A Monday Night doubleheader will take place to close out Week 6 of the NFL slate. In the second matchup, the Washington Commanders will host the Chicago Bears. Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels will face off in their second NFL season after being the number one and two overall picks in last year’s NFL Draft.
Daniels got off to a smoother start to his NFL career, winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and leading the Commanders to a 12-5 record and the NFC Championship game. Washington is off to a 3-2 start to this season, with Daniels having missed two games due to injury. On the other hand, Williams had some significant growing pains as a rookie. The outlook has improved with Ben Johnson stepping in as head coach this season, and the Bears are 2-2 to kick off this year.
Looking at the odds for the matchup, the Commanders enter as 5.5-point favorites, and hold -250 odds on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Bears hold +205 odds of getting the outright victory with the game total set at O/U 49.5 points.
There are plenty of ways to get involved in the action beyond just backing a side. This article will look at my three favorite prop bets on DraftKings Sportsbook for the Week 6 Monday Night Football matchup.
Bears at Commanders Best Prop Bets
Jacory Croskey-Merritt Over 70.5 Rushing Yards (-111)
The Washington backfield was a bit of a mystery heading into the season, but Jacory “Bill” Croskey-Merritt has emerged as a clear winner. The seventh-round pick leads the team with 43 rush attempts for 284 yards and four touchdowns already this season. He is coming off a performance against the Chargers in which he rushed the ball 14 times for 111 yards and two touchdowns. The 16 touches and 47.5% offensive snap rate both marked career highs for the rookie.
He will carry this momentum against an extremely vulnerable Bears defense tonight. Chicago ranks 31st in rushing yards allowed, 32nd in net yards per rush attempt, and 20th in rushing touchdowns conceded. They are allowing 164.5 rushing yards per game and 6.1 yards per carry. This will be problematic in the matchup as the Commanders’ offense leads the league in rushing yards per game and yards per carry through the early parts of this season. Washington is also banged up at the wide receiver spot, with Terry McLaurin set to miss and Deebo Samuel questionable, so the emphasis on running the ball should only increase.
Croskey-Merritt has clearly elevated to the top running back on Washington’s roster and should only see this grow as the season progresses. With Austin Ekeler out for the season and Daniels still a bit bothered by his knee issue, expect his level of opportunity to continue expanding. Chicago gave up 138 rushing yards to Ashton Jeanty in their last game, Javonte Williams rushed for 76 yards on 10 rushes the week prior, and Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery combined for 151 yards on the ground before this. The Bears have some serious limitations in stopping the run, and Croskey-Merritt is talented enough to exploit this. Look for him to continue seeing his role in the offense grow and rush for over 70.5 rushing yards for the second straight week and third time this season.
D.J. Moore Over 39.5 Receiving Yards (-110)
There are plenty of mouths to feed in the Chicago offense, but D.J. Moore has proven his importance. Through their opening four games, the 28-year-old has pulled in 16 receptions on 21 targets for 173 yards and a touchdown. He has seen five or more targets in each game, even if Rome Odunze may be emerging as the top pass-catcher.
Looking at the matchup, Washington ranks ninth in points allowed but 25th in total yards conceded. The rank 23rd in passing yards allowed, 16th in passing touchdowns, and 27th in yards allowed per pass attempt. Opposing quarterbacks are averaging 7.5 yards per pass attempt and completing an average of 20 passes per game. Caleb Williams still has some progress to make, but there have been encouraging steps taken from last year’s struggles, and all pass catchers have benefited from this.
Count on Moore to continue to be one of the safety valves that Williams relies on, especially in short and medium passing situations. He has posted receiving yard totals of 68, 46, 21, and 38 so far this season. He tallied 966 receiving yards last year and is two seasons removed from 1,364 yards through the air in Chicago. Expect him to continue to be a frequent part of the offense and for the Bears to need to move the ball and put up points to have a chance in this game. His current average of 43.3 receiving yards per game is a career low. Williams is only going to get better, and look for him to pull in 40+ receiving yards for the third time this season.
Jayden Daniels Over 1.5 Passing Touchdowns (+110)
It has been an underwhelming start to Jayden Daniels’ second season in the NFL. He missed two weeks with a knee sprain but was back on the field last week. Through the three games he has been available, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year has completed 59.2% of his passing attempts for 664 yards and four passing touchdowns while adding 124 yards with his legs. Daniels has thrown for over 1.5 passing touchdowns in just one of the three games so far.
But this is a friendly matchup and a good spot for the Commanders’ quarterback to get back on track. Chicago ranks 29th in points allowed and 28th in total yards given up. They rank 31st in passing touchdowns conceded and have allowed two passing touchdowns to Geno Smith, two to J.J. McCarthy, and five the Jared Goff already this season. Overall, opposing quarterbacks are completing 73.7% of their pass attempts for 7.5 yards per attempt against this Bears’ roster. Four of the five opponents they have faced have tallied 22+ points.
The early weeks have not been overly impressive, but Daniels has battled a knee issue, and it is worth noting that he got better as the season progressed last year. Excluding the final week in which Daniels attempted just 12 passes before resting for the playoffs, Daniels threw for 2+ passing touchdowns in each of the final five weeks. He has still thrown for 200+ passing yards in all three games he suited up for and had two passing touchdowns against the Packers. Look for him to match this effort against an even weaker defense. It is not the time to panic about Daniels yet and expect this favorable matchup to be a get-right spot. Capitalize on the +110 odds on DraftKings Sportsbook for Daniels to get back on track to performing like one of the better quarterbacks in football.
