Star Defender Reveals Where Jaguars' Defense Went Wrong vs. Bears

What happened to the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense in their 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears? Josh Hines-Allen explained his theory after the game.

Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson (23) carries the ball during the first half of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images / Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars' defense ranked among the NFL's worst entering Week 6, but the hope was that a matchup with a rookie quarterback overseas would give them a week to get back to their preseason expectations.

Four touchdown passes from Caleb Williams later, and it is clear the Jaguars' defense is who their record and production says they are: one of the worst in the league.

The Jaguars allowed only seven yards in the first quarter, but Williams then proceeded to shred the Jaguars on the ground and threw the air. He rushed for 56 yards, avoided sacks, completed nearly 80% of his passes, and simply never looked uncomfortable as he marched up and down the field on the Jaguars' defense.

There was even one sequence when the game was just 21-10 that the Jaguars stopped the Bears on two separate third downs before three separate penalties (two on Ronald Darby, one on 12 men being on the field) gave the Bears a chance to stay on the field.

What exactly went wrong this time for the Jaguars' defense? Their captain and top player, Josh Hines-Allen, weighed in after the game.

“Penalties, not getting off the field. Things that we've been struggling with all year," Hines-Allen said. "Then the penalties we kept them on the field for one drive with three penalties and ended up eventually scoring. So beating ourselves as well, we have to correct those.”

The Jaguars have struggled on third down as a defense throughout the year, and Sunday was the result of nothing but self-inflicted errors. In a week where the Jaguars needed their defense to step it up, the only thing they stepped on where their own toes.

“I mean, I think, again, outside of the penalties if you look at the play, we were getting off the field. So, we did a better job up front of just getting to the quarterback, getting him off his spot. All being, it was just the penalties," Hines-Allen said.

"I can't really speak on what put them in that position to feel like he needed to be there, but at the end of the day we still had to respond and still get off the field, and we didn't do a good job of that today.”

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