Why Commanders Game Means More On Offense Than QB Showdown

“We had several meetings where we sat down and talked about things that worked for us, things I like, things I don’t like, things I talked about before, like staying in the flow of – whatever the case may be are his,” Williams said. “If we ran the ball 5 yards, 4.5 a pop, just keep handing the ball off. Sure, get involved, but stay in the flow of that and stuff like that.

“Those were the meetings we had, the conversations we had and I think those moments helped us move forward. And we have to keep going.”

Coaches have openly admitted how much it meant to have leaders like Marcedes Lewis or DJ Moore and other veterans speak out. The coaches took note.

“I think the people that we have in this building, whether it’s the coaches and their ability to understand and understand us as players and then listen to us and adapt, and also us as players who have a stepping up, leading, we also have things that we need to get better in practice, execution and things like that through walk-throughs and actually in practice,” Williams said. “There’s a lot to get better at and everyone has done a good job so far and we just need to keep getting better.”

It was also the calling of the play and the scripting of the play. They changed the way they called early plays so players knew what to expect sooner.

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“But there were a lot of things,” Waldron said. “And every week – I had a chance to talk to some other guys yesterday too – and it just goes back to that constant communication and looking every week to see: where can we improve as coaches? Where can we improve as players ? have a better operation done?”

It all sounds plausible how something like a crime could help. The point of labeling something as a turning point, or at least critical to developing success, is that there has to be success.

That’s where the importance of this game with Wsahington comes into play. It goes way beyond a showdown between Caleb Williams and possibly Jayden Daniels.

The Bears have won three in a row, but all three opposing defenses were questionable, even though Williams was able to find receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze with regularity toward the end of the offense.

The Bears’ offense previously didn’t look good enough to win three in a row against anyone higher than Division II, let alone the NFC. Suddenly they were piling up points and touchdowns. So it is easy to draw conclusions about the change achieved through their meetings.

Yet these were not good defenses.

Now Washington represents a better level opponent. It’s not just their high-powered offense, either.

The Commanders rank 16th against defense, 12th against the pass and 18th against the run. They are a middle group on that side of the ball and combined with their No. 1 offense, they are dangerous.

If those three straight wins were truly a turning point, the Bears’ offense needs to step up and prove it now.

If they lose and struggle offensively against a higher quality defense, there will be plenty of critics who question their true ability to compete in an NFC North that now suddenly looks wide open after back-to-back losses to the previously undefeated Vikings.

Their only convincing attacking performances will have been against friendly competition. The Colts didn’t even pose a real defensive challenge as they currently rank 29th, but the Bears failed badly in that 21-16 loss.

It is a game to prove the actual level of improvement, but also the effect of meeting, talking and communicating.

Otherwise, it’s a team with an excellent defense, a developing starting quarterback and an offense that’s still struggling to get its act together.

Twitter: BearsOnSI