The NFL is back for week 5 of the 2023 season as the Washington Commanders play host to the Chicago Bears
Washington come into this game with a 2-2 record for the season on the back of two straight defeats, while Chicago are winless in all four of their games and look like a terrible outfit for the current campaign.
Both teams will be pushing for a much-needed win in week 5, and we'll break down the match up between the two sides while trying to earn you some extra cash with our best free NFL betting picks.
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Washington Commanders v Chicago Bears information
- Thursday, 5th October 2023
- FedEx Field, Maryland, Washington
- 20:15 ET kick-off
Season so far
The Commanders opened the season with a big win over the Arizon Cardinals to show that they really mean business. After finding themselves 16-10 down going into the fourth quarter, they scored ten unanswered points to claim an impressive 20-16 victory.
They followed that up in week 2 with another impressive victory against the Denver Broncos. Both teams really went for it on offense and at half-time the game was scored at 21-14 in favor of Denver. But once again Washington found an answer to win both the third and fourth quarters and come away with a 35-33 win.
Week 3 was less successful however as Buffalo Bills turned in a fantastic display to prevent Washington scoring a single touchdown, restricting them to just three points in the final quarter to earn a one-sided 37-3 win, before week 4 saw their clash with the Philadelphia Eagles go to overtime.
The Commanders were 17-10 up at half-time before conceding 11 unanswered points in the third quarter to fall behind. They responded strongly in the fourth quarter to take the game to overtime but ultimately fell short and fell to a 34-31 defeat.
As for the Bears, it's been a horror season for them so far. After losing their final two pre-season games, they entered the season low on confidence and it showed when they were beaten 38-20 by the Green Bay Packers in week 1.
In week 2 they travelled to Tampa to take on the Buccaneers and started well in the first-quarter. But a light adjustment saw Tampa Bay turn the result on its head and win the next three quarters for a 27-17 win. They then took on the reigning champions and saw Patrick Mahomes run rampant as they suffered a one-sided beatdown to lose 41-10.
Week 4 was closer for them, but ultimately ended in defeat once again against the Denver Broncos. After losing the first quarter 7-0, they scored 21 unanswered points in the second quarter to pull ahead and look on course for their first win of the season. But they lost the second half 24-7 and ultimately that cost them the game as they slipped to 0-4.
NFL Picks: Commanders -4.5 @ -147
The Bears’ team has been performing like it just got patched together and will come up against a Commanders unit that looked terrible against Buffalo and were beaten by the better team against Philadelphia. Washington’s defensive line should be able to wreak havoc on this Chicago offensive line that has allowed more than 33 quarterback pressures this season.
On the offensive side of the ball, look for Brian Robinson Jr. to continue his stretch of good work so far this year. The young pro, who has taken over the backfield in his second season, could run all over Chicago’s run defense and that could see a pretty big win for the visiting team.
Don’t forget about Terry McLaurin, either. The young pro thrives against zone coverage and can beat all of Chicago's corners.
This feels pretty simple. The Bears are shockingly bad right now and while the Commanders aren't the best team in the league, they're still the better team.
The Bears’ offensive line simply can't hold up against Jon Allen, Chase Young, and the rest of the pass-rushers on Washington’s team here, so take the alternative handicap to get a better price on them being victorious by a decent margin.
NFL Picks: Under 44.5 total points @ -110
This doesn’t feel like a game that will be all that close, but Chicago are capable of scoring points themselves.
The Commanders can take advantage of the Bears from both directions: on the ground and through the air, where they are allowing nearly 200 yards per game to wide receivers. The Bears are simply not a good team this season. They rank as the worst team in the NFL by a comfortable margin, and they can’t seem to get anything going.
We cannot see them defeating a Commanders team that isn’t terrible. Only three of the combined eight games these teams have played have fallen under the 44.5 total points marker, but it feels unlikely that this game will go over such is the strengths of both rosters.
Expect a relatively one-sided game, with the Commanders getting the lion share of points in a win that sees the unders land.
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