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Jaguars report card: An all around FFF-ailure in embarrassing 35-16 loss to Chicago Bears
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- Jaguars report card: An all around FFF-ailure in embarrassing 35-16 loss to Chicago Bears
Grading the Jacksonville Jaguars' dismal performance in a 35-16 loss to the Chicago Bears based on execution, effort and game circumstances.
Offense: F
Everything went cold for the Jaguars ' offense in the second quarter, and the unit never fully recovered. A hit by Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards led to a costly fumble by tight end Evan Engram , playing for the first time since Week 1. It was picked up by Elijah Hicks for a 19-yard return on the first play of the second half. That led to a Bears touchdown and a 21-3 lead, forcing the Jaguars to be in pass-only mode the rest of the game.
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Receivers had a bad-hands day as two touchdown passes for Gabe Davis , plus one to Christian Kirk and Brian Thomas Jr. all got dropped, though two came on an eventual TD drive. After an impressive opening drive, at least until an open Davis dropped a touchdown pass that forced the Jaguars to settle for a field goal, they only generated 39 yards on three possessions the rest of the first half.
Davis missed a block on Kyler Gordon that allowed the Bears' safety to stop Evan Engram one yard short of a first down, which forced a punt. The Jaguars were fortunate a Travis Etienne ruled fumble off a catch got overturned on review in the first half.
All the receiver drops contributed to Trevor Lawrence (23 of 35, 234 yards, 2 TDs, 1 Int., 91.8 rating) having a mediocre performance, with much of his yardage coming when the Bears had the game under control. The inability to run the ball (Travis Etienne had three carries for minus-1 yard) also made for a long day.
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Defense: F
After getting torched in the last three games, Ryan Nielsen's unit came out and forced back-to-back three-and-outs by the Bears, then proceeded to fall apart. The Jaguars allowed five consecutive touchdown drives, two of which ended on passes to wide open tight end Cole Kmet .
Oct 13, 2024; London, United Kingdom; Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet (85) celebrates after scoring on a 31-yard touchdown reception against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first half during an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
In-between, safety Andre Cisco got the team's first interception of the season when he moved over to grab an underthrown pass from Caleb Williams , intended for DJ Moore , and returned it 22 yards to the Jaguars' 29. The play might have gone for a touchdown had Williams thrown the ball a second sooner.
Still, the rookie No. 1 overall draft pick completed 23 of 29 passes for 226 yards, four TDs and a 124.4 rating. The Jaguars' maligned secondary is getting worse and the defense didn't help itself by picking up three penalties on one TD drive, including too many men on the field that nullified a Travon Walker third-down sack. This was an embarrassing performance, much like the Monday Night Football debacle against the Buffalo Bills .
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Special teams: A-minus
Punter Logan Cooke did his usual efficient job, forcing the Bears to start with poor field position twice in the first half. He bounced one punt out of bounds at the Bears' 5 and another at the 15 on consecutive possessions, but the Jaguars were unable to take advantage of pinning Chicago deep.
Tank Bigsby also gave the team a field position lift with kick returns of 41 and 33 yards, but the offense did nothing with the field position. Bigsby also fumbled a fourth-quarter return that Darnell Savage somehow recovered in a big pileup at the Jaguars' 35.
A 43-yard field goal attempt by Bears' kicker Cairo Santos , a St. Joseph Academy product, was partially blocked by Roy Robertson-Harris . Punt returner Parker Washington had two decent returns of 14 and 13 yards in the first quarter.
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Coaching: F
This was easily the biggest debacle in London since the 26-3 loss to the Houston Texans in 2019 triggered a five-game losing streak. Despite getting off to a strong start, the Jaguars were flat and seemed to almost check out for the last three quarters.
Between the dropped passes, dumb penalties and inability for the defense to cover Kmet, it was another disaster for the Jaguars in a stand-alone game on national television. Having too many men on the field to extend a Bears touchdown drive was inexcusable, one of three flags the defense had on that Bears' possession.
This was a chance coming off last week's victory over the Colts to gain some momentum, but the Jaguars looked disinterested at times and that falls on head coach Doug Pederson.
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Defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, who took the blame for the disastrous fourth quarter last week against the Colts when they surrendered 24 points, looks like he has no answers. Digging themselves out of a 1-5 hole feels like a total long shot at this point because this team can't gets out of its own way.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars grades: Mostly failure in 35-16 loss to Chicago Bears | Frenette
