The Chicago Bears are 4-2 on the season, and Caleb Williams has his first career international victory after taking down the Jacksonville Jaguars in London 35-16. It was a sensational performance from Chicago’s No. 1 overall pick, who threw four passing touchdowns in the winning effort. In fact, he is the first Bears rookie with four or more passing touchdowns in a game since 1999.
That said, it was a slow start for Chicago’s offense, which was held without a point in the first quarter. However, the unit came alive beginning in the second quarter as Williams tossed two passing scores to tight end Cole Kmet before halftime. Then, Williams looked into the direction of veteran receiver Keenan Allen in the second half as they connected on two touchdowns, getting the rookie signal-caller to four on the day.
As the offense started to find its footing, the Bears defense largely stifled the Jaguars offense. After holding them to an opening-drive field goal, they forced punts for the rest of the first half and then started to pile up turnovers in the second half. In part because of that strong defensive effort by Chicago, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars offense never seemed to get anything going. However, there were plenty of drops and mental errors in the form of penalties that contributed to the club now dropping to 1-5 on the year.
Williams finished his day completing 23 of his 29 pass attempts for 226 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. He also made several plays with his legs, rushing for 56 yards. Kmet and Allen were his top targets on the day, as those two pass catchers caught all 10 of their combined targets for 111 yards and four touchdowns. On the Jaguars side of things, Trevor Lawrence completed 23 of his 35 passes for 234 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
For more on how this game from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium unfolded, check out our takeaways below.
Why the Bears won
If someone were to tell you that the Bears would finish with 35 points after watching them in the first quarter, not many would believe you. The unit was sluggish out of the gate but came alive in the second quarter. Caleb Williams got into a groove and found Cole Kmet for two touchdowns to give Chicago a lead at the break. He carried that over in the second half with two more touchdowns in what proved to be another breakout performance for the rookie. While his four passing scores jump off the box score, the difficulty level on some of his throws was top notch as he fit balls into tight windows with relative ease.
In the second half, the complementary football that Chicago displayed was one of the key reasons why they are heading back to America with a win. Twice, the defense forced a turnover, and both times, the offense rewarded them with touchdowns. Even when Williams did make one of his few mistakes on the day (a first-half interception on a poorly thrown ball to D.J. Moore), the defense bailed him out by forcing a three-and-out on the next Jaguars possession. From wire to wire, it was a finely tuned effort from Chicago.
Why the Jaguars lost
Jacksonville never really got into a rhythm in this game. Even as the defense began the day with back-to-back three-and-outs of the Bears offense, Trevor Lawrence’s unit managed just three points. On their opening possession of the game, they brought the ball as far down as the Chicago 8-yard line. However, penalties and miscues in the red zone area (including a Gabe Davis drop in the end zone) led to the unit settling for a field goal.
After that field goal drive, they punted on three straight drives to end the half while the Bears built their lead. Then, in the second half, the offense started coughing up the ball. Evan Engram fumbled on a throw from Lawrence on the first play of the third quarter, which was recovered by Chicago. Then, to begin the fourth, Lawrence threw an interception. Each of those turnovers led to Bears touchdowns.
As we highlight further in our “Turning Point” section, ill-time penalties also contributed to the Jags falling to 1-5 on the year.
Turning point
After the Jaguars were finally able to get into the end zone with a Trevor Lawrence touchdown to Gabe Davis, the defense didn’t carry the baton to try and get a comeback working. Instead, they were on the wrong side of a back-breaking touchdown drive by the Bears. There were countless times throughout that drive where it looked like the Jaguars were going to be able to get off the field, but an array of penalties gave the Bears new life.
Specifically, a third-and-8 sack was erased due to a too many men on the field penalty. Then, on the very next play, a defensive holding call turned a third-and-3 into a first down despite Williams throwing an incomplete pass.
Later in the drive, a third-and-10 stop was negated, thanks to another defensive holding. Eventually, Williams found Keenan Allen for his fourth touchdown and extended the Chicago lead.
Play of the game
It was a tremendous day for Caleb Williams. While there were many highlight plays from the No. 1 overall pick, this touchdown throw to Keenan Allen at the beginning of the third quarter was arguably his most impressive toss of the day. Williams zipped the ball perfectly up the seam and hit Allen on the back shoulder. That’s a high level of a throw that you can have and certainly flashes the extremely high ceiling that Williams possesses.
What’s next
From here, the Bears (4-2) will be on the bye in Week 7 before a two-game road trip beginning in Washington in Week 8. As for the Jaguars (1-5), they’ll remain in London and await the Patriots in Week 7.
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