The Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders will square off in the second game of this week’s Monday night doubleheader. Both teams are in the thick of the NFC playoff race early in the season, and a win here would do wonders for both squads.

With a win, the Commanders would move to 4-2 and put themselves in a great spot a third of the way through the year. The Bears would be 3-2 with a win before heading into a very easy stretch in their schedule.

Here are some key storylines, players to watch and bold predictions for Monday’s game.

Key Storylines

Do the Commanders have an answer for Rome Odunze?

After a very lackluster rookie season, Rome Odunze has broken out in his sophomore year. The Bears’ first-round pick in 2024 has already caught 20 passes for 296 yards and five touchdowns in just four games. He has overtaken DJ Moore as the Bears WR1, and I’m not sure Washington has anyone who can stop him.

Per PFF, the Commanders are the worst team in the league in coverage. They have a 40.2 coverage grade, which is over four points lower than the next closest team. Trey Amos is probably their best corner, but he’s still made some rookie mistakes and has been beaten at times.

If the Commanders let Odunze run wild, it’s going to be a long day for their defense.

Another breakout game for Bill?

Jacory Croskey-Merritt, also knowns as Bill, was one of the most talked about names in the fantasy football world heading into the season. Many thought the Commanders’ seventh-round pick would be their RB1 to start the year, but he found himself behind Austin Ekeler. However, when Ekeler went down, Croskey-Merritt got more playing time, and had a breakout game last weekend.

Bill went off for 150 totals yards and two touchdowns in the Commanders’ win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He’s in line to get the bulk of the carries again tonight, and he’s facing the 29th ranked run defense, per PFF. Could we see another big game from Bill tonight? I think so.

The showdown we’ve been waiting for

Last year, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels were selected first and second overall in the draft. Daniels went on to have one of the best rookie seasons we’ve ever seen, and many began asking if the Bears made the wrong decision at No. 1. But this year, they’ve both been pretty good.

Neither guy has been lights out amazing. But they’ve both played solid football and have helped their team win games. These two faced off last year with Jayden Daniels leading the Commanders to an 18-15 victory thanks to a last second Hail Mary.

Will we be treated to another classic on Monday night? I hope so.

Players to Watch

Jayden Daniels (QB, Washington Commanders)

We’ve yet to really see Jayden Daniels take over a game this season. He’s been a bit banged up and missed a couple games but had a really nice performance against the Chargers in his first game back. Tonight, I think we see some classic Daniels action.

The Bears’ defense has been one of the worst in the league this year, giving up 29.3 points per game. They’ve struggled to stop the pass, but they’re very bad against the run, so I think we may see Daniels get out and use his legs more than we have to start the year.

This game feels like it’s going to end up being a shootout. Both teams can score a lot, so if the Commanders are going to keep up, it’s going to be on the back of Daniels. Look for him to throw for 250+ yards and rush for 50+ if the Commanders win tonight.

Dorance Armstrong (DE, Washington Commanders)

Last year, Caleb Williams was one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the league, but the Bears made some improvements to their offensive line, and now they’re sitting right around the league average. In four games, Williams has been sacked seven times, but I think the Commanders could give him problems tonight.

Dorance Armstrong is on a tear to start the season. He’s already accumulated 18 pressures, 12 hurries and five sacks to go along with a 14.8 percent win rate. If anyone’s going to put pressure on Williams, it’s going to be Armstrong, and if the Commanders want to shut the Bears down, it’ll start with putting pressure on Williams.

DJ Moore (WR, Chicago Bears)

I know I just talked about how Rome Odunze is the Bears’ WR1 this year, but I think DJ Moore is going to play a big role tonight. The Commanders know the weakness of their defense is their secondary, so they’re going to make sure they’re doubling Odunze more often than not. If they leave him on an island, they’re going to get beat, so he’s going to receive a lot of attention.

That opens things up for Moore. He is very clearly the WR2 behind Odunze, and he’s proven to have a connection with Williams. If the Commanders are hellbent on locking up Odunze, Moore should have ample opportunities tonight.

Bold Predictions

DJ Moore has his first 100-yard game of the year

We just talked about DJ Moore being a player to watch, and that feeds right into my first bold prediction.

Moore has caught 16 passes for 173 yards and one touchdown this season. He’s yet to have a game with more than 68 yards, but for the reasons I listed above, I think he could get his first 100-yard game of the year.

The Commanders are going to put all their focus on Odunze, leaving either a rookie Trey Amos or a struggling Mike Sainristil to cover Moore one-on-one for most of the game. Even though he hasn’t played super well this year, he’s good enough to take advantage of either of those matchups, so don’t be surprised if Moore has his biggest game of the year.

Bears rush for under 50 yards

The Bears have really struggled to run the football this year. As a team, they’re averaging 102 yards per game, but just 3.8 yards per carry. Their lead back, D’Andre Swift, is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry and has a long of just 20 yards. This week, they face a Commanders defense that has been excellent against the run.

Just a couple weeks ago, the Commanders held the Atlanta Falcons and Bijan Robinson to just 3.5 yards per carry on 37 attempts. The week before that, they held Ashton Jeanty and the Las Vegas Raiders to 3.3 yards per carry on 28 attempts. You can see where I’m going with this…

If the Bears come out and pound the rock 30 times, yes, they’re going to hit the 50-yard mark. But I see this being a high-scoring affair, and the Bears may need to throw it 35+ times to keep up.

Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels throw for 600+ yards combined

With passing yards around the league down, throwing for 300+ yards in a game is no easy feat. In their seven combined games this season, neither of these two quarterbacks have hit the 300-yard mark. Tonight, I think that changes.

Like I said, this should be a high-scoring game. The Bears know the Commanders have one of the best rushing attacks in football. So, if they load the box, Daniels should have a big day through the air. Combine that with the fact that the Commanders have one of the worst secondaries in football. And we should see a whole lot of passing yards tonight.