Rough ending overshadows play of Bears’ defensive line in loss to Commanders

Bears Film Study was prepared to complain about the offensive line this week, but something else stood out.

Pretend for a moment the Bears played competent defense on the final two plays in Washington. This one would be known for a gutty effort by the defense and a heroic fourth quarter from Caleb Williams.

Had the Bears won 15-12 (like they should have), the play of the game would have happened in the first quarter. The Commanders put together a long drive and faced second-and-one at the 7-yard line. A first down in that spot would make it tough to keep Washington out of the end zone.

Reserve defensive tackle Bryon Cowart broke through the line and dropped Brian Robinson for a yard loss. On third down, Montez Sweat pressured Jayden Daniels, helped force an incompletion and the Commanders settled for three.

Even one Washington touchdown in place of the four field goals and there's likely no Bears comeback. Keep in mind, the Bears were missing two of their best four defensive players, I'd say, in Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon.

The defensive line rose to the occasion. Cowart did it again on the Commanders' second drive, stopping Robinson for no gain on first-and-goal. Cowart, a fourth-year pro, played just 11 defensive snaps and made two important stops.

He wasn't the only unsung hero. Another reserve defensive tackle, Chris Williams, helped stopped Daniels a yard short of the first down after the fumble at the goal line. defensive ends Darrell Taylor and Jacob Martin, making his Bears debut, got some pressure at key moments.

Bears defenders struggled to bring down Daniels in the open field, but Sweat chased him down for a third-down sack in the third quarter, which set up Washington's fourth field goal.

Defensive line depth has been a concern, especially since nose tackle Andrew Billings is on the field a ton and getting double-teamed most every play. This game showed that maybe the Bears defense is developing some depth.

Sputtering offense

An obvious sidebar to this one was the miserable performance by the Bears’ offense until D'Andre Swift broke loose for the long touchdown run late in the third quarter.

What went wrong? It probably started at the very beginning. Defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton, the rookie from Illinois, blew up Teven Jenkins on the Bears' first play. Then when they tried a screen on second down, Jenkins ran past Newton instead of hitting him at least once, and the second-round draft pick raced into the backfield to sack Williams.

So the offensive line wasn't great, especially when rookie Kiran Amegadjie had to replace Braxton Jones at left tackle. Williams got jumpy in the pocket a few times, scrambling for decent gains when he had open receivers.

The offense as a whole seemed out of sync early. When the Bears drove into Washington territory on their second drive, they ran a play where Jenkins pulled like he was going to lead block on a Swift run. But Williams kept the ball, Jenkins ended up colliding with Cole Kmet, and since Jenkins vacated his spot, Newton was flying toward Williams. The Bears’ QB threw the ball out of bounds due to the pressure, while intended target Keenan Allen had room to run.

On the next drive, the Bears faced third-and-two and blitzing linebacker Bobby Wagner knocked running back Roschon Johnson into Williams, while Kmet and D.J. Moore ran into each other across the middle. Williams decided to run and was dropped a yard short of the stick.

Crunch time connections

Of course, Williams brought everything you'd want to see in the fourth quarter. He made three stellar throws — 27 yards to Moore with Wagner in his face, the sidearm delivery to DeAndre Carter to the 1-yard line, then throwing on the run for 22 yards to Allen setting up the go-ahead TD. Williams excels at hitting receivers in stride.

The attempted handoff to backup center Doug Kramer, which resulted in a lost fumble, was a really bad idea. That's a play you run when you're in the lead and trying to put the game on ice; not on third down while trailing.

For the record, William Perry's first goal line carry happened with the score 7-7 against Green Bay. But it was only the second quarter, and he got some practice the previous week against the 49ers.

Fullback farewell

Farewell to Film Study favorite Khari Blasingame, who was released last week. Turns out an injury wasn't holding back the veteran fullback. Shane Waldron's offense had no use for him.

For several seasons, the Bears’ run game was better with Blasingame on the field. This offense could probably use more fullbacks or blocking tight ends.