Jaguars-Bears: 5 Players to Watch

Which players will make or break the Jacksonville Jaguars' chances to win in Week 6 against the Chicago Bears?

Sep 29, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars offensive tackle Anton Harrison (77) during the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

While the Chicago Bears may not be the best team the Jacksonville Jaguars have left on their schedule, they are far from a pushover foe.

In fact, there are a lot of reasons why the Bears could even be considered the favorites for the Jaguars' Week 6 London game. And for the Jaguars to overcome the Bears' strengths, they will need standout performances from a number of players.

So, which Jaguars will largely determine whether Jacksonville leaves with a win or a loss? We break it down below.

Anton Harrison

Anton Harrison has had impressive back-to-back performances after a disappointing start to the season. But Week 6 may be his greatest test of the season as he is set to line up against Bears star pass-rusher Montez Sweat more often than not.

The vast majority of Sweat's snaps this year have come against right tackles, which means it will be up to Harrison to slow him down.

Sweat hasn't been on a complete tear to start 2024, with his 11 pressures from an edge alignment tied for the 39th-most in the NFL.

But Sweat is a big reason the Bears' defense has turned into one of the NFL's best over the last year, and he should never be taken lightly. If the Jaguars offense is going to succeed, they will need Harrison at his best.

Arik Armstead

No offense is good against pressure. According to NextGenStats, the only offense with a positive EPA/Play when under pressure is Baltimore's and that is largely due to Lamar Jackson.

The Chicago Bears rank No. 22 in EPA/Play when Caleb Williams is under pressure, and most of his worst plays have come when he is holding onto the ball to evade the rush.

The Jaguars know their defensive ends will show up. Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker have been on a tear over the last two weeks and it seems like each pass-rusher is starting to hit their stride.

The Jaguars still rank No. 29 in pressure rate, though, because they have not gotten enough pressure from the interior. The Bears have a so-so interior offensive line, so this is the week the Jaguars would gladly take an Arik Armstead breakout.

Brian Thomas Jr.

It is clear today who the Jaguars' No. 1 receiver is. It only took five games for Brian Thomas Jr. to establish himself as the heartbeat of the Jaguars' passing offense, but he made it clear during his career-best performance against the Colts last week.

If the Jaguars are going to generate big plays in the passing game, it will have to come through him.

The Bears are a middle-of-the-pack defense against the deep ball, ranking No. 16 in EPA/Play against deep passes. With that said, the Bears have only allowed one deep touchdown all season and have done a good job of keeping things in front of them in Matt Eberflus' defense.

The Colts tried a similar method last week, though, and couldn't keep up with Thomas. Can the standout rookie do it again?

Ronald Darby

The Bears' offense has been hit or miss this year. Some weeks, such as in Week 1, they look like they can't even move the ball. Then in Week 5, Caleb Williams was able to hit big play after big play and D.J. Moore was more often times than not on the other end of them.

If the Jaguars' defense is going to finally stop the bleeding in the passing game, they will need a big game from Ronald Darby.

Montaric Brown is a better fit to stop Rome Odunze than he is to slow down Moore, so the Jaguars will need Darby to truly be on his game.

Moore is one of the NFL's most explosive and athletic receivers, and Darby is the Jaguars' best current answer at finding a way to slow him down and keep the game from getting out of hand.

Evan Engram

While Evan Engram isn't a lock to return this weekend against the Bears quite yet, it would be a surprise if the veteran tight end does not make his return to the field in London.

Brenton Strange did a lot of good things for the Jaguars while Engram was out, but there is no truly replacing Engram in the Jaguars' passing game.

The Bears have one of the best linebacker duos in the NFL in Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, but they are still allowing the fifth-most separation in the NFL to tight ends on a per-target basis.

Trevor Lawrence has hit the deep shots at times this year and he has become better at hitting the check-downs, but he needs a target to trust on the got-to-have-it third-downs. That could be Engram this week.

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