Magic Johnson Sounds Off as Washington Commanders Lose to Chicago Bears: 'No Intensity!'
The Washington Commanders suffered a hefty 40-20 loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night at FedEx Field - and Commanders co-owner Magic Johnson was none too pleased.
Given a chance to make a statement in front of a national audience, Washington (2-3) was dominated from the start by Chicago (1-4), who entered the game winless and blew a 21-point lead last Sunday.
The Commanders trailed by 24 points at halftime and spent all but 11 minutes trailing by double digits, resulting in Johnson, an NBA Hall of Fame inductee, sending a frustration-filled tweet after the game.
"Tonight the Commanders played with no intensity or fire," Johnson tweeted. "We didn’t compete in the first half and got down 27-3 heading into halftime. It was too big of a hole to climb out of and that is why we ended up losing 40-20."
Magic Johnson voiced his displeasure with the Commanders on "X" after Thursday night's loss to the Bears.
Commander Country
Johnson, 64, has tweeted post-game reactions in four of Washington's five games, the lone omission being in Week 3 after a 37-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Thursday night's defeat was the third in a row for the Commanders, who started out the year an encouraging 2-0.
Washington's defense failed to contain receiver D.J. Moore, who caught eight passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns from Justin Fields, a third-year signal caller who tied his career high in touchdown passes (four) and posted his fourth-most passing yards (282).
Offensively, the Commanders grew heavily reliant on quarterback Sam Howell, in part due to the large deficit and also because the running game simply couldn't get going. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. mustered only 10 rushing yards on six carries, while Howell added 19 on four attempts.
Washington's 29 rushing yards were its fewest since Week 1 of 2019, when it posted 28 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Howell, in his sixth start, set career highs in attempts (51), completions (37), and yards (388) and tied his previous best with two touchdowns.
But ultimately, the Commanders simply weren't good enough Thursday night ... and didn't illustrate the competitive fire expected - just ask Johnson.
Washington will look to get back on track next Sunday, when it travels to Atlanta for a 1 p.m. matchup with the Falcons inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
