Yahoo Sports Bears vs Jaguars: Everything we know about Week 6 win
The Chicago Bears played host to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday morning in London, as they looked to extend a couple impressive streaks.
Coming off back-to-back wins at Soldier Field against the Los Angeles Rams and the Carolina Panthers, the Bears defeated the Jaguars, 35-16, in what was a route for the final three quarters of game action. They extended both streaks, improving their home winning streak to nine games, while they also held an opponent to 21 points or less for the 12th straight game, the first time they've done that since 2005.
After their offense looked to have found some rhythm in the past two weeks, it appeared to take several steps back in the first quarter. Going three-and-out on their first two drives, they amassed just seven yards of offense in the first quarter. The defense was able to bend and not break early on in the game, and in the second quarter the team got back into somewhat of a rhythm, with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams throwing not one, but two, touchdown passes to tight end Cole Kmet, overcoming an interception, and taking a 14-3 lead into halftime.
Coming out of halftime, the Bears stole the momentum back to begin the second half, forcing a fumble on the opening second half drive, and turning it into a touchdown on offense. With two touchdown passes in each half, and a D'Andre Swift touchdown run, it put the nail in the coffin for their fourth win of the season.
Final Score: Bears 35, Jaguars 16
Keys to the game
The offense found their flow from the second quarter on: It was a frustrating beginning to the game for the offense, bouncing back in a major way in the second quarter. After getting just a total of seven yards of offense in the first quarter, the Bears erupted for a total of 373 yards on offense, in what was the most complete game of Caleb Williams' young career. In the air, on the ground, or in the running game, the Bears had their way with the Jacksonville defense putting up their second straight game of 35-plus points.
The defense forced more takeaways: Even with several members of the secondary banged up and some being forced out of this game, the Bears defense found ways to get their hands on the ball. With a fumble forced by linebacker T.J. Edwards and an interception by cornerback Josh Blackwell, the defensive unit now has 13 takeaways through the first six weeks of the season.
A complete victory: Not only did the defense force takeaways, but the offense put up 35-plus points in a second straight game, showing that right now, this team is firing on all cylinders. Even with the secondary banged up going up against a Jacksonville offense with dangerous weapons, they were able to limit them, especially in the run game.
It was over when....
....Josh Blackwell picked off Trevor Lawrence in the fourth quarter. There was some garbage time scoring by both teams later in the fourth quarter, but not allowing the Jaguars to find any glimmer of hope or momentum, the Bears had this game under wraps early in the fourth quarter. Similar to last week's win over Carolina, after they allowed their opponent to score first, the Bears answered with 21 unanswered points scored.
4 stars of the game
* Cole Kmet: After an atrocious start to the game in the first quarter, the Bears came out firing in the second quarter and Kmet did it all for them. Not only did he score two touchdowns in the quarter, but he filled in for injured long-snapper Scott Daly and handled long snapping duties from the second quarter on. Holding his own as an offensive weapon and as a snapper, Kmet's performance was undoubtedly the most important and biggest performance of the game.
** Caleb Williams: With four touchdowns on the game, Williams shook off a poor second quarter interception to shred the Jacksonville defense throughout the rest of the game. He was able to do whatever he wanted from the second quarter and on, including a young career-high of 56 rushing yards as he showed his abilities both with his arm and his legs to lead the team to victory.
*** D'Andre Swift: It was an offensive masterpiece for the entire Bears team, with Swift continuing to thrive after a rough start to the season. Including the win over Jacksonville, Swift now has scored a rushing touchdown in three consecutive games while going over 90-plus rushing yards for two times in the past three victories. Swift's ability as a runner and receiver out of the backfield has opened up a bigger element to the Bears offense which has continued to show consistent success.
**** Keenan Allen: Speaking of slow starts, Allen went the first five games without a touchdown reception and made up for it in a big way by scoring two against Jacksonville. In the end, Allen totaled five receptions for 41 yards and two scores, adding just another weapon coming into the spotlight for this offense.
What's next
Carrying a 4-2 record into their early bye week this season, the Bears are riding a three-game winning streak into their one-week break. After the bye week, they'll head to Washington in a matchup between the top two picks in the 2024 NFL draft led by Williams and Commanders rookie quarterback, Jayden Daniels. The two are surely to be compared throughout their careers, and they'll have a big matchup between their respective teams in their rookie seasons.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs Jaguars: Everything we know about Week 6 win
