“Thursday Night Football” has been something of a poisoned chalice the past few weeks. The crown jewel of Amazon Prime’s sports coverage has been defined by duds such as last week’s snoozer between the Colts and Broncos.
This week’s matchup pits yet another pair of underwhelming sides. Maybe the fans will be treated to a better contest under the bright lights of Soldier Field.
The latest edition of “TNF” sees the Commanders traveling to Chicago to take on the Bears. It will be a meeting of two of the league’s more polarizing quarterbacks.
In one corner is Carson Wentz, Washington’s latest signal-caller. He has received backhanded compliments from coach Ron Rivera after a series of less-than-stellar showings in his first five games with the team.
MORE: Why Commanders have incentive to bench Wentz if team continues to struggle
In the other corner is the talented, yet still developing, Justin Fields. Fields impressed in his last outing, completing over 70 percent of his passes in a 29-22 loss to the Vikings. The No. 11 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft has had an up-and-down sophomore campaign. He will look to turn in another solid showing against a defense that has teetered on awful for much of the year.
MORE: Why the Bears are wearing ‘highlighter’ orange helmets
While this game isn’t a clash of titans, it should offer an indication of the where the teams are headed. Maybe that will enough to help it surpass last week’s field goal-fest.
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The Sporting News is tracking live updates and highlights from Thursday night’s game. Follow along for the results as they happen:
Bears vs. Commanders score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 0 | 0 | – | – | – |
| Commanders | 0 | 3 | – | – | – |
Bears vs. Commanders live updates, highlights from ‘Thursday Night Football’
(All times Eastern)
End of second quarter – Commanders 3, Bears 0
9:37 p.m.: Good effort from Fields on the Hail Mary. However, the ball eventually drops to the turf, ending the half.
Commanders 3, Bears 0
9:35 p.m.: Fields makes a nice throw to move the chains with four seconds left in the half. However, he’s slow to get up after taking his second straight big hit on a drop back.
9:34 p.m.: Fields tucks the ball and runs for a first down, bringing the ball to the 40-yard line. Let’s see if he can make anything shake with 14 seconds left.
9:29 p.m.: FIELD GOAL! Joey Slye splits the uprights to break the scoring drought right before the end of the first half.
Commanders 3, Bears 0
9:28 p.m.: What a play by Johnson! McLaurin looked to have gotten a step on the Bears corner. However, as the ball headed to the corner of the end zone, Johnson sticks his arms up to deflect it away.
9:26 p.m.: Beautiful pass by Wentz, who fights through the pain to put a ball right on the hands of Samuel. Looks like Samuel mistimed the reception, though, as it fell harmlessly to the turf.
9:25 p.m.: McLaurin with a clever bit of play to coax Jaylon Johnson into tugging him on the route. That will be another pass interference on Chicago’s defense, putting Washington into decent field goal position.
9:23 p.m.: Wentz appears to have some real discomfort in his throwing arm. Shaking it vigorously in between plays. Remember, he was dealing with some bicep pain earlier in the week.
9:22 p.m.: Wentz appeared to under throw Curtis Samuel on the curl route, seemingly resulting in another third down stop. However, controversially, the refs through a flag for pass interference that will keep the drive alive.
Didn’t look like there was too much contact there, to be fair.
9:16 p.m.: Oh look, another three-and-out for the Bears. That will set up another punt back to Washington. This is not a classic display right now.
9:11 p.m.: Another incompletion for Wentz brings the Commanders’ drive to a close. This will be Tress Way’s fourth punt of the night…already.
9:09 p.m.: McLaurin flies through Chicago’s defense for a first down on the screen play. Looks like he’s slowly but surely percolating in this affair.
9:05 p.m.: Fields went for it all on the outside post route, but couldn’t connect with Mooney. On further inspection, it looks like he had a wide out open on the crossing pattern that could’ve gotten the Bears an easy first down. Growing pains for the sophomore. Ball is headed back to Washington via punt.
9:03 p.m.: Fields with another pearl of a throw, this time to Mooney. He’s made some very nice throws at different points today. Just hasn’t quite been able to string it all together for a full drive.
Solid start for the youngster, though, disregarding the early pick.
8:59 p.m.: And that’s going to be another punt by the Commanders. Just not much going right for either side’s offense through the game’s first 20 minutes or so.
8:57 p.m.: Terry McLaurin get himself into the action, snagging a dart from Wentz for a first down. That’s more like it for Scary Terry.
8:53 p.m.: TURNOVER ON DOWNS! Herbert stuffed on the run play on fourth down, meaning that’s the second straight red zone drive that’s ended in zero points for the Bears. Yuck.
8:52 p.m.: Fields just misses tight end Ryan Griffin on the touch pass. He’ll want that on back, too.
8:49 p.m.: Huge gain by Khalil Herbert! The diminutive tailback takes the ball around the end, cuts back to the right, darts downs the sideline, and takes the ball just outside the goal line. 62-yard gain on the play, complete with a solid blocking effort from Fields at the end of the play. What a run!
.@JuiceHerbert gets YAC
📺: #WASvsCHI on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/es8k3ZC0L7
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 14, 2022
8:47 p.m.: Wentz goes down! Roquan Smith brings Washington’s QB down with relative ease! Time for another Commanders’ punt. Yay!
End of first quarter – Bears 0, Commanders 0
8:43 p.m.: Brian Robinson’s five-yard scamper brings the quarter to a close. Not much to write about so far.
Bears 0, Commanders 0
8:42 p.m.: Great throw by Wentz, who slipped a pass right over the secondary into the outstretched grasp of Cole Turner. That’s a first down.
8:37 p.m.: INTERCEPTION! Fields throws it right into a defender’s helmet, before it finds the big mits of Jonathan Allen. He’ll definitely want that one back.
Deflected by @EfeObadaUK
INT by @jonallen93_
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏📺 @NFLonPrime #WASvsCHI pic.twitter.com/RUUSNrIEcY
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 14, 2022
8:36 p.m.: Velus Jones Jr. with an end around to get the Bears to the doorstep of the end zone. Let’s see if Chicago can punch it in.
8:34 p.m.: Mooney got stopped just short of the marker on third down. However, didn’t matter too much after, with Fields sneaking over the line to get the first on the fourth down. Chicago inside the red zone now.
8:32 p.m.: Another laser from Fields, this time to wideout Dante Pettis. That’s another first for Chicago.
Solid start from Fields.
8:29 p.m.: Fields with a dot to Cole Kmet for the first down. Took him a little while to read the progression, but got the ball to his tight end in the end. Chicago looks to have something building in the pass game early when Fields can get the ball out of his hands.
8:26 p.m.: Wentz goes down after a sack! That’s a three-and-out for the Commanders, who punt the ball back to Chicago.
8:25 p.m.: A pair of less-than-stellar run plays sets up third and seven for the Commanders. Let’s see if they can get themselves out of this hole.
8:21 p.m.: Another sack spells an end to Chicago’s first possession. Ball headed back to the Commanders. Lets see if Wentz and Washington have a bit more success.
8:19 p.m.: Fields’ first faux pas of the game: Chicago’s signal-caller holds the ball to long and takes a sack, losing nine yards in the process. He’s got to be a little more incisive with his passing there.
8:18 p.m.: Another successful play for Fields and the Bears. Fields connects with Darnell Mooney on a curl to move the chains for a first down.
8:17 p.m.: First play is a good one for Fields. Gets out the pocket and takes it down the left sideline for eight yards. Could be a long day for the Commanders’ defense.
8:16 p.m.: The ball is kicked into the end zone. Justin Fields is headed on the field to lead the Bears out.
8:09 p.m.: Both teams are headed onto the field! Carson Wentz vs. Justin Fields under the bright lights. We’ll have to see if it lives up to the hype!
What channel is Bears vs. Commanders on tonight?
- TV channel (Chicago): Fox 32 (WFLD)
- TV channel (Washington): Fox 5 (WTTG)
- Live national stream: Amazon Prime | DAZN (Canada)
Thursday’s game will be streamed nationally on Amazon Prime. Al Michaels will handle play-by-play duties while Kirk Herbstreit will offer analysis from the booth. Kaylee Hartung will report from the sideline.
The game will be broadcast locally on WFLD (channel 32) in Chicago and WTTG (channel 5) in Washington.
Viewers in Canada can watch via DAZN, which carries every NFL game.