Bear Digest

Keenan Allen Rates Among Bears Who Can Cause Jaguars Big Problems

Analysis: All of the top three Bears receivers rank among those players with best chances to take advantage of Jacksonville's problems trying to defend the pass.

Gene Chamberlain

Rome Odunze is tripped up by Dallis Flowers in the Bears' 21-16 loss to Indianapolis.
Rome Odunze is tripped up by Dallis Flowers in the Bears' 21-16 loss to Indianapolis. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images
In this story:

Anyone who doubts Caleb Williams can step up and produce another big passing game in London when other rookie quarterbacks have wilted going overseas to play need only look at what happened against Jacksonville's secondary last week.

Joe Flacco led the Colts to 24 fourth-quarter points and tied the game up against the Jaguars after trailing in the fourth quarter 27-17. The Jaguars eventually won 37-34. Jacksonville's secondary is an open invitation to pass the ball, as they rank last in the NFL stopping the pass but are eighth against the run. Then again, who wastes time running on them when they're giving up yardage through the air in chunks.

There really has been only one rookie quarterback win a start in London and that's Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence.

However, considering the others who started there were Gardner Minshew, Derek Carr, Zach Wilson, DeShone Kizer and Blake Bortles, and that the teams all those rookies played for had an 18-68 record in their first seasons, the London number looks like an irrelevant statistic or at least one very representative of how poor the QBs' teams were in their rookie years

And Minshew's Buccaneers were 6-6 in his rookie year so the other five really played for some horrible teams.

Williams has already become the first rookie QB to win his first three starts at home and this one will be a home game, technically.

As long as Williams sticks with what has led to his improved efficiency the last two weeks, being smart with the ball, the Bears QB will have a chance to extend Jacksonville's streak of not intercepting a pass to six games this season.

"I think he's got great command, great ownership at the line of scrimmage," offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said. "He sees the full picture so he knows when he can get in and out of different looks right away."

Here are the other Bears in this matchup who have the greats chance of doing damage to the Jaguars.

WR DJ Moore

He's feeling it with his quarterback now after his first 100-yard game this year and two receiving TDs. When Moore gets hot, it usually has run that way for several games in his career. Last year when he put up the 200-yard game against Washington he had three 100-yard games in five weeks. The Jaguars have problems at cornerback and at safety and the real challenge for Williams in looking for Moore will be getting time to throw considering Jacksonville has two good edge rushers. But if any QB can make his own time to throw, it's Williams.

WR Keenan Allen

He's worked back into the flow and started to catch passes again last week after missing two games. Now Williams simply has to find him in the offense.

"I think the challenge is always figuring  how to get everybody involved," Waldron said.

The real strength of this Jacksonville defense--or at least its tendency--is playing back in cover-2 almost two-thirds of the time. No one on the team is better at beating zone coverage than Allen. They also play a lot of two-man coverage and that's usually ill-advised against a QB who can move out of the pocket to throw. Allen is the only one of the big three wide receivers for the Bears not to get a 100-yard game yet, but he could have the shot in this one.

WR Rome Odunze

Why not all three wide receivers? Odunze challenges the safeties to get over in their umbrella zone to assist the cornerback. Jacksonville safety Andre Cisco is graded 76th overall and 74th in overall defense, and sidekick Antonio Johnson is graded 78th overall and 79th in pass coverage out of 80 NFL safeties by PFF. It's an open invitation to go deep for Odunze or to throw the cover-2 beaters.

BEARS AND JAGUARS KEY BETTING TRENDS AND KICKOFF NOTES

CHICAGO BEARS THURSDAY LONDON INJURY REPORT: ANOTHER DB CONCERN

BEARS DEFENSE FACES ANOTHER CHALLENGE FROM A BUDDING OFFENSE

SYSTEM EXPERIENCE MEANS MORE FOR THE NEXT BEARS SAFETY UP

RB D'Andre Swift

While the Jaguars are eighth against the run and give up just 4.1 yards per carry, they give up too much in pass defense doing this. Swift isn't going to simply be a threat to them in the running game, though. His 72 receiving yards two games ago and and big catch and run last week showed what he'll do, and the Jaguars gave up nine receptions to running backs last week.

CB Jaylon Johnson

Jacksonville's passing game has largely gone through rookie Brian Thomas Jr. from LSU this year and his 4.33-second speed with a 38 1/2-inch vertical leap make him a real threat. PFF has him graded 16th overall in the league. That's impressive for a rookie. But he's going to run up against possibly the best cornerback in the league. Jaylon Johnson has locked it down, and is graded third in the league overall by PFF after being graded first last year. Johnson is giving up 43.8% completions after allowing 55.2% last year. He has allowed a passer rating of 23.4 and only 5.9 yards per target according to Stathead/Pro Football Reference.  If Johnson takes out his assignment, it's going to make the Jaguars' offense more predictable.

DE Montez Sweat

Sweat will go against Anton Harrison, by the far the lowest graded pass blocker on Jacksonville's offensive line. He has given up two sacks and is graded 71st out 74 tackles in the league by PFF, 58th in pass blocking.

LB T.J. Edwards

They'll need to turn the downhill run stopper at weakside linebacker loose in this one to keep Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne at bay. Edwards averages eight tackles a game but that's down from his rate of last year. However, that's not on him. Tremaine Edmunds has been a bigger force in the run defense than last year so some of the tackles haven't been there for Edwards. The Jaguars will lean on their backs as receivers and Edwards has ben a bigger force here, this year. He has given up only 4.3 yards per target, 3.1 yards a target less than last year.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.