It would be easy to blame Monday's outcome on the fumbled handoff between Jayden Daniels and Jacory Croskey-Merritt.

It certainly came at the most critical point of the night. The Chicago Bears pounced on the ball at their own 44-yard line with 3:07 left to play, leaving the Commanders and the crowd at Northwest Stadium stunned at having the victory ripped away from them. It gave quarterback Caleb Williams enough time to move his offense 36 yards downfield and in range for a game-winning field goal from Jake Moody.

But in the end, the Washington Commanders' 25-24 loss to the Bears, which dropped them to 3-3 for the season, wasn't decided by one play; it was the conglomeration of several mistakes from both sides of the ball. Now, with the Commanders' roller coaster season set to hit its toughest stretch yet, the team is still looking for answers on how to string together good performances.

Slow starts have been an unfortunate trend for the Commanders so far this season. Prior to Monday's game, they had found themselves in double-digit deficits in three of their five games. That was also the case against the Bears, who jumped to a 13-0 lead before the Commanders could muster a response. This week, turnovers were the cause of the Commanders' frustration, as they turned over the ball twice in their first two drives. Jaquan Brisker jumped a pass intended for Deebo Samuel on their opening drive, and Croskey-Merritt fumbled on the opening play of their second.

The Commanders' other problems were there as well. The defense struggled to contain Williams and the Bears' offense, who averaged 6.5 yards per play and put up 381 yards of offense. D'Andre Swift's 55-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter was the most glaring error, but the Bears also had five other plays of at least 15 yards.

But there were new issues with both sides of the ball. Although they did manage to put up 125 yards on the ground, the Commanders had issues getting consistent yardage from their stable of running backs. On defense, Washington's run defense, which had been the unit's strength earlier in the season, gave up 145 yards on 27 attempts. Swift led the charge with 108 yards on 19 carries for his best performance of the year so far.

And yet, the Commanders managed to keep themselves in the game, and for a while, it looked like they might be able to pull off a comeback for a second straight week.

The Commanders' offense found some steam following Williams' one-yard run that put the Bears up 13-0. The Commanders moved 65 yards on eight plays, helped by a facemask penalty committed against tight end Zach Ertz. One play after Daniels nearly coughed up the ball for a third time in the first half, he connected with veteran Chris Moore for the veteran's first touchdown reception since 2022.

The Commanders and Bears exchanged scoreless drives for the rest of the half. The Commanders forced a turnover on downs on a fourth-and-1, while kicker Matt Gay saw a 50-yard field goal kick clang off the upright after a 37-yard drive, leaving the score at 13-7. Gay bounced back by opening the third quarter with a 53-yarder, which the Bears answered with a 41-yarder of their own.

It wasn't until near the end of the fourth quarter that the Commanders found the end zone again. An 18-yard run from Daniels moved them to the 45-yard line, and Jeremy McNichols converted a fourth-and-2 with a 13-yard catch. Two plays later, Daniels found Luke McCaffrey wide open for his third receiving touchdown of the season to give Washington its first lead of the night.

And there was more good news for the Commanders. Daron Payne blocked a 48-yard attempt from Moody, and the offense followed that up with a 37-yard pickup from rookie Jaylin Lane. Daniels then connected with Ertz for the six-yard touchdown, putting the Commanders up by eight points.

The Bears, however, were not done yet. Three plays into their ensuing drive, Swift shook off a tackle from Quan Martin and raced 55 yards downfield for the score. The Commanders kept the Bears out of the end zone for the two-point conversion, but it was a momentum-shifting moment the Commanders couldn't afford.

The Commanders had two chances to put the game away, but both ended in frustration. The offense stalled out after 21 yards following Swift's touchdown, which led to Tress Way's first punt of the night. The Bears could only move eight yards on three plays and gave the ball back to Washington with just over six minutes left.

Six plays later, disaster struck Washington, as Daniels bobbled the snap on a third-and-1. The Bears picked up a third-and-5 with a six-yard catch from Colston Loveland, forcing the Commanders to use their timeouts.

The Bears bled the clock down to three seconds before sending Moody out to end the game.