Sports

/

ArcaMax

Caleb Williams throws 4 TD passes as the Bears roll in London 35-16 vs. the Jaguars

Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune on

Published in Football

LONDON — The Chicago Bears celebrated their dominance in London with a tea party Sunday afternoon at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Early in the third quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen caught a 9-yard dart from Caleb Williams for a touchdown and immediately motioned for his teammates to sit beside him. The circle of players then pretended to sip tea.

It was that kind of a fun day for the Bears, who blew out the Jaguars 35-16 in their first international trip since 2019.

Williams threw four touchdown passes — two to tight end Cole Kmet and two to Allen — and finished 23-of-29 for 226 yards and a 124.4 passer rating. He also rushed for 56 yards.

Despite playing the second half without three starters in their secondary, the Bears defense had two takeaways after halftime: a forced fumble by T.J. Edwards and recovery by Elijah Hicks and an interception by backup nickel Josh Blackwell.

Blackwell replaced Kyler Gordon, who was ruled out in the second half with a hamstring injury after the Bears started the game without safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Blackwell picked off Trevor Lawrence early in the fourth quarter, and the Bears eventually scored on a 1-yard D’Andre Swift run for a 35-10 lead.

Allen’s 9-yarder also capitalized on a Bears takeaway early in the third quarter.

On the Jaguars’ first play from scrimmage after halftime, Edwards forced Evan Engram to fumble and Hicks recovered. That gave the Bears the ball at the Jaguars 41, and they pulled ahead 21-3 on Allen’s touchdown.

The Jaguars responded with an 11-play, 70-yard touchdown drive, capped by Lawrence’s 21-yard pass to Gabe Davis, to cut the lead to 21-10.

But Williams found Allen again for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Bears up 28-10. The drive included three defensive penalties.

Williams and Kmet connected on two first-half touchdowns. Kmet also served as the long snapper for most of the game, filling in for Scott Daly, who suffered a knee injury in the first quarter.

Lawrence completed 23-of-35 passes for 234 yards. He hit Davis again for a 5-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.

Here’s how the game unfolded:

Inactives

Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson did not play Sunday against the Jaguars. The Bears listed Stevenson as doubtful to play Friday after he injured his calf in practice during the week.

His absence is a blow to an already depleted secondary. Starting safety Jaquan Brisker missed the game with a concussion after a hard hit in the Week 5 win over the Carolina Panthers. Backup cornerback Terell Smith remains out with a hip injury that forced him to miss the last two games.

Jaylon Jones could start in Stevenson’s place, while Elijah Hicks will replace Brisker.

Right guard Nate Davis is also a healthy scratch for the first time this season.

Davis started 11 games for the Bears last season and came into the season as the potential starter at right guard. But after making two starts this season, he was replaced in the lineup by Matt Pryor. Last week against the Panthers, the Bears turned to Bill Murray as guard depth before Davis.

 

Left guard Teven Jenkins will play after he battled an ankle injury all week and was listed as questionable.

The Bears previously declared out defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin). Wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. and defensive end Dominique Robinson are also inactive.

For the Jaguars, defensive end Myles Cole, offensive linemen Javon Foster and Cole Van Lanen and defensive tackles Tyler Lacy and Jeremiah Ledbetter are inactive.

Tight end Evan Engram and wide receiver Gabe Davis, who were listed as questionable, are active.

Halftime: Williams has 184 total yards as Bears lead 14-3

Quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 56 yards to drive the Bears to a 14-3 halftime lead against the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Williams and tight end Cole Kmet connected on both first-half touchdowns.

On the final drive of the half, Williams rushed for a 24-yard gain, then found Rome Odunze for a 12-yard pass and Keenan Allen for a 10-yarder. He scrambled for a 19-yard gain to the Jaguars 2-yard line.

After the Bears used their final timeout with 17 seconds left, Williams hit Kmet for a 2-yard touchdown.

Earlier in the second quarter, Williams hit a wide-open Kmet, who scrapped to get across the goal line for a 31-yard touchdown. Kmet then snapped on the extra point, which was good for a 7-3 Bears lead.

Kmet had to snap because long snapper Scott Daly went down with a knee injury during a first-quarter punt. He walked off the field slowly and went to the locker room. The Bears very quickly ruled him out.

The Bears defense, meanwhile, held the Jaguars to 111 yards in the first half.

The Bears thought they had a takeaway in the second quarter when linebacker Tremaine Edmunds stripped Travis Etienne and recovered. But a review ruled it was an incomplete pass.

Instead, the Jaguars got the only takeaway of the half when safety Andre Cisco intercepted Williams on a deep shot intended for DJ Moore on third-and-1 from the Jacksonville 41. Cisco returned it 22 yards to the 29 before Roschon Johnson tackled him.

But the Bears defense got the ball back quickly for the offense.

The Jaguars scored their only points on their first drive. They had first-and-goal at the 8-yard line, but the Bears defense held them to Cam Little’s 30-yard field goal. Safety Elijah Hicks made a big pass breakup against Gabe Davis in the end zone on third down.

____


©2024 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus