The Jacksonville Jaguars travel to London, as they take on the Chicago Bears in Week 6. Jacksonville will be looking to build on their first win.
The Jaguars fell behind early to the Indianapolis Colts last week, but thanks to Brian Thomas Jr., were able to play catchup. Jacksonville built a two-touchdown lead but like most of the season, could not put a team away. Joe Flacco brought the Colts back but Trevor Lawrence engineered a late drive to get the game-winning field goal. It looked like another late collapse but the Jaguars finally were able to put one in the win column.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chicago Bears Game History
Sunday will be the ninth time the Jaguars and Chicago have met. The Bears have owned the series winning five of the eight matchups. The last meeting was in 2020, when the Bears beat the Jaguars 41-7 on the road. The teams have only met twice in the last 10 years.
Key Players for the Jaguars
Last week was the best the offense has looked all season, and the offensive line did not allow a sack. The Colts were missing some key defenders but this is a move in the right direction for a struggling offensive line.
Lawrence had his best game of the season, throwing for 371 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He finally connected on a deep pass with Thomas Jr. for 85 yards to spark the offense. Lawrence’s one interception was a bad play, where he tried to force the ball to Thomas Jr. in triple coverage.
Christian Kirk also had a nice game with four receptions for 88 yards. The Jaguars hope to get Evan Engram back this week and need him badly. The passing game is just running through Thomas and Kirk at the moment.
The Bears are top 12 in yards allowed to wide receivers, so the Jaguars will need to use all their weapons this week.
Travis Etienne was successful early with some catches out of the backfield, but second-year running back Tank Bigsby took over the rest of the game. Etienne only had 17 rushing yards on six carries, while Bigsby had 101 yards on thirteen carries. Bigsby has looked like the better running back for the team so far this year. He had two long runs against the Colts, including a 65-yard rushing touchdown. The emergence of Bigsby might make the Jaguars give him more touches. Doug Pederson reiterated that Etienne is the starter but some time to heal up might be best for him.
Tank Bigsby faces a 🐻Bears Defense that is allowing nearly 5 (4.97) yards per carry to 🏃♂️ running backs this season. Bigsby is #1 in breakaway run rate per player profiler.
Is Tank in for another huge day? pic.twitter.com/HrUTZ15aNk
— PlayerProfiler NFL (@Profiler_NFL) October 9, 2024
The Jaguars defense still struggled last weel against the pass, but did get more pressure on the quarterback. Josh Hines-Allen had a sack and a fumble recovery, which was the first defensive turnover by the team. Travon Walker has struggled early on but had three sacks, including a game-ending sack on Joe Flacco. Devin Lloyd returned from injury against the Colts and helped the Jaguars allow under 100 yards rushing. Ventrell Miller continues to be playing well in a starter role with seven tackles and a tackle for loss against the Colts.
Antonio Johnson and Andre Cisco continue to struggle in coverage. Both had a coverage grade under 50 according to PFF but it was the best tackling effort by Cisco of the season.
Meanwhile, Darnell Savage returned but the secondary was still torched for over 300 passing yards. There is hope that Tyson Campbell will return this week which would be a huge plus. Ronald Darby played better this past week but the Jaguars need as much depth on the back end as they can get.
Key Players for the Bears
The Bears are coming off two straight wins against the Los Angeles Rams and the Carolina Panthers. These are not great teams so it still is unclear how good the Bears are.
After struggling early, Caleb Williams has had two out of three games with over 300 yards and his best game as a pro against the Panthers. Williams completed 69 percent of his passes for over 300 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. It was also the highest QBR of the season for Williams. DJ Moore also had his best game of the year with over 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Keenan Allen has been dealing with injuries but he has had success against the Jaguars before; and Rome Odunze is another big weapon on the outside. The Jaguars have been good against tight ends so far this season but Cole Kmet will provide a challenge for the defense. Kmet is second on the Bears in yards and receptions.
The run game was slow to start the season but D’Andre Swift has come on the last two weeks. He only had 68 yards rushing in the first three games but has over 170 in the last two games. Swift also has become more involved in the passing game with over 100 yards receiving in the last two games.
Roschon Johnson is second on the pecking order at running back and has been getting more work the last two games. He has not been overly efficient but has three rushing touchdowns in the last two games.
The Bears’ defense has been strong this year. They are seventh in the NFL in total yards given up and fifth in scoring defense. The Bears are top 12 in sacks with 14 in five games and will be a test for the Jaguars offensive line.
The leader is defensive tackle Gervon Dexter with four sacks. On the edge, Montez Sweat and Darrell Taylor will be big challenges for the Jaguars tackles. The Bears are more susceptible to the run than the pass.
Terrell Edmunds and Jaquan Brisker are the leading tacklers for the Bears. On the outside Tyrique Stevenson is the top corner and has allowed 51 yards or fewer in four of the five games. Kyler Gordon and Jaylon Jones will also be important in helping stop the Jaguars passing attack.
The Bears' defense entering Week 6:
Scoring defense – 17 ppg (5th)
Opponents' yards – 294.8 (7th)
Takeaways – 11 (5th)
Pass defense – 174.0 (6th)
Turnover % – 18.3% – (3rd)
Average drive time – 2.26 (2nd)
Pressure % – 29.7% (7th) pic.twitter.com/zqJbtGTylw— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) October 10, 2024
Jacksonville Jaguars – Keys to Win the Game
The Jaguars have been successful in the past in London and need that to continue in this matchup. The team needs to win this game to be able to keep the playoff dream alive. Jacksonville needs to start off fast and gain confidence. Meanwhile, the defense needs to be able to play with a lead.
Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker need to be able to get pressure on Caleb Williams so he is not too comfortable in the pocket. He is a rookie so they need to create some of those rookie mistakes.
The Jaguars’ secondary has been poor but may be as healthy as they have been all season. They need to limit big plays and make the Bears drive the length of the field. The defense struggled against Buffalo with running backs out of the backfield, so they will have to be better against D’Andre Swift.
Offensively, the Jaguars will need to be able to run the ball so they are not one-dimensional. When given time, Trevor Lawrence looked good last week; and Brian Thomas Jr. needs time to get down the field for big plays.
In the red zone the offense needs to get touchdowns and not commit penalties to back them up.
Can the Jaguars win two in a row? Will London bring better luck?
Brandon Haye
Brandon grew up in Jacksonville, Florida and works as a health insurance data analyst. He has no children, but two fur babies - Squirt and Brownie. He and his wife, Katie, spend their time playing poker and enjoying time with their pups. Brandon is a huge Michigan Wolverine and Jacksonville Jaguars fan. He at one time was in 77 fantasy leagues and loves the game of football. Brandon started writing for The Leauge Winners in 2021.