3 bold predictions for showdown between Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels

We all understand that the bye week is an important part of the NFL schedule. Professional football is a rough game, and with injuries seemingly on the rise all the time, getting a week off in the middle of the season is vital.

When your team is hot though, you want to keep the momentum rolling, and the Chicago Bears have been one of the hottest teams in the league. The Bears have obliterated their last three opponents by 51 points combined to move to 4-2 on the season, and with a bye this past week, they've had extra time to prepare for the 5-2 Commanders.

The Bears have some injured players that needed that extra week to get back in playing shape, but the Commanders could have used the bye more. That's because Jayden Daniels, the ultra-talented rookie whose strong play has vaulted the Commanders to the top of the NFC East, suffered a rib injury that forced him to miss most of last week's game against the Panthers.

Daniels practiced on Friday for the first time this week, with head coach Dan Quinn saying afterwards, "We will assess how he responds to the work that we did over the next 48 hours. But we really pushed it today." Daniels said that the decision isn't up to him, but that he's felt better as the week has gone on. It seems that he's going to be a true game-time decision, meaning the Bears will need to prepare for him and backup Marcus Mariota just in case.

Mariota is 2-0 against Chicago in his career, but the Bears would certainly rather face him than the dynamic Daniels, even if neutral NFL fans are clamoring for a rookie quarterback showdown. Let's make three bold predictions about Sunday's game, beginning with Washington's quarterback situation.

Jayden Daniels plays through his rib injury, but is held in check by the best defense he's faced this year

It wasn't looking good for Daniels' availability when he missed practice on earlier in the week, but the fact that he practiced on Friday tells me that he's going to be out there on Sunday. The question is: how effective will he be?

Daniels does a lot of his damage on the ground. He already has 372 rushing yards on the year, a number that would certainly be higher if he wasn't forced out of last week's game after being tackled on a 46-yard scamper. Whether it's on a designed run or a scramble out of pass pressure, he's a threat to take off and run for big yards at any time.

The Commanders will do what's best for Daniels and his health, and rightly so. Being that their star rookie is dealing with a rib injury and not, say, a knee injury or calf injury that could be easily aggravated makes it more likely that he's able to play, but offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will be careful with him, especially against a dynamic Bears defense that has already delivered some big hits this year.

Daniels has shown that he's more than capable of lighting it up through the air, but once it becomes apparent that he's not his usual threat to run, Matt Eberflus and the Bears will be able to focus on coverage. This means that TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds can stick with Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz and the rest of the Commanders pass-catchers that come across the middle of the field, and less time spying on the backfield to make sure that Daniels doesn't take off.

The Bears have arguably the best young secondary in the game when healthy, but unfortunately it's a bit banged up at the moment. Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon missed the London game with a concussion and a hamstring injury, respectively, and Tyrique Stevenson missed the past two after pulling a calf muscle.

Stevenson got a limited practice in on Thursday and a full one on Friday, so the Bears can expect him to retake his No. 2 cornerback spot. Brisker and Gordon were ruled out on Friday though, which will once again put Elijah Hicks and Josh Blackwell under the microscope, but they passed their test against the Jaguars with flying colors. Hicks broke up multiple passes and was one of the highest-graded Bears of the week according to PFF, and Blackwell had the only interception of the day when he picked off Trevor Lawrence in the fourth quarter.

Jaylon Johnson is healthy, and that's a problem for the Washington passing game, as he'll be able to shut down McLaurin, who is the only real weapon that Daniels has to throw to. The rest of the secondary will be able to keep the rest of Washington's mediocre receiving corps in check, and as a result, the Commanders won't come close to approaching their league-leading 31.1 points per game.

DJ Moore does it again

One receiver that I do expect to have a huge day is DJ Moore. The Bears WR1 took a backseat to the two-touchdown performances of Keenan Allen and Cole Kmet against the Jaguars, but he won't get a better matchup the rest of the year than the one he'll face on Sunday.

To say that Moore torched the Commanders last year would be like saying that the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 warmed up the city. Moore had the best game of his six-year career on the Week 5 Thursday night game, pulling in eight catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has certainly seen last year's tapes, but he doesn't have the personnel to do much about it. The Bears have weapons all over the field, and Caleb Williams has shown in recent weeks that he's willing and able to spread the ball around to all of them. Washington's only chance of slowing the Chicago air game will be getting to Caleb quickly. If the O-line is able to protect him, it'll be a busy day for the scoreboard operator.

Even if Washington is able to generate a lot of pressure, Moore is so good at quick underneath routes that it may not matter. Caleb has gotten better and better in recent weeks at making quick reads and getting the ball out quickly, but he's also been learning when he can stay in the pocket, buy some time and look downfield.

Washington has had a lot of trouble with talented receivers this year. Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Malik Nabers, Ja'Marr Chase and Zay Flowers have all gone nuclear on the Commanders already, and they've only played seven games. Look for DJ to put up something like eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.

Caleb Williams grabs hold of the Offensive Rookie of the Year race as the Bears win going away

It won't only be DJ Moore getting loose in the Commanders secondary, and the real problem for the Commanders is that Caleb Williams is playing with more and more confidence every week. From Keenan Allen to Cole Kmet to Rome Odunze, there will be open receivers all day, and Caleb will find them.

The Commanders give up over 130 yards per game on the ground, so expect a big game from D'Andre Swift as well. Honestly, there's no reason that the Chicago offense, which has looked phenomenal of late, should have any trouble moving the ball against Washington.

Any time the Commanders have faced good quarterbacks (Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson), their defense has been torn to shreds. When they've faced bad quarterbacks (Daniel Jones, Deshaun Watson, Andy Dalton), they've looked OK. Don't be fooled by those performances, because Caleb Williams is proving with each passing week that he's on the fast track to superstardom.

These are two offenses that are clicking on all cylinders right now, but Jayden Daniels isn't going to be 100%. The Bears have injuries on defense, but capable backups filling in that have shown they can get the job done. Injured or not, Chicago's defense is leagues above Washington's.

The only reason for Bears fans to worry is the location of the game. The Bears are 0-2 on the road, with close losses to the Texans and Colts in Week 2 and 3. The Commanders are unbeaten at home, with wins over the Giants, Browns and Panthers (admittedly, not exactly a murderer's row). If the Bears lose, it'll be because they haven't figured out how to win in a hostile environment, but their last game at a neutral site in London showed that they are capable of playing great football away from Soldier Field.

I don't think there's another team in the NFL that you could say has gotten better every single week, but the Bears have. With an extra week to prepare and Jayden Daniels operating at less than peak efficiency, the Bears will make a big statement with a 35-20 win.