2024 NFL London Games: Bears Flash Playoff Potential Against Soul-Searching Jaguars

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in London, England, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium played host to its second NFL regular-season game of the 2024 campaign, and after the Minnesota Vikings came away with a win over the New York Jets which saw the end of Robert Salah’s reign as head coach in London’s first outing, it was time for Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars to face up against rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears.

In what was classed as a home game for the Bears, this was certainly no Soldier Field, though the 61,000-plus fans packed into Spurs’ stadium did their best efforts to try and emulate a true NFL atmosphere, with the die-hard Bears fans in attendance letting their voices be heard.

This perhaps wasn’t exemplified any more than when the Jaguars scored a late – albeit consolation – touchdown late in the fourth quarter, with the stadium so silent that a pin would certainly be heard if it were dropped.

In fact, the whole ordeal was quite poetic, with the Bears handing the Jaguars their first ever loss at Tottenham, entering their bye week coming off the back of an emphatic 35-16 win spearheaded by their rookie QB, a historic outing for tight end turned long-snapper, Cole Kmet, and a defense which absolutely smothered the Jaguars from start-to-finish.

For the Jaguars, though, they have one more outing left to play – this time at Wembley Stadium – before they head back stateside, where they will take on the 1-5 New England Patriots, with Lawrence facing up against his second rookie quarterback in as many weeks in Drake Maye.

Williams Finally Looks Like a No. 1 Overall Pick

The rookie fought back from an early interception to throw for four touchdowns

Caleb WIlliams’ start to life in the NFL wasn’t the prettiest, with the 2024 NFL Draft No. 1 overall pick struggling for pass completions in his first outing against the Tennessee Titans, finishing the contest throwing 14-of-29 passes (48.3 percent) for 93 yards.

It then took him until week three to throw for his first touchdown, a two-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze. But since then, he has continued to get better and better as the weeks have gone by, and he saved his career-best – so far – for the London crowd.

Despite throwing for an interception early on in the game, after he attempted to float one long to DJ Moore, and the ball hanging for longer than he would have liked, he would go on to torch the Jaguars defense, completing 23 of his 29 passes for 226 yards and a 124.4 passer rating.

The USC alum would also run for 56 yards on just four carries. He nearly had a fifth touchdown – a nine-yard dart to DJ Moore – but the receiver was ruled down inside the one-yard line after a replay review.

His performance was historic in multiple ways, with him becoming just the third quarterback to throw for four or more touchdowns in a London game, joining a coveted list of Blake Bortles and Tom Brady, while he also became the first Bears rookie quarterback since Cade McNown in 1999 to throw for four touchdowns in a single game.

Entering their bye week with a 4-2 record on the season, the Bears finally look as though they have made the right draft choice at the position, and should they continue to carry their momentum, could even see a playoff appearance close in their sights as the season winds on.

Kmet Makes NFL History

The Bears tight end had to take over long-snapping duties after an injury to Scott Daly

Williams wasn’t the only Bear to make history in London, with Cole Kmet doing so as well.

After finishing the contest with five receptions off of five targets, in which he went for two touchdowns and 70 receiving yards, including a lunge into the endzone which capped off a 31-yard play, Kmet was also forced into action on long-snapping duties, becoming the first player since Mike Bartrum for the Philadelphia Eagless in 2005 to score a touchdown and snap for the extra point after.

This was because Chicago’s usual long-snapper, Scott Daly, suffered a knee injury on the second punt of the game. As a result, emergency-snapper Kmet’s “biggest nightmare came true”, with the 25-year-old snapping for five extra points, which turned out to be a huge success.

When asked by the media after the game about when he knew he would be filling in for his teammate, Kmet admitted that he was initially unsure of who special teams coordinator Richard Hightower was talking about when he was asked to start warming up.

Though it would all work out for Kmet on the day, he was certainly more than thankful that he didn’t have to be involved in any punt scenarios on special teams.

Trouble Brewing in Jacksonville?

Jaguars have just one win on the season, with the pressure continuing to mount on their head coach

Having won both of their London outings last season, the Jaguars have what feels like a must-win game against the Patriots left to come at Wembley if they are to both come away from their trip across the pond with a victory, and somewhat salvage what is left of their 2024 campaign.

But, the reality is, the Jaguars – who were touted as a playoff-caliber team prior to the start of the season – have looked less than mediocre, with Lawrence so far completing an average of just 60.7 percent of his passes, his lowest output since his rookie season (59.6 percent).

Furthermore, the former Clemson Tigers alum has registered just a 56.3 quarterback rating, which is, in fact, a career-high, suggesting a lot about his individual production since entering the league as the No. 1 overall pick back in 2021.

The Jags’ lone win came against the depleted Indianapolis Colts in week five, where Lawrence threw a season-high 371 yards for two touchdowns and an interception, but since then, they have looked in all sorts of disarray.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jacksonville rank 30th in the NFL for points allowed (178), while they rank 31st for total yards allowed (2,340) in which they rank above only the New Orleans Saints (2,764) who have played an additional game.

But, if the Bears’ tea party touchdown celebration against the Jags is anything to go by, it could also be an inadvertent signal of what could be happening behind the scenes for the Floridian outfit, with trouble reportedly brewing within the franchise as they continue to tally on the losses.

As a result, head coach Doug Pederson is very much on the hot-seat and could find himself out of a job sooner rather than later, especially if they were to lose against a rebuilding Patriots squad with their rookie quarterback Drake Maye set to make just his second-ever NFL start in their week seven contest.

Thus, Sunday’s match-up between two 1–5 sides has more at stake than initially meets the eye, with both the Jags and Pats’ seasons on the line, if they aren’t both over already.

All statistics courtesy of NFL.com and Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.

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