LANDOVER, Md. -- It wasn't quite the same drama as the Hail Mary that decided these teams' game a year ago, but Caleb Williams and the Bears did get the better of Jayden Daniels and the Commanders on a final-play score Monday night, with Chicago defeating Washington 25-24 on Jake Moody's 38-yard field goal.
With D'Andre Swift rushing for 108 yards on 14 carries, and grabbing a pair of receptions for 67 yards -- including a 55-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown -- the Bears (3-2), coming off their bye, extended their winning streak to three games under first-year Coach Ben Johnson after starting the season with losses to Minnesota and Detroit.
Washington (3-3) continued its pattern of alternating wins and losses in 2025 and flopped with a chance to pull even with defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia atop the NFC East. The Eagles have lost their past two games after starting 4-0.
The Commanders, so good protecting the ball until now, hurt themselves with three turnovers, matching their total from the first five games.
"You really don't deserve to win many games when you're in that space," Washington Coach Dan Quinn said.
That included Jayden Daniels' first interception of the season, rookie running back Jacory "Bill" Croskey-Merritt's second fumble in two weeks and, most critical of all, a botched handoff between the two that resulted in a fumble as Washington was trying to run out the clock while up 24-22.
That gave Chicago the ball with a little more than three minutes left, and Williams then led the nine-play, 36-yard closing drive that finished with Moody's fourth field goal of a rainy night. His teammates mobbed him, then raised up off the ground in a mass celebration on the field.
"I got here not too long ago," Moody said. "But for everybody to embrace me and take me in as one of their own is an amazing feeling."
Williams finished 17 for 29 for 252 yards and 1 touchdown, then led the nine-play, 36-yard closing drive to set up Moody's fourth field goal of a rainy night.
Moody, signed off the practice squad because Cairo Santos was out with an injured quadriceps, made field goals from 47 and 48 yards in the first quarter and 41 in the third. But he had a 48-yard attempt blocked on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
Moody was cut by the San Francisco 49ers -- who drafted him in the third round in 2023 -- this September after two missed attempts in Week 1.
"It's always good to have a fresh start," Moody said. "I always believed in myself."
Williams finished 17 for 29 for 252 yards through the air, with the touchdown pass to Swift that was helped by a whiffed tackle along the sideline by Washington safety Quon Martin.
Daniels, the second selection of the 2024 NFL Draft behind the top pick Williams, threw his first interception of the season and ended up 19 for 26 for 211 yards and a trio of touchdown tosses.
"I'm not going to sit up here and blame it on the elements," Daniels said when asked whether the weather played a role in the miscue between him and Croskey-Merritt. "I had a lack of focus there and it cost us the game."
It was 50 weeks ago that Washington defeated Chicago 18-15 on a final-play, 52-yard touchdown pass from Daniels to Noah Brown.
That play is known as the "Hail Maryland" around these parts and as "Fail Mary" among Bears fans -- and it sent Washington on a path that led to the conference title game, while beginning a 10-game losing streak for Chicago. Daniels, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, led the sixth-seeded Commanders past the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the top-seeded Detroit Lions before falling to the eventual champion Eagles.
Chicago faces the NFC-worst New Orleans Saints (1-5) at home next Sunday looking to extend the conference's longest active win streak to four games. Pittsburgh, New England and Denver of the AFC are also riding three-game win streaks. Washington will head to Arlington, Texas, to face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
Chicago Bears kicker Jake Moody has his field goal attempt blocked during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Chicago Bears kicker Jake Moody has his field goal attempt blocked during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) rolls through the play Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) as Williams scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Commanders safety Quan Martin (20) rolls through the play Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) as Williams scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates a touchdown pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrates a touchdown pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (86) and quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrate connecting for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (86) and quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) celebrate connecting for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)