Bears and Jaguars Week 6 London Game Day Preview

Chicago Bears (3-2) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4)

Where: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Kickoff: 8:30 a.m. (Chicago time)

TV: Fox (in Chicago area), NFL Network (Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, Stacey Dales, Steve Wyche)

Radio: ESPN AM-1000 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Jason McKie)

Westwood One (J.P. Shadrick, Charles Tillman)

Spanish Radio: Latino Mix 93.5 (Omar Ramos, Mateo Moreno)

The Line: Bears by 1 1/2, over/under 44 1/2

Chicago Bears on SI Pick: Bears 23, Jaguars 20

The Series: The Bears have a 5-3 edge. They split four home games and are 3-1 in road games. This is officially listed as a home game for the Bears, who have won three of the last four in the series.

The Coaches: Jaguars coach Doug Pederson is 66-60-1 and is 3-0 against the Bears. The wins came with Philadelphia. He is in his third season with Jacksonville and has a 20-21 record.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 13-26 in his third year and is 10-10 in games when the Bears are home team.

The Teams: The Bears are trying for their first three-game winning streak under Eberflus after beating the Rams and Panthers at home in their last two games. Their defense has been hit by injuries to starting safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (calf), as well as backup cornerback Terell Smith (hip). It’s their first time dealing on defense with injured starters this year. The Jaguars are coming off their first win over  the year, 37-34 over Indianapolis. They had a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter and QB Joe Flacco brought the Colts back into a tie but Cam Little won the game for Jacksonville with a 49-yard field goal with 17 seconds left. The Jaguars are getting healthier, as tight end Evan Engram is expected back from injury this week. They play annually in London and have a 6-5 record there, but didn’t arrive until 4 a.m. Friday because of Hurricane Milton.

Stat Leaders: Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence is 93 of 156 (59.6%) for 1,100 yards and six TDs with two interceptions and a passer rating of 88.6.

Running back Tank Bigsby has 273 yards on 34 carries and leads in yards while Travis Etienne (231 yards) leads in carries (53) and the two are tied with two TDs rushing. Brian Thomas Jr. leads the Jaguars in catches (22), yards (397) and TDs (3) while averaging 18.0 yards per catch.

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Bears rookie QB Caleb Williams is 107 of 170 (62.9%) for 1,091 yards with five TDs and four interceptions and a passer rating of 81.3 for five games. D’Andre Swift leads the Bears in rushing with 234 yards on 74 attempts (3.2-yard average). Roschon Johnson leads in rushing TDs with three. DJ Moore leads the Bears  in receptions (27), yards (294) and TD catches (3). The defense is led in tackles by linebacker T.J. Edwards and injured Jaquan Brisker with 40 tackles each. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson leads the Bears, who have six interceptions as a team, with two picks. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter leads in sacks with four. Defensively, cornerback Montaric Brown leads in tackles with 37 and safety Antonio Johnson in solo tackles with 28. Defensive end Travon Walker has a team-high five sacks.

Injury Report: For the Jaguars, DB Tyson Campbell is out (hamstring). LB Yasir Abdullah (neck), WR Gabe Davis (knee), TE Evan Engram (hamstring), S Daniel Thomas (hamstring) are questionable.
For the Bears, S Jaquan Brisker (concussion), DT Zacch Pickens (groin), CB Terell Smith (hip) are out. CB Tyrique Stevenson (calf) is doubtful. T Teven Jenkins (ankle) is questionable. LB Jacob Martin (toe) who was on the injury report as questionable, will not be reinstated from injured reserve this week.

Matching Up: The Jaguars are 15th on offense, 20th in passing and 11th at rushing. They are 21st in scoring. Jacksonville ranks 31st on defense, 32nd (last) against the pass and ninth against the run. They are 30th in points allowed.

The Bears are 26th on offense, 22nd in passing and 29th at rushing. They are 16th in scoring. The defense ranks seventh, sixth against the pass and 18th stopping the run. Chicago has given up the fifth fewest points.

Of Note: The Bears are 1-1 in London, having lost their last game there in 2019, 24-21 to the Raiders. … The Bears have a plus-5 turnover differential and Jacksonville is at minus-3. … Three of Walker’s five sacks came in the last game against Indianapolis and he has 10 sacks in the last nine games. Walker was the first pick in the 2022 draft. … Thomas leads all NFL rookies with 397 yards receiving. … The last Bears three-game winning streak was in 2020 and the third game was against Jacksonville in Week 16.  … The Bears have 40 points after turnovers, which ranks fourth in the league. … Chicago’s defense has held the last 11 opponents to 21 points or less, the longest streak of this type in the league.

Key Individual Matchups

Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Jaguars WR Brian Thomas Jr.

Thomas has used his 4.3 speed and 38 1/2-inch leaping ability to create 18.0 yards per catch but is going against the cornerback graded third  best by Pro Football Focus, and No. 1 last season. Johnson doesn’t have blazing speed but is a smooth technician and understands receivers routes and leverage. It’s unlikely they’d have him on Thomas the full game. Situationally, they also could shift him to Christian Kirk. Johnson doesn’t get targeted much and has allowed nine catches in 17 attempts according to Pro Football Focus.

Bears CB Jaylon Jones vs. Jaguars WR Christian Kirk

The idea will likely be to have a safety over the top on Kirk or Thomas if not both but Jones is not a starter or even the first Bears cornerback off the bench. He has not played extensively on defense since his rookie year of 2022 and has allowed 41 catches in 61 targets (66%) for 451 yards. Kirk went to the Jaguars two years ago and is roughly the same height and weight as Jones at 5-11 and 200. He has heated up gradually with 19 catches for 228 yards over the last three games following a cold start. 

Bears WR DJ Moore vs. Jaguars CB Ronald Darby

Moore and Williams started to build the connection in earnest three games ago and he has 16 catches for 205 yards and three TDs since then. Moore is starting to get open downfield now after Williams had problems finding him at the right moment downfield in the first two games. Darby has given up 75.9% completions for 326 yards according to PFF. A former player for Buffalo, Philadelphia, Washington, Denver and Baltimore, he has been dependable except for struggling in Philadelphia in 2019.

Bears WR Keenan Allen vs. Jaguars Slot CB Jarrian Jones

The Jaguars can also use Darnell Savage there, but Savage is a safety by trade and not a cornerback.  Jones is a third-round rookie and holding his own in the slot with a 69.2% completion percentage allowed and 97.0 passer rating against. Stathead/Pro Football Reference doesn’t credit him with a TD pass allowed. The assignment for him will be the veteran who has been injured but appears past a heel problem now. Allen has just 10 catches for 81 yards and made three catches in both his games back from the injury with his season-long catch of 19 yards coming last week.

Bears DE Montez Sweat vs. Jaguars RT Anton Harrison

Harrison is graded 61st out of 75 tackles by Pro Football Focus. He has allowed two sacks and committed one penalty. Sweat has been held to two sacks this year as teams have been shifting extra blockers his way, as Jacksonville will no doubt do. Harrison’s bigger problem has been in run blocking, where he is graded 72nd out of 75 tackles.

Bears RT Darnell Wright vs. Jaguars Edge Josh Hines-Allen

Although Travon Walker has more sacks with five, it’s Hines-Allen who has the nod from PFF as the best edge player overall for the Jaguars and it isn’t close. The 6-5, 255-pounder from Kentucky is in his sixth year after being a first-round pick and is graded 11th as a pass rusher and ninth overall. He’s more of a speed player but has developed dependable technique. In his second year, Wright has been consistent blocking the run and the pass and is graded 36th among 75 tackles, according to PFF. However, he has given up four of the sacks the Bears have allowed and also committed four penalties. He has allowed 10 total pressures.

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