Caleb Williams and Bears seek their 3rd straight win when they meet Jaguars in London

Jacksonville (1-4) vs. Chicago (3-2) in London.

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. EDT, NFL Network.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Bears by 1 1/2.

Against the spread: Jaguars 2-3; Bears 3-1-1.

Series record: Bears lead 5-3.

Last meeting: Bears beat Jaguars 41-17 in Jacksonville on Dec. 27, 2020.

Last week: Jaguars beat Colts 37-34; Bears beat Panthers 36-10.

Jaguars offense: overall (15), rush (11), pass (20), scoring (21).

Jaguars defense: overall (31), rush (8), pass (32), scoring (30).

Bears offense: overall (26), rush (29), pass (22), scoring (16).

Bears defense: overall (7), rush (18), pass (6), scoring (5-T).

Turnover differential: Jaguars minus-3; Bears plus-5.

Jaguars player to watch

DE Travon Walker. Walker is coming off a three-sack performance against Indianapolis. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft has 10 sacks in his past nine games, which rank second in the league over that span behind Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson. The Bears will need to have a plan for slowing down Walker considering they have allowed 17 sacks, tied for fourth most in the league.

Bears player to watch

QB Caleb Williams. The No. 1 overall pick in 2024 has another big opportunity against a shaky defense after picking apart one of the league’s worst last week. Williams completed 20 of 29 passes for 304 yards with two touchdowns to DJ Moore and zero interceptions. His 126.2 passer rating was the best by a Bears rookie since the AFL-NFL merger. The previous high was Jim McMahon’s 121.1 against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 26, 1982.

Key matchup

Bears DE Montez Sweat against LT Cam Robinson. The Bears are down one key player on defense with S Jaquan Brisker missing the game because of a concussion. Getting pressure on Trevor Lawrence becomes that much more important, and it starts with Sweat.

Key injuries

The Jaguars expect to have Pro Bowl TE Evan Engram (hamstring) back for the first time since the season opener. They will be without KR/PR Devin Duvernay (hamstring), CB Tyson Campbell (hamstring) and LB Foye Oluokun (foot). RB Travis Etienne (shoulder) was limited in practice Wednesday but should be OK. … For the Bears, Brisker reported symptoms Monday and did not travel with the team. … G Teven Jenkins’ (ankle) status was in question after he left last week’s game, and CB Kyler Gordon (heel) is banged up.

Series notes

The Bears have won three of the past four against the Jaguars, including two in Jacksonville. In 2020, Mitchell Trubisky threw for two touchdowns, and David Montgomery ran for 95 yards and a score.

Stats and stuff

Jacksonville is 6-5 in London, with three wins in its past four games. The Jags swept Atlanta and Buffalo in consecutive weeks in 2023. … The Jaguars delayed their flight to London by five hours to let Hurricane Milton pass. It led to minor tweaks to Friday and Saturday schedules overseas. … The Jaguars are trying to become the second team in league history to make the playoffs after an 0-4 start. The 1982 San Diego Chargers are the only team to accomplish the feat. … WR Brian Thomas Jr. leads all rookies with 397 yards receiving. … Engram has more than four catches in each of his three career games in London. … Chicago has won two straight after back-to-back losses and is coming off its most lopsided victory since a 29-3 romp over the New York Giants in Week 17 of the 2021 season. … The Bears will try to make it three straight wins for the first time since a three-game run capped by the win over Jacksonville in Week 16 in 2020. … Chicago set season highs in scoring and yards (424) and turned three takeaways into 16 points last week. … The Bears rank third in the NFL with 11 takeaways, behind Green Bay (14) and Minnesota (13), and are fourth with 40 points off turnovers. … Chicago has held opponents to 21 points or fewer in 11 straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL. … The Bears are 1-1 all time in London, including the inaugural NFL game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019. … RB D’Andre Swift has a combined 285 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns the past two weeks against the Los Angeles Rams and Panthers. … DT Gervon Dexter, in his second season, had his fourth sack of the year and a fumble recovery last week. … S Kevin Byard had his 29th career interception last week.

Fantasy tip

Williams made some big throws against Carolina and has a big opportunity this week against another struggling defense. The Jaguars allowed a season-high 447 yards to Indianapolis even though the Colts were missing QB Anthony Richardson, RB Jonathan Taylor and C Ryan Kelly.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up