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

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