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I’ll never stop marveling that such important, multi-million dollar games played by huge, skilled and swift athletes so often come down to the tiny feet of dudes who likely have never played a regular down of football in their lives. But such it is.
So kudos to Chicago Bears kicker Jake Moody, who made four of five field goals Monday night against the Commanders, including the game-winner in the Bears' last-second 25-24 victory. Moody may have been a two-time All-American at Michigan, but the 49ers cut him recently for being inconsistent, and he was so new to the Bears' active roster that most players probably said hello to him for the first time in the shower after the game.
That is, the ones who didn’t lift him onto their shoulders in the postgame delirium.
My misgivings about kickers aside (isn’t their role analogous to dudes coming in to putt for PGA golfers or shoot big free throws for NBA players?) is that the Bears are learning how to win close games. They’re 3-2, and have won their last two by a total of two points. Can’t get closer than that.
As they do this close-game stuff, we nevertheless marvel at their inconsistency and elusive character. Are they good because they come out of the dark at the end to win? Or are they maddening because they get into the dark in the first place? After all, they were ahead in this game, 13-0. Then they were behind, 24-16.
This seemed like a win, then a guaranteed loss, until it wasn’t. The comeback needed a bad missed tackle by Commanders safety Quan Martin on a short pass from quarterback Caleb Williams to running back D’Andre Swift that ended up a 55-yard touchdown. It then needed a disastrous fumble by Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels, recovered by the Bears at their 44-yard line.
A taste of their own medicine: Takeaways from the Chicago Bears' win over the Commanders
Here are our takeaways from the Bears’ 25-24 win over the Commanders, where the Bears shook the "Fail Mary" monkey off their back.
The screw-ups — and there were plenty — seemed to almost balance out for each team, but if Daniels hadn’t bobbled that late fourth-quarter handoff in the light mist, it seemed likely the Commanders would have scored again or eaten up enough clock to guarantee the Bears’ demise.
The two quarterbacks were the first (Williams) and second (Daniels) picks in the 2024 draft, and each won a Heisman Trophy in college. Both are good runners. Both show great promise. But both make mistakes.
Don’t forget, Williams is just a few points from being 1-4 and a guy we’d be saying can’t win in the clutch. He was 17-for-29 for 252 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders, which made him the first Bears quarterback to throw for over 200 yards and at least one TD in each of his first five games of a season.
Barring injury, it’s almost certain he’ll break Erik Kramer’s 30-year-old record for passing yards in a season (3,938) and likely his touchdown record (29), too.
But Williams missed some passes badly, and his completion percentage of 58.6 is far below what new head coach Ben Johnson said he had hoped for. Williams’ hot and cold accuracy or improper reads are what is a bit perplexing. Still, this win marked Williams’ third game-winning drive of his brief career, his second this season.
``The hard work, the effort — we love it,’’ he said afterward. ``At the end of the day we’re itching for wins.’’
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Sometimes it looks like they’re just itching, period, like when left tackle Theo Benedet lined up wrong, negating a spectacular TD catch by Bears receiver Rome Odunze, or a totally messed-up pass play on fourth-and-one in the second quarter when neither Williams and his receivers were on different pages. Maybe it’s just the NFL and parity that makes it all so uncertain.
Whatever Caleb did, though, Daniels’ fumble was worse. Could be it’s Daniels’ hand size that’s the problem. He fumbled earlier in the game, too, but the ball luckily bounced back to him. He’s got a 9 3/8’’ palm, which is below average for NFL quarterbacks, so maybe grip is an issue. Williams palm measures in at a decent 9 7/8’’. Who knows if that really matters?
Indeed, injured Titans quarterback Will Levis has a gigantic 10 5/8’’ paw, but nobody says he’s on his way to greatness. And three-time Super Bowl champ Patrick Mahomes has a dinky 9 ¼’’ throwing hand. Then, too, Bengals star quarterback Joe Burrow — he of the miniscule nine-inch palms — famously tweeted he was "considering retirement after I was informed the football will be slipping out of my tiny hands.’’
The Bears won. The ball stuck around to go through the goalposts at the end. And it was all high-fives all over Chicago.
Dig deeper:
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The Source: This article was written by Rick Telander, a contributing sports columnist for FOX 32 Chicago.