We all understand that the bye week is an important part of the NFL schedule. Professional football is a tough game, and with injuries seemingly on the rise all the time, it’s vital to have a week off in the middle of the season.

However, when your team is hot, you want to keep the momentum going, too Chicago Bears was one of the best teams in the league. The Bears have blanked their last three opponents by a combined 51 points to move to 4-2 on the season and, with a bye last week, had extra time to prepare for the 5-2 Chiefs.

The Bears have some injured players who needed that extra week to get back into shape, but the Chiefs could have used more of a bye. That’s because Jayden Daniels, the ultra-talented rookie whose strong play propelled the Commanders to the top of the NFC East, suffered a rib injury that forced him to miss most of last week’s game against the Panthers.

Daniels practiced on Friday for the first time this week, and head coach Dan Quinn said afterward: “We’ll assess how he responds to the work we’ve done over the next 48 hours. But I really did it today.” Daniels said the decision wasn’t up to him, but he felt better as the week went on. It looks like he will be a true game-time decision, which means the Bears will have to prepare for him and help Marcus Mariota just in case.

Mariota is 2-0 against Chicago in his career, but the Bears would certainly prefer to face him over the dynamic Daniels, even if neutral NFL fans demand a rookie quarterback showdown. Let’s make three bold predictions about Sunday’s game, starting with Washington’s quarterback situation.

It didn’t look good for Daniels’ availability when he missed practice earlier in the week, but the fact that he practiced on Friday tells me he’ll be there on Sunday. The question is: how effective will he be?

Daniels does a lot of damage to him on the floor. He already has 372 rushing yards on the year, a number that would surely be higher if he wasn’t forced out of last week’s game after being tackled on a 46-yard scamper. Whether it’s a designed run or a scramble off pass pressure, he’s a threat to take off and run long distances at all times.

The captains will do what is best for Daniels and his health, and rightfully so. Given that their star rookie is dealing with a rib injury and not, say, a knee or calf injury that could easily be aggravated, it makes it more likely that he’ll be able to play, but offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury will be careful with him, especially against a dynamic Bears defense that has already given up some big hits this year.

Daniels has shown he’s more than capable of lighting it up through the air, but once it becomes apparent he’s not his usual run threat, Matt Eberflus and the Bears will be able to focus on coverage. That means TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds can stick with Terry McLaurin, Zach Ertz and the rest of the Chiefs pass rushers running through the middle of the field and less time scouting the backfield to make sure Daniels doesn’t take. off

The Bears arguably have the best young secondary in the game when healthy, but unfortunately it’s a bit of a stretch right now. Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon missed the London game with a concussion and a hamstring injury, respectively, and Tyrique Stevenson missed the last two after pulling a calf muscle.

Stevenson had a limited practice Thursday and a full practice Friday, so the Bears can expect him to resume his No. 2 cornerback spot. Brisker and Gordon were ruled out Friday, which will put Elijah Hicks and Josh Blackwell under the microscope again, but they passed the test against the Jaguars with flying colors. Hicks broke up multiple passes and was one of the highest-graded Bears of the week, according to PFF, and Blackwell had the only interception of the day when he picked off Trevor Lawrence in the fourth quarter.

Jaylon Johnson is healthy, and that’s a problem for Washington’s bird game because he’ll be able to shut down McLaurin, who is the only real weapon Daniels has to throw to. The rest of the secondary will be able to hold the rest of Washington’s mediocre receiving corps in check, and as a result, the Commanders won’t come close to scoring a league-leading 31.1 points per game.

One receiver I expect to have a big day is DJ Moore. The Bears WR1 took a backseat to Keenan Allen and Cole Kmet’s two-touchdown performances against the Jaguars, but he won’t have a better matchup the rest of the year than the one he faces Sunday.

To say that Moore set fire to the Commanders last year would be like saying that the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 heated up the city. Moore had the best game of his six-year career in Thursday night’s Week 5 game, hauling in eight catches for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

Commanders head coach Dan Quinn has certainly seen tapes from last year, but he doesn’t have the personnel to do much about it. The Bears have weapons all over the field, and Caleb Williams has shown in recent weeks that he is willing and able to spread the ball around. Washington’s only chance to slow Chicago’s air game will be to get to Caleb quickly. If the O-line is able to protect him, it will be a busy day for the scoreboard operator.

Even if Washington is capable of generating a lot of pressure, Moore is so good at quick routes that it might not matter. Caleb has gotten better and better over the past few weeks at making quick reads and getting off the ball quickly, but he’s also learned when he can stay in the pocket, buy some time and look downfield.

Washington has had a lot of trouble with talented receivers this year. Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Malik Nabers, Ja’Marr Chase and Zay Flowers have already gone to the Commanders and played just seven games. Look for DJ to have something like eight catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.

It won’t just be DJ Moore breaking loose in the Commanders secondary, and the real problem for the Commanders is that Caleb Williams is playing with more and more confidence each week. From Keenan Allen to Cole Kmet to Rome Odunze, there will be receivers open all day and Caleb will find them.

The Chiefs are giving up over 130 yards per game on the ground, so expect a big game from D’Andre Swift as well. Frankly, there’s no reason why Chicago’s offense, which has looked phenomenal of late, should have trouble moving the ball against Washington.

Every time the Chiefs have faced good quarterbacks (Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson), their defense has been ripped to shreds. When they faced bad quarterbacks (Daniel Jones, Deshaun Watson, Andy Dalton), they looked ok. Don’t let those performances fool you, because Caleb Williams is proving with each passing week that he’s on the fast track to superstardom.

These are two offenses that are clicking on all cylinders right now, but Jayden Daniels won’t be 100 percent. The Bears have injuries on defense, but capable backups have shown they can get the job done. Injured or not, Chicago’s defense is leagues above Washington’s.

The only reason Bears fans are concerned is the location of the game. The Bears are 0-2 on the road with close losses to the Texans and Colts in Weeks 2 and 3. The Chiefs are undefeated at home with wins over the Giants, Browns and Panthers (admittedly not exactly a killer streak). If the Bears lose, it will be because they haven’t figured out how to win in a hostile environment, but their last game at a neutral site in London showed they are capable of playing great football away from Soldier Field.

I don’t think there’s another team in the NFL that you could say got better every week, but the Bears did. With an extra week to prepare and Jayden Daniels operating at less than peak efficiency, the Bears will make a big statement with a 35-20 win.