Commanders' slow starts and poor defense aren't new. The turnovers and poor running are

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Stop me if you've heard this before: The Washington Commanders got off to a slow start, and their defense had plenty of trouble tackling.

Yes, neither of those is a new development for the 2025 Commanders. The problem this time, in a 25-24 loss to the Chicago Bears — but not, coach Dan Quinn hopes, again next Sunday at the NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys — was that, in addition to those recurring issues, Washington (3-3) also had trouble running and stopping the run and kept giving the ball away.

That included two turnovers by star quarterback Jayden Daniels, whose first interception of the season arrived on a bad underthrow with a receiver open in the end zone Monday night and whose first fumble came when he and running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt couldn't connect properly on a handoff with about three minutes left in the game.

The Bears took that gift and turned it into Jake Moody’s go-ahead field goal on the last play.

Daniels took responsibility for that final flub, saying he lost focus.

“I'm not surprised that he said that. I had texts that we exchanged today; I won't share that,” Quinn said Tuesday, “Just about how important it is how he plays. And I'm certain he'll learn from it.”

The beginning of the evening wasn't great, either: Washington trailed Chicago 13-0 less than a minute into the second quarter. It was the fourth time in six games that the Commanders trailed by double digits early — twice by 10-0 and once by 14-0.

They're 1-3 after getting themselves into such situations.

Chris Moore. The 10th-year receiver had three catches for 46 yards and his first NFL touchdown since 2022. The three receptions matched the number he accumulated through the first five games. Moore was criticized throughout the week on social media by Commanders fans who focused on the would-be TD pass that went through his hands in Washington’s previous game.

The defense. Things did seem to be looking up for defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. when Washington held Justin Herbert and the Chargers without a point after the first quarter in Week 5. But there were plenty of issues against Chicago, including an inability to stop the run: D'Andre Swift gained 108 yards on 14 carries, including 34 of the 36 yards on the game-ending drive. Nothing stood out quite as much as Quan Martin's inability to stop Swift near the sideline on what turned into a 55-yard catch-and-run TD pass from Caleb Williams. Quinn called the whiff by Martin “unfortunate.” ... The Commanders are adding DE Drake Jackson, according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Jackson, a second-round pick in the 2022 draft, was waived with a failed physical designation by the 49ers in May after missing the previous 1 1/2 seasons with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Jackson played 23 games for San Francisco in 2022-23 with six sacks — including three in one game.

Luke McCaffrey. The second-year receiver out of Rice — and younger brother of San Francisco 49ers star Christian — has scored a touchdown in three of the past four games after not getting into the end zone once in his first 19 career NFL contests. McCaffrey's 33-yard TD catch against Chicago was his only target. “I was happy that we called it,” McCaffrey said about the scoring play, which was set up by a pump-fake by Daniels. “We’d had that one in the bag for a couple of weeks.”

Croskey-Merritt. A week after a breakout performance by the rookie — the seventh-round draft pick rushed for 111 yards on 14 carries, a 7.9-yard average, with two TDs at LA — the guy everyone calls “Bill” turned in a dud. Forget for a moment that he only gained 61 yards on 17 carries, which works out to just 3.6 a pop, against a run defense ranked 31st out of the league's 32 clubs. Far worse was Croskey-Merritt's fumble in a second consecutive game. And that was before his bad exchange with Daniels.

The status of two of Washington's top three receivers, Terry McLaurin and Noah Brown, is going to be worth keeping an eye on this week. McLaurin (quadriceps) missed the past three games; Brown (knee, groin) sat out four in a row. Something else to monitor: Can starting right guard Sam Cosmi make his season debut next Sunday? He's been out since injuring a knee ligament during last season's playoffs.

3 — Turnovers committed by Washington against Chicago, equaling the total number the Commanders gave up across their first five games combined.

Washington has alternated wins and losses all season going into Sunday's game at Dallas (2-3-1).

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