LONDON – Senior writer John Oehser examines five key plays from the Jaguars’ 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London Sunday
1. Whoops. The Jaguars' first drive Sunday mixed momentum, good stuff and disappointment. The Jaguars moved methodically after a Bears first-possession punt, with quarterback Trevor Lawrence completing first-down converting passes of 13 yards to wide receiver Gabe Davis and 14 yards to tight end Evan Engram. The result was a 14-play, 67-yard drive that consumed 8:12, but ended frustratingly when Davis dropped a potential 12-yard touchdown pass from Lawrence. Rookie kicker Cam Little instead converted a 30-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter. "It's football," Lawrence said of the drop. "That happens. I missed a couple of throws tonight. It's going to happen. Obviously, you want those guys catch every ball, and that'd be great. They want to catch every ball. That's just not this game. You're going to make mistakes and stuff's going to happen. You end up getting a field goal and it's 3-0 us. We'd love to score, but it's a long game. I don't think that that was a huge momentum shift."
2. Piiiick. The Bears took a 7-3 lead with 11:07 remaining in the second quarter on a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Caleb Williams to tight end Cole Kmet and were gaining momentum. An impressive Jaguars defensive play stopped the momentum – if only temporarily. With the Bears facing third-and-1 on the Jaguars 41, Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore broke open deep down the left sideline. Williams threw deep, but Jaguars safety Andre Cisco leaped in front of Moore for the Jaguars' second takeaway of the season and returned their first interception 22 yards to the Jaguars 29 to keep the Bears' lead 7-3 with 5:10 remaining in the second quarter.
3. Scraaaaamble. With the Jaguars offense stalled in the second quarter, the Bears gained control of the game. With the Jaguars failing to drive after Cisco's interception, the Bears took possession at their 15-yard-line with 3:08 remaining in the second quarter. Williams twice escaped pressure on the ensuing 85-yard drive, scrambling for a 23-yard gain to the Bears 49 early in the drive and evading defensive end Josh Hines-Allen before running 19 yards to the Jaguars 2. Williams' two-yard pass to Kmet wide open crossing in the back of the end zone gave the Bears a 14-3 lead with :13 remaining in the second quarter. "He's going to make plays," Hines-Allen said of Williams. "He's done that all year. In the first half, outside that one drive, we did a good job of keeping him in the pocket and getting hits. He's going to make plays. Kudos to him."
4. Fuuuuumble. The Jaguars, after being outgained 216-13 in the second quarter and trailing 14-3 at halftime, had possession to start the second half needing momentum and points. Instead, tight end Evan Engram – starting for the first time since Week 1 after missing four games with a hamstring injury – fumbled after a 24-yard gain on the first play of the third quarter. Safety Elijah Hicks recovered at the Bears 40 and returned it 19 yards to the Jaguars 41. Williams' nine-yard pass to wide receiver Keenan Allen capped the ensuing drive and pushed the Bears' lead to 21-3 with 11:22 remaining in the third quarter. "The mistakes just started to accumulate," Lawrence said. "Whether it was turnovers or assignments – little things here and there. There's enough blame to go around for everybody. We didn't play complementary." Added Lawrence, "Evan's a guy I have a lot of trust in. He had a fumble. He knows that stuff shouldn't happen, but it's one play. You have to bounce back but the team around you has to pick you up. He's beating himself up, but it's not on him. It's one play. It's a long game and you have to be able to overcome some stuff."
5. Ugh, ugh and ugh. Despite being dominated through much of the middle of the game, the Jaguars had momentum and a sliver of hope after Davis's 21-yard touchdown reception from Lawrence cut the lead to 21-10 with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter. Defensive end Travon Walker sacked Williams on third-and-8 from the Bears 42, but the Jaguars were penalized for 12 players on the field. "I put that one on us as coaches," Head Coach Doug Pederson said, "That's on us." Cornerback Ronald Darby was called for holding on the ensuing play, turning an incomplete pass into a Bears first down. Another holding penalty on Darby on third-and-10 from the Jaguars 31 again extended the drive. Williams' fourth touchdown pass of the game – a three-yarder to Allen – gave the Jaguars a 28-10 lead with 14:56 remaining in the fourth quarter. "Those are penalties that really hurt," Pederson said. "Taking nothing away from the players. They're playing hard. They're putting everything out on the field. We'll just keep talking. We'll just keep showing them. Everybody has a piece of this. It's not just coaching. It's not just players. It's all of us. That's where it has to start."