The Chicago Bears managed to settle themselves with a win in Denver. Now they need to start thinking about gaining on the Green Bay Packers in the divisional race. That starts with seeking out a win on Monday Night Football against the Washington Redskins. On paper, it looks like a very winnable game. The Redskins are off to a 0-2 start. Their defense has proven porous and their running game non-existent.
By rights, this should be a game the Bears win. They have one of the best defenses in the league and enough offensive firepower to take advantages of Washington's weaknesses. Then again, this has been said multiple times when Chicago has played them in the past. Almost every time it seems to go wrong. The Bears have no beaten the Redskins in seven-straight games. Throw their primetime performance issues into the mix and there's little reason to feel secure in this one.
One thing can be said for certain though. Whenever these two teams get together, things have gotten weird. Curious what that means? Here are a few notable examples over the past two decades. Get ready for some wild memories.
Chicago Bears can't avoid wackiness vs. Washington
2001: Brian Urlacher TD catch for the win
The Bears were a team riding a wave of zaniness in 2001. They found some downright wacky ways to win that year. Most remember the iconic Mike Brown overtime interception TDs against San Francisco and Cleveland. Not enough people remember the crafty special teams trickery they pulled off in Washington that saw punter Brad Maynard fake a field goal attempt to throw a pass to a wide open...Brian Urlacher?
That's right. The superstar middle linebacker was brought in as a protector only to be a ruse. He caught the ball and rumbled into the end zone for a touchdown in what would be the winning score of the game.
2007: Todd Collins outduels Brian Griese
Mention the name Todd Collins to Bears fans today and most of them will suffer from involuntary gag reflexes. Indeed the former longtime backup quarterback was an absolute joke during his time in Chicago. Not only was he worthless in the regular season in 2010, he cost the Bears precious time with his awful play in the NFC championship after Jay Cutler went down after injuring his knee. What could possibly have compelled the team to ever sign that guy?
Well, the answer is simple enough. Three years earlier, Collins came off the bench against the Bears. He went 15-of-20 for 224 yards and two touchdowns. Brian Griese, who'd been a Pro Bowler at one point in his career, managed just 295 yards on 45 pass attempts with a touchdown and two interceptions. Washington triumphed 24-16, putting a final nail in the Bears' season.
2010: DeAngelo Hall's 4 INTs
Jay Cutler had plenty of maddening games in his long career with the Bears. Yet none of them reached truly migraine-inducing proportions as the day he somehow managed to throw four interceptions in a game. All to the same guy. That man was Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall. It seemed like the two didn't care for each other on or off the field. This might explain why Cutler, for some ungodly reason, kept throwing at Hall even after being picked off twice. Nevermind three times.
It was a travesty of a game because the Bears should've won. The score ended up being 17-14, which means Cutler basically threw the game away because he didn't understand how to pick different targets that weren't covered by the guy who had a hot hand in the Washington secondary.
2013: Matt Forte vs. Roy Helu shootout
What's the first thing you normally think when seeing the scoreboard read 45-41? Almost universally people will say, "Man the quarterbacks must've had themselves an afternoon, right?" Not in this case. While Josh McCown and Robert Griffin III had good games, they took supporting roles behind two running backs who suddenly decided they were going off that day. One was Washington reserve back Roy Helu and the other was Matt Forte.
Helu scored three touchdowns on 11 rushes, benefitting from good drives put together on offense. Forte, on the other hand, was the Bears' focal point on offense. He ran for 91 yards on 16 attempts, scoring three touchdowns of his own while also catching two passes for 18 yards. Forte had the better overall game, but Helu fired the decisive shot with the go-ahead TD in the final minutes.
