Commanders Reacts Survey: the hero of the Bears game and looking ahead to November

Poll questions!!

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Washington Commanders fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in regular email surveys.

---

This week we have three questions in the Reacts survey.

Question 1

Our first question this week is the one we ask every week — Do you feel confident in the direction of the franchise? We will track the results of this question throughout the season. For the past five weeks, it has been at 98% or 99% — the highest of any fan base in the NFL. Will it go any higher in the wake of the miracle of Noah’s Arc that occurred on Sunday in Landover?

Question 2

On the face of it, you may think the answer to our second question — Who was the hero of the Bears game? — is obvious, but maybe it isn’t.

We’ll offer you seven choices, and each of them has a legitimate reason for being on the list and receiving consideration.

Johnny Newton

Newton had a sack on the second play of the game to help set the tone for the Commanders defense for the entire game. If you doubt the impact that Newton was having on defense, take a look at this gushing report from Brian Baldinger:

Of course, the primary reason Johnny Newton is on this list is his fumble recovery at the goal line in the fourth quarter. Absent that play by the rookie defensive lineman, there’s a chance the Bears might have retained possession of the ball and finished the drive with a score instead of a turnover. It was a huge moment that changed the trajectory of the game.

Jeremy McNichols

You might be scratching your head here. After all, McNichols had only one carry for -1 yard on offense. However, there was another fumble recovery in this game, and it came on a 21-yard punt return by Olamide Zaccheaus that ended with the ball loose on the ground. McNichols pounced on the loose ball before anyone else even knew it was out of OZ’s hands.

Imagine how differently the game would have started if, after forcing a 3 & out on the Bears first drive of the game, Chicago had recovered that fumble at the Washington 36-yard line instead of McNichols. Heroic, game-changing plays don’t just happen late in the fourth quarter. In this case, the #3 RB made a huge save on Special Teams that barely got noticed because of how efficiently he did his job.

Terry McLaurin

McLaurin didn’t score in this game, but he led all receivers by catching 5 of 8 targets for 125 yards. One of his receptions — a 61-yard bomb that flipped field position and set up the Commanders for a score on their second drive of the game — was such a great pass that it will certainly make the rapidly-growing set of Jayden Daniels-to-Terry McLaurin highlight throws. There are already so many of them that it’s hard to keep them straight or decide which is the most significant.

Interestingly, it’s not this fabulous 61-yard reception that puts Scary Terry on the list of potential heroes in the Bears game; rather, it is the 13-yard gain on an uncontested out-route and his quick step out of bounds with 00:02 left on the clock that puts Terry on the list. Without this catch, the final successful Hail Mary play may not have been possible. At the very least, it would have been more challenging and had an even lower chance of success. If Terry had dropped the ball or wasted 2 extra seconds getting out of bounds, the end of the game might’ve been much different.

When Washington absolutely positively needed the play executed perfectly, Jayden Daniels turned to the receiver in whom he has absolute faith.

Noah Brown

If you watched the game or have been anywhere near a sports report since around 7:30 Sunday evening, you’ll know exactly why Noah Brown is on this list.

He made possibly the single most memorable pass reception in franchise history, then simply trotted a few steps in the end zone and calmly dropped the ball on the ground beside him as if he’d caught a short toss during the June minicamp and wanted to get back in line to catch the next one.

Here’s how Noah Brown described his historic catch:

That happened to be my assignment on the play. Two guys in front, one in the back. We got a team full of fighters; I’m not surprised at all by this happening because I know we don’t give up until the final whistle.

Elegantly understated by a potential hero who saw himself as simply doing his job.

Jayden Daniels

With a rib injury suffered on the first play of the Panthers game a week earlier, Jayden Daniels’ playing status was a game-time decision.

He played well all game, though his stats and the scoreboard don’t really reflect his level of play. His receivers dropped 4 catchable passes, which had the effect of dropping his completion percentage by more than 10 percentage points. One of those drops by TE Zach Ertz — a controversial call challenged by Dan Quinn — cost a touchdown. A second TD pass in the 3rd quarter was taken off the board by a borderline penalty for an ineligible receiver downfield on a screen pass to Olamide Zaccheaus that would otherwise have been a 32-yard touchdown.

In addition, penalties played a role in limiting red zone success, much as they did in the Week 2 win against the Giants.

Despite all this, Daniels compiled 326 passing yards and a passing touchdown, as well as 52 rushing yards on 8 carries.

But his potential hero status relies primarily on his coolly efficient final drive, which covered 76 yards in 25 seconds, culminating in a walk-off touchdown.

In case you’ve just awakened from a coma, here’s the play:

Tyrique Stevenson

You might possibly be scratching your head and wondering why you aren’t familiar with the name of this Washington player.

Stevenson, in fact, is on the roster of the Chicago Bears, and by all accounts is a talented payer.

But he did an awful lot to advance Washington’s cause on Sunday afternoon.

He was the defensive back who turned and ran a yard or two behind Terry on McLaurin’s 61-yard reception.

Later in the game, he took a fairly cheap shot on McLaurin on another of Terry’s receptions, and Terry let him know about it as he got to his feet. Right guard Sam Cosmi came over to make sure that Terry’s back was covered, and, emotional and irritated, Stevenson stuck his fingers inside of Cosmi’s facemask and tried to ‘poke the bear’. The resulting penalty flag added 15 yards to the end of the play and pushed Washington across midfield and into Chicago territory.

But that wouldn’t have been enough to get Tyrique Stevenson on this list of possible heroes. What got him on the list was his contribution on the final play of the game — the beautiful scoring play in the video above.

If you watch that video carefully, you’ll see that the pass was actually tipped into Noah Brown’s hands by a Bears player wearing #29. That’s Tyrique Stevenson.

The fact that Stevenson was the player who put the ball so gently into Noah Brown’s hands might not be special enough to make him the hero of the game except that his head coach, Matt Eberflus, confirmed on Monday that Stevenson’s role on the play wasn’t as a ‘jumper’. Ironically, Stevenson was supposed to be boxing out Noah Brown from getting the ball.

The fact that Stevenson was actually standing on the field taunting Washington fans while the ball was being snapped and Jayden was scrambling, and that it was only because of the clamorous exhortations of Bears fans that he turned, realized the play was in progress, and ran into position to get the assist on the game-winning touchdown is just molasses on the waffle.

Again, for anyone who has been traveling in the deepest reaches of the Amazon without access to Starlink since Sunday:

Austin Seibert

It seems so easy to overlook Washington’s leading scorer in the game and the NFL’s leading scorer on the season, kicker Austin Seibert, whose 4 consecutive field goals represented the only points scored by the Commanders before the game clock reached 00:00.

It’s true that Seibert did miss his 5th attempt, but had he missed any of the four he made, the game may have shaped up very differently, and the Commanders may not have been in a position to win at the end.

I encourage you to consider the 7 nominees carefully, and cast your vote wisely.

Question 3

Four weeks ago, we asked Hogs Haven readers to predict Washington’s record for the upcoming month of October. 66% of you predicted a 3-1 record for the month, and all 66% of you who made that prediction were right.

Washington’s win-loss record is 3-1 in September and 3-1 in October — 6-2 overall.

Now it’s time to predict what will happen in November.

In Week 9, Washington travels to New Jersey for a rematch against the Giants. When the two teams met in Week 2, Washington’s (then) brand new kicker, Austin Seibert, was the MVP of the game, kicking 7 field goals on 7 attempts to win the game 21-18.

Since that time, Washington has gone on to win 5 of 6 games to reach 6-2, while the Giants have gone 2-4 and come into this game on a 3-game losing streak. Washington is in first place in the NFC East; the Giants are last. Despite the team’s struggles, the Giants have a pretty good defense and could prove to be a challenge for the visiting Commanders, who are favored by oddsmakers.

In Week 10, Washington will host the Pittsburgh Steelers, currently 6-2, in first place in the AFC North, and riding a 3-game winning streak. Head coach Mike Tomlin ‘changed horses midstream’ when he benched Justin Fields in favor of Russell Wilson, but so far, the move has been paying off.

While the Steelers have scored just the 13th-most points in the NFL so far this season, they have limited opponents to the second-lowest point total in the league. Washington struggled to put points on the board against the Bears, who rank right behind the Steelers as the 3rd-stingiest in points-allowed in 2024.

In Week 11, the Commanders travel to Philadelphia on a Thursday night to take on the Eagles, who are currently 5-2 and just a half-game behind Washington in the division standings. There’s a very good chance that this prime time game (and the rematch in Washington in Week 16) will be instrumental in deciding the 2024 NFC East division champion.

Washington closes out the month of November in Week 12 by hosting the Dallas Cowboys, a team that is currently reeling, with a 3-4 record and a 2-game losing streak. Between now and then, Dallas will travel to Atlanta before hosting the Eagles and Texans in back-to-back home games.

Comments & Results

Of course, we invite you to answer the survey questions below, but also feel free to expand on your answers and provide nuance in the comments section. I rely on those comments when discussing the results of the survey when they are posted in a separate article the next few days.

POLL QUESTIONS