It appears the highly anticipated matchup between the top two picks in the draft this year, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, is back on.
After Daniels missed most of the week of practice because of a rib injury, ESPN reported he is likely to play Sunday against the Bears. The Commanders also have veteran backup Marcus Mariota and Jeff Driskel on their bench.
Mariota replaced Daniels when he got hurt early in the Commanders’ game against the Panthers last week. Daniels suffered the rib injury on a 46-yard run, and Mariota came in and completed 18 of 23 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns for a 138.2 passer rating to win 40-7.
The Bears last faced Mariota in 2022, when he was the Falcons’ starter and beat them with a 100.2 passer rating.
Daniels, meanwhile, has been one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL and has the early lead on Williams for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
His 107.0 passer rating is sixth in the league and his 75.6 completion percentage is first. Williams leads the rookies with nine touchdown passes to Daniels’ six. Daniels also has 372 yards and four touchdowns as a rusher.