weapons to work with, whether it’s his lackluster pass-catching corps or a shoddy offensive line, so anything Fields can show off should be seen as a win. Only we just haven’t seen much to suggest he’s worth the original investment.
Completing just 55.7% of his passes (second-worst among 2022 QBs), Fields actually has more games with an interception thrown than a touchdown through five games. While we all want to see more from Fields, don’t expect to see it on Thursday, as the Bears are still a ground-and-pound football team that prefers to run more than pass. Chicago has run the ball two times as many times as they’ve dropped back to pass, and that’s expected to be the same game plan on Thursday.
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