Jaquan Brisker
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

First & Long: Bears Seeking Second Straight Win, Brisker Not With Team in London, Sweat Studying Watt and Garrett

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterOctober 12, 2024

Set your alarm clock for morning football because the Bears and Jaguars are playing in London at 8:30 AM CT on Sunday. You can catch all the action on The NFL Network, or on FOX locally in Chicago’s television markets. The Bears are trying to win two straight and simultaneously go at least two games over .500 for the first time since October 2020. They were 5-1 that season after beating the Panthers before dropping eight of their final 11 games.

This year’s London series features games at two historic UK sites: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Chicago “hosts” Jacksonville on Sunday, and Wembley Stadium. The Jaguars are essentially England’s home NFL squad, however, taking up an annual London residency, where they are 6-5 overall. They’ll host the Patriots next week. The Bears were the first NFL team to play at Tottenham Hotspur, losing to the Raiders in 2019.

The London series started in 2007 when the Giants beat the Dolphins 13-10 at Wembley. The Bears are attempting to pitch the third shutout in the series, though the game is predicted to be a high-scoring event by most analysts. The early start won’t matter much to Chicago’s diehards. Hundreds of bars across the city and all over the United States will be pouring adult beverages while most Americans with some semblance of sanity will still be sleeping or attending church services somewhere. You’ll find me enjoying the Bears with a Guinness and some fish and chips somewhere in the greater Milwaukee area.

Bears News & Notes

There’s a Flag…On the Play

I’d bet the house that Vita Vea is pro-NRA. He may have other marketing opportunities if he’s willing to do the research.

Scout Team

  1. Every game is a must-win contest for the 1-4 Jaguars.
  2. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence led Jacksonville to its first win of the season last Sunday. Lawrence threw for a career-high 371 yards against the Colts with two touchdowns and posted the third-highest completion percentage in his career (82.4). He hadn’t thrown for more than 220 yards in the first four games of the season and hadn’t surpassed 300 yards since he threw for 364 in the Jaguars’ 24-21 victory at Houston on Nov. 26, 2023.
  3. Team owner Shad Khan this week gave GM Trent Baalke a vote of confidence in an interview in London with the Florida Times-Union. Khan also voiced support for head coach Doug Pederson.
  4. Tight end Evan Engram is expected to play on Sunday for the first time in four weeks. Engram has been dealing with a hamstring injury.
  5. Jacksonville’s arrival in London was delayed due to Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida on Wednesday evening. For their London NFL games, the Jags regularly depart on Thursday night and arrive on Friday morning. They’ve played in London 11 times.
  6. The Jaguars appear to have found an emerging star in rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr.

Film Room

Northern Exposure

Around the NFL

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the NFL is never leaving London.

Jon Gruden secured a key win against Goodell and the NFL.

Gruden reportedly wants to “burn [the NFL’s] house down.” He still has a chance to do it.

The NFL and NFLPA issued a joint statement regarding Bills quarterback Josh Allen and his concussion evaluation this week.

Most NFL Insiders believe that Steelers backup quarterback Russell Wilson will eventually supplant ex-Bear  Justin Fields.

Also from Pittsburgh, wide receiver George Pickens is being investigated by the NFL because of an explicit message on his eye black.

Rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler is replacing incumbent veteran David Carr in New Orleans this week.

Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers is still in concussion protocol and is unlikely to play Sunday.

Two-Minute Drill

The Bears were considered a team capable of becoming an NFL powerhouse the last time they played in London back in 2019. At the time, Chicago was 3-1 and 15-5 overall under Matt Nagy, who managed challenges that had burned every Bears head coach since Lovie Smith. They were 6-2 in the NFC North, including three division victories in 12 days in 2018, 7-3 on the road, and 3-0 on short rest.

Chase Daniel subbed for injured QB Mitchell Trubisky that day, and the Bears lost 24-21 to the Raiders at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Chicago went 19-26 (.422) in the next two-plus seasons, with Nagy getting fired after going 6-11 in 2021. Long snapper Patrick Scales is the lone current Bear left from that squad, though he’s on injured reserve and out for the season.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

  1. The Jaguars will have as many wins in London (4) if they beat the Bears this week and then win again next week as they do in Jacksonville since the start of last season.
  2. Chicago has allowed 21 or fewer points in 11 straight games dating back to last season, the longest active streak in the NFL.
  3. Since John Harbaugh became coach in 2008, the Ravens are 23-7 (.767) against rookie starting QBs, including 15-2 at home. Baltimore hosts Jayden Daniels and the Commanders this weekend.

Lean on Me…I’ll Help You Carry On

Jaquan Brisker did not make the trip to London, so the Bears will face Jacksonville’s high-powered duo of Lawrence and Thomas Jr. without him. The third-year safety is in concussion protocol. To make matters worse, star cornerback Tyrique Stevenson did not practice on Friday because he sustained a calf injury on Thursday. Elijah Hicks, who filled in for Eddie Jackson in six games last season, will replace Brisker on Sunday. Jaylon Jones, who is in his third season with Chicago, will play if Stevenson can’t go. Stevenson took the starting gig as a rookie from Jones a season ago.

“[Jones] played for us a bunch and he’s one of those guys like Elijah that’s been in our system,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “He knows it in and out, and the coaches have been with those guys in the technique and the fundamentals there. They’re going to stand on solid ground relative to that, and the other guys trust them too, because they’ve been in there and produced and have played for us. So we feel good about both [Hicks and Jones].”

From the Podium

  • “The balance, the pocket presence. [Williams] is getting out of sacks all over the place, running around, and making plays with his feet. And then he can make every single throw. I mean, the guy has got a cannon for an arm. He’s got some really good awareness, and he continues to get better. Like from the first game to the last game, you’ve seen the steady growth of this player. It will be a good test.” – Ryan Nielsen, Jacksonville Defensive Coordinator
  • “I definitely feel the attention, the slides and the chips, the plays going in the opposite direction from time to time, but it is what it is. I embrace it” – Sweat

 

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterOctober 12, 2024
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