It’s a challenge for the Chicago Bears against the Commanders’ strong running attack, but quarterback Caleb Williams seems excited for the opportunity. And here’s a Jayden Daniels and Williams fun fact that highlights the Commanders and Bears' dire quarterback history, according to a post on X by Nicki Jhabvala.
“Fun fact: Tonight's game will be the first time since 1997 the Bears and Commanders will both have their same starting QBs in consecutive meetings. The teams have played each other 13 times in between.”
Among the matchups on the list are Sam Howell vs. Justin Fields (2023), Carson Wentz vs. Fields (2022), and Kirk Cousins vs. Matt Barkley (2016) and Jay Cutler (2015). Gus Frerotte and Erik Kramer faced off back-to-back in 1996-97.
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels trying to stay solid
In a way, Daniels jump-started his career with the Hail Mary pass to beat the Bears in this matchup last season. His teammates began to believe he was something special, according to ESPN.
“Whenever you do something like that,” said punter Tress Way, the franchise's longest-tenured player, “coming off some of these incredible performances. There's just this sense of we always have a shot. We've got him. You never know what he's going to do, and he's in our uniform.”
For Williams, the game soured an otherwise impressive finish.
“Lost in the chaos was what Williams did on the possession before the Commanders' game-winning drive,” Bears reporter Courtney Cronin wrote. “Chicago took the lead for the first time when Williams led a 10-play, 62-yard touchdown drive capped off by a successful 2-point conversion. It would have gone down as the first fourth-quarter comeback of his NFL career. Instead, the result started a spiral.”
This year, the Commanders enter with a record of 3-2, while the Bears are 2-2 after back-to-back wins over the Cowboys and Raiders. This is a pivotal game for both teams.
And perhaps it’s more important for Daniels, who needs to prove last year’s clutch performances weren’t a one-year thing.
“In his rookie season (including playoffs), Daniels' production on early downs was actually quite pedestrian, with a 53.5 QBR that ranked 15th best,” analytics analyst Seth Walder wrote. “But on late downs, that jumped to 94.9 — best among all quarterbacks.
“Thus far in a limited three-game sample in 2025, Daniels' early-down numbers are almost identical to what he did a year ago. But third and fourth down? It's flipped the other way. He has a 23.6 QBR on those plays and a massive 36% off-target rate then, too.”
