Justin Fields, D.J. Moore dominate as Bears win their first game in 2023-ZoomTech News

There have been bear hugs, faces of elation and large sighs of aid alongside the Chicago Bears sideline on Thursday night time. There have been nonetheless practically three minutes left within the recreation however extensive receiver D.J. Moore had simply caught a brief cross on the far sideline and took it 56 yards to the tip zone to place the Bears up three scores, all however placing the sport away.

Chicago snapped its franchise-record 14-game dropping streak in convincing trend on Thursday Evening Soccer, beating the Washington Commanders 40-20 to keep away from its first 0-5 begin since 1997.

“It is a feeling you do not need to finish, to be sincere with you,” quarterback Justin Fields mentioned after the sport. “We’re simply going to take that feeling and hopefully come again subsequent week and have the identical feeling after the sport. That is a sense you need to have after each recreation and a sense that we have not had in a very long time. It was good to show up with everyone within the locker room.”

It was probably the most factors Chicago has scored beneath head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.

Moore set a profession excessive with 230 yards and added three touchdowns. According to Next Gen Stats, that was 141 receiving yards over expectation, which is probably the most since 2018. Moore’s 230 yards had been additionally the second-most by any Bears receiver ever. Fields has an ideal passer score throwing to Moore this season. He is accomplished 27 of 34 cross makes an attempt to Moore for 531 yards and 5 touchdowns to date.

There was nonetheless trepidation after a half that noticed Fields throw for 3 touchdowns and get the Bears out to a 27-3 lead. In spite of everything, Fields had three landing passes and an ideal passer score within the first half of final week’s recreation in opposition to the Denver Broncos. In reality, it is the primary time a quarterback has thrown three landing passes within the first half in back-to-back video games in Bears historical past. Josh Allen is the one different quarterback this 12 months to throw three touchdowns in a single half and he is solely achieved it as soon as. 

The Bears’ 307 yards of offense within the first half was additionally their most via the primary half of a street recreation since 1989. It was the primary time the Bears have led by 14 or extra factors at half in back-to-back video games since Weeks 10 and 11 of 2018.

The offense picked up the place it left off at Soldier Area final week. There was extra play motion, extra designed runs for Fields, extra fast selections. The offensive line, getting Teven Jenkins again (to a level), proved to be a catalyst, even with middle Lucas Patrick exiting the sport with a concussion after the third Bears’ possession. Fields discovered Moore down the sector and within the brief and intermediate areas. He was throwing the ball the place solely Moore might get it. 

The Bears even referred to as three separate quarterback sneaks on fourth down, this time truly with their 6-foot-3, 230-pound quarterback, and transformed all three of them.

Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy appeared to even bait Washington at one level. The Bears had been having great success working the ball with Khalil Herbert within the first half, which helped arrange the aforementioned designed runs for Fields himself. Even when each Herbert and working again Travis Homer went down within the second half, Getsy was in a position to regulate and the Bears held on, seemingly rising collectively in actual time.

“I felt like we have grown, personally, me and his relationship,” mentioned Fields of Getsy. “I am actually shut with him and his household. I believe in these final couple of weeks we have discovered an id in our offense. That is at all times good to have. When you do have that and when you get guys going and get in rhythm each recreation, it simply takes off from there. Hopefully, we will maintain this momentum going and take all of it the way in which as much as the tip of the season.”

The place final week felt like extra of a fluke, particularly given the very fact the Bears surrendered a multi-score lead, Chicago carrying a few of that over and displaying consistency on this recreation feels encouraging. They’re beginning to set up one thing extra sustainable. It wasn’t one step ahead and two steps again. This time, the Bears acquired out to a three-score lead and stored it. They performed 4 quarters of soccer for maybe the primary time this season.

The offense is creating an id on the similar time the protection is discovering theirs. Chicago had the bottom strain price of any staff coming into the sport and it wasn’t significantly shut. The protection could not maintain onto the lead the Bears acquired out to in Week 4. However in Week 5, they did, and it was because of a rise in strain from a number of ranges of the protection. 

Cornerback Greg Stroman Jr. registered a sack as he got here screaming into the backfield utterly unblocked on a nook blitz. Linebacker T.J. Edwards registered his first sack as a Bear. Chicago lastly acquired a sack from an inside lineman in Rasheem Inexperienced. Yannick Ngakoue acquired his second sack for Chicago. 

And on a day when the franchise misplaced considered one of its most beloved icons in Dick Butkus, the protection got here alive in a trend the Maestro of Mayhem would have been proud to see. They greater than doubled their season complete in sacks. Coming into the sport, the Bears had recorded simply two. By the tip of the night time, Chicago had sacked Washington quarterback Sam Howell 5 occasions as if Butkus himself was out on the sector with them.

“We performed for him tonight so this one’s for him tonight,” Fields mentioned of the late Dick Butkus. “Glad we acquired the dub.”

So is the remainder of Chicago.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports activities. Carmen had earlier stops with The Draft Community and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, together with 2020, which added the title of Tremendous Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You possibly can observe Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.

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