Bears vs. Commanders: Thursday Night Football pick and open thread

Thanks for postponing your only scheduled playoff game tonight, MLB

Week 5 is in the books, and it’s on to another exciting week of football. Unfortunately, the week’s first prime time game isn’t one that most fans will look forward to. The Washington Commanders travel to face the Chicago Bears in was appears to be an even worse matchup than the game last week between Denver and Indianapolis.

Justin Fields has not had the start to his career that most Bears fans would have hoped for. Through five games this season, he’s posted 679 passing yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions. You can add 194 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, but that still leaves a lot to be desired if you’re a Bears fan.

The defensive line has also struggled to get pressure on the opposing quarterbacks. A former Bears defensive lineman had harsh criticism of how the defense hasn’t been producing. Without getting penetration, it’s very difficult to succeed defensively running the Tampa 2 defense.

On the other side of the field, Carson Wentz has again been the focal point of harsh criticism. Ron Rivera was asked why his team was at the bottom of the NFC East, and he made it clear that the quarterback position has been the issue. He’s since apologized, and said his comments were misconstrued. But he really said what everyone else was thinking. Since leaving Philadelphia, we haven’t seen consistent results from Wentz. He comes into this game with a 10-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Defensively, the Commanders have an impressive pass rush that will make it difficult for Fields.

This is a really tough game to predict. Both teams have been underwhelming, and show no signs of life or excitement to this point of the year. But because of their pass rush advantage, I’d have to think the Commanders sneak out a road victory. If David Montgomery has a big day, though, it could easily go the other way.

But I’m taking the Commanders—who are favored by a point over at DraftKings Sportsbook—in this one. Rivera needs a win for himself and the organization.