Bear Digest

The Jaguars Who Can Create Biggest Problems for Bears

Trevor Lawrence is showing signs of coming out of a slow start and there are other Jacksonville Jaguars who can give the Bears headaches Sunday in London.

Gene Chamberlain

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby outpaces Indianapolis Colts cornerback Samuel Womack III for a TD last week.
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Tank Bigsby outpaces Indianapolis Colts cornerback Samuel Womack III for a TD last week. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The streak has hit 11 games now for the Bears defense.

They've given up 21 points or less in each of those but in their Sunday London game against the Jacksonville Jaguars they run up against possibly the more capable and well-armed offense they've faced, along with a quarterback starting to heat up.

Trevor Lawrence came out of the doldrums last week to dismantle the Colts defense that the Bears struggled against

"Trevor is a good player," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "He is experienced, he's got a good cast of receivers, he's got a good offensive line in front of him.

"They really have their run game going this year as opposed to last year. They really have good numbers now. It will be a big challenge for us. He does a really good job of distributing the ball."

The Jaguars and coach Doug Pederson badly need Lawrence to step forward. There is plenty  of speculation that Pederson’s job is on the line.

Lawrence's career passer rating of 85.3 is probably not what the Jaguars would have anticipated for the first pick of the 2021 draft. After two seasons when Lawrence advanced from 71.9 to 95.2 in passer rating, he then stagnated with a .500 team.

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Lawrence last week was coming off three straight tough outings against good defenses. The Jaguars lost to Cleveland 18-13, Buffalo 47-10 and the Texans 24-20. Lawrence had a passer rating of 75.0 with 52.5% completions and 567 total yards in those games.

He had started off the season fine against Miami's challenged defense, going 12 of 21 for 162 yards d a TD in a 20-17 loss.

Suddenly last week Lawrence erupted against the Colts defense, going 28 of 34 for 371 yards and two TDs with an interception and a 119.5 rating.

The Jaguars have to be feeling a little more confident in their decision to give him a five-year, $275 million contract after the last game.

Jaylon Johnson, Montez Sweat and the Bears defense have faced Will Levis, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, Matthew Stafford and Andy Dalton. Next up is a QB who may have taken  big step forward in his last game.

Here are the other Jaguars who can be problems Sunday in London for the Bears.

RB Travis Etienne

After two straight 1,000-yard seasons, the Jaguars' standout began the season in slow fashion and hasn't gone over 68 yards. He had only 17 yards on six carries last week and is trying to get through a shoulder injury. He did catch a season-high six passes for 43 yards but they're looking for a breakout game from their 5-foot-10, 215-pound main guy. Etienne can play with a combination of speed and power and is a definite breakaway threat.

RB Tank Bigsby

Their backup has actually outperformed Etienne Sunday but Pederson said he'll go with Etienne again. Bigsby has two straight strong efforts, but Pederson said he will remain in a backup role for now behind Etienne, sharing carries.  His breakaway ability has been apparent, and the Bears’ run defense was leaking before last week, then gave away completely on a 38-yard TD run by Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard.  Bigsby is actually leading the NFL in yards per carry at 8.0 and has 273 yards on 34 carries.

WR Brian Thomas Jr.

The 23rd pick of the draft this year, Thomas is quickly making an impact with his 4.33-second 40-yard speed. Thomas has 22 catches for 397 yards and three TDs.  Lawrence has a 109.6 passer rating when Thomas is targeted. Thomas is not just fast, as he has the ability to go up for passes with a 6-foot-3 frame and 38 ½-inch vertical leap.

WR Christian Kirk

A perfect complement to Thomas, Kirk received a contract to leave Arizona that had people scratching their heads but he quickly lived up to the big dollars. Kirk can be in the slot or at any receiver spot. He has  21 catches for 257 yards. Since leaving Arizona in 2022, he has 12 TD catches for the Jaguars. The 5-11, 200-pounder can use power, route running and speed to be open and has excellent hands.

C Mitch Morse

The Jaguars’ offensive line hasn’t distinguished itself as one of the best at pass blocking but hasn’t been bad as they’ve allowed 12 sacks of Lawrence. Morse has been a steady performer and highest graded by Pro Football Focus. He currently is 15th among centers and hasn’t had PFF grades for his overall blocking this high since 2018. He has been a consistently good pass blocker throughout a career that started in Kansas City in 2015 and included a stint in Buffalo. A solid performer who doesn’t get fooled on blitzes. This season he has allowed one sack according to PFF.

DE Josh Hines-Allen

Jacksonville’s top pass rusher had a huge 2023 season with 17 ½ sacks and 46 pressures, he has two sacks and 13 pressures this year. Hines-Allen had an outstanding game with Cleveland with four quarterback hits and had one of his sacks last game.   He’s been on of the real bright spots in a defense ranked 31st overall and 30th in points allowed. At 6-5, 255, he has good strength and speed and the experience to expose Bears tackles.

LB Devin Lloyd

The third-year inside linebacker has started off looking stronger against the pass this season than in his first two seasons with an 84.0 passer rating against when targeted. He has missed only one tackle attempt in the 28 he has attempted. At 6-3, 235, Lloyd can play downhill but also has the speed to be big in the passing game.

CB Montaric Brown

The Jaguars’ pass defense has struggled but Brown has been one of the few solid players so far.  He’s giving up only 9.7 yards per completion and a 93.0 passer rating against. The 6-foot, 190-pounder hasn’t gambled as much this year and has speed to stay with DJ Moore, although he might be overmatched size-wise going against Rome Odunze.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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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.