Bears Film Study: True Monday Night hero, Moody or Benedet?

Let's start this film study with a hot take: The player the Bears should have lifted onto their shoulders after Monday's win at Washington was Theo Benedet.

They could have at least followed in the tradition of the 1985 Bears and carried both Benedet and kicker Jake Moody off the field.

“The Canadian Eagle,” who spurned the BC Lions to sign with the Bears as an undrafted free agent, has provided needed stability at left tackle. And sure, the Bears received some luck in this game, mainly the unforced fumble that led to Moody's winning field goal. But the Bears have come a long way since the Week 2 drubbing at Detroit.

The Bears made the most of their bye week, getting healthier and sharper. Quarterback Caleb Williams, for starters, may have spent the down time watching video of his backup Tyson Bagent.

During the Bears' opening drive, which resulted in a field goal, Williams was decisive, making quick, easy throws instead of reaching for something spectacular. That drive in itself set a positive tone.

Washington actually began the game trying to put pressure on Williams, so the quick throws paid off. He went 3-for-4 for 26 yards on the opening drive, the Bears tacked on a few decent runs and it was enough for a 3-0 lead.

Overall, the pass protection held up well. Williams had time to wait in the pocket for crossing patterns to open up when he hit Rome Odunze for 21 yards and Luther Burden for 37 on consecutive plays in the third quarter, setting up Moody's third field goal.

Benedet did give up a sack later in the game, but it was one of the few times when Williams held the ball too long. Benedet was technically flagged for the illegal formation penalty that wiped up a touchdown pass to Rome Odunze, but that call was just strange.

Rush lanes

Another notable change for this game was the run defense. The Bears still rank second-to-last in the NFL with 156.4 rush yards allowed, but holding the Commanders to 124 was a decent effort, considering Jayden Daniels pick up 52 of those, mostly on QB scrambles.

Getting Kyler Gordon and T.J. Edwards back from injuries helped the cause. But the biggest difference-maker in this game was nose guard Andrew Billings. He logged a season-high 60% of the defensive snaps, and this was a game where we could use some of those on-off stats like they have in the NBA.

We suspected Billings could make a difference with heavier usage, instead of the undersized, aging Grady Jarrett at defensive tackle. That seemed to be the case in this one, but Jarrett was also out for the Las Vegas game, Billings played 58% of the snaps and the Bears gave up 240 rushing yards to Ashton Jeanty and friends.

Guess we'll have to plug this one into the, “everything looked better after the bye” category.

Best plays

Considering the recent history of this offensive line, there were some well-blocked run plays that could be considered works of art.

The first was D'Andre Swift running left for 12 yards to set up the Bears' initial touchdown. Center Drew Dalman and guard Joe Thuney slid over to double the defensive tackle, then Thuney released to stonewall linebacker Bobby Wagner, while Benedet put edge Preston Smith on the ground.

There was nice variety on Swift's 19-yard run around right end on the next drive. This one began with nice blocks from wide receivers Olamide Zaccheaus and D.J. Moore, while right tackle Darnell Wright managed to take out two Washington defensive backs at once. Receiver blocking played a significant role in the Bears' 145 rush yards.

Quick hitters

The usually reliable pro-football-reference.com had Washington never targeting Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, but that was definitely Stevenson getting burned on a stop-and-go move by Jaylin Lane for the 37-yard gain which set up the Commanders TD that made it 24-16. This was a nice game by corner Nahshon Wright, who was thrown at seven times but gave up just 4.1 yards per target. …

An underrated play was the intentional grounding on Jayden Daniels early in the third quarter, which pushed the Commanders backward after reaching the Bears' 25. Daniels let it fly as soon as he felt Dominique Robinson's arm touch his back.