Bears rout Commanders on Thursday Night Football for first win of season, DJ Moore has career night: Reaction and analysis
William Burgess Magic Johnson seemed to understand the Washington Commanders’ mission against the winless Chicago Bears.
Not simply triumph in Thursday’s nationally streamed game, but at minimum, yes, that and enter the mini-bye with a winning record and positive vibes. More specifically, establish competitive dominance from the start against arguably the NFL’s worst team. Before a sellout home crowd, let Chicago know it would be a long night.
This is what squads that see themselves as playoff contenders accomplish. This was the mission. Instead, this mission proved impossible. Not by a little, but by a lot against a team that had lost 14 consecutive games dating to last season.
Johnson, the legendary NBA champion and one of Washington’s new owners, effectively summed up the failure following the 40-20 flameout.
“Tonight the Commanders played with no intensity or fire,” Johnson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We didn’t compete in the first half and got down 27-3 heading into halftime. It was too big of a hole to climb out of, and that is why we ended up losing 40-20.”
The comments in the postgame locker room were not contradictory.
“That’s as bad as it gets, honestly,” wide receiver Terry McLaurin said.
