Magic Johnson chides his Commanders for ‘no intensity’ in a 40-20 loss to previously winless Chicago
Associated Press— Washington Commanders part-owner Magic Johnson criticized coach Ron Rivera’s team for playing with “no intensity or fire” in a 40-20 loss Thursday night to the Chicago Bears, a club that hadn’t won a game in nearly a full year. “That’s on me.” Johnson, part of the new ownership group that took over the club from Dan Snyder, wrote on social media after the game that Washington “played with no intensity or fire” and “didn’t compete in the first half.” Asked about those comments, Commanders receiver Terry McLaurin called it “a pretty fair assessment.” “It doesn’t matter what your intentions are. In the first quarter alone, Chicago produced three plays longer than any they’d had all season: throws of 58 and 39 yards from Fields to Moore, and a 34-yard run by Khalil Herbert. The next one closed with a 32-yard field goal by Joey Slye to make it 27-14 — and even that drew jeers, likely because fans would have preferred to see the man known as “Riverboat Ron” risk it on fourth-and-2 from Chicago’s 13.