Chicago Bears Must Avoid Trap Against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London

With the Chicago Bears traveling to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, this game feels like more of a "must win" -- or at least a "should win" than early-season games usually do.

Here's why: If the Bears win, they head into their bye with a 4-2 record and feeling good about themselves. If they lose, they have to sit with the loss -- and the 3-3 record -- for two weeks. The schedule also gets much tougher after the bye.

There's also this: While Jacksonville isn't as bad as the Carolina Panthers team that the Bears just beat, they are beatable. If the Bears are as good as think they are, they should win, even with an injury-depleted secondary. If they don't, that might dent their confidence.

Yes, it's true that anything can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL, and the time-zone effects of traveling to London can indeed affect how teams play. But at the end of the day, this is a Bears team that is a fringe playoff contender at best and an improvement over last year's 7-10 team at worst. So Chicago will need to avoid overconfidence and make sure they bring home a win as the souvenir from their trip across the pond.

The key is probably to do what they did against the Panthers -- run the ball, set up the pass, take advantage of open receivers, and generate a turnover or two. It will also help if the Bears can dial up the pass rush. This would be a good time for pass rusher Montez Sweat to have an impact game.

One worry is the Bears' run defense -- it has been inconsistent, and the Jaguars have a decent if not spectacular running game. The Bears will need to shore that up in order to come home from Europe happy.

Another concern is that Jaquan Brisker and Tyrique Stevenson are dealing with injuries. Brisker is out with a concussion and Stevenson is doubtful. The Bears' secondary is depleted and the Jaguars have a dangerous, though inconsistent, quarterback in Trevor Lawrence. If the Bears aren't careful, Lawrence could carve them up.

On the other hand, Lawrence has at times struggled, looking not at all like the first-overall draft pick that he was in 2021. Again, if the Bears' pass rush can make his life difficult, he might make some bad throws. Additionally, a strong pass rush can make life easier for the injury-depleted Bears' secondary.

The Chicago Bears should win this game, but it will not be as easy as defeating the Carolina Panthers. Jacksonville has had struggles, but the Jags have more talent than the Panthers do. The Bears, meanwhile, are probably more talented than Jacksonville and have one of the league's best defenses, but they also have a rookie quarterback in Caleb Williams, a rookie wide receiver in Rome Odunze, and an offense that's still growing under new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

Chicago faces a challenge, but if it takes care of business, the rest of the season looks a lot less daunting.

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