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We had our first overseas matchup of the 2024 NFL season in Week 5, which ended thrillingly. The Minnesota Vikings narrowly defeated the New York Jets 23-17. In the Week 6 overseas matchup, the Jacksonville Jaguars take on the Chicago Bears. The Jaguars have played the most games in London in NFL history and hope to build on their 6-5 record in London games.
Let’s dive into this Sunday morning London matchup and make our Jaguars @ Bears NFL picks.
The Jaguars desperately needed a win in Week 5 after falling to 0-4. They were able to get the job done against their divisional foe, the Indianapolis Colts. The Jags won that matchup 37-34 on the arm of Trevor Lawrence. Even the offensive line, which has struggled all season, played great, not allowing a single sack.
Lawrence had the best game he has had in quite some time. He threw for 371 yards and added two touchdowns through the air while throwing one interception. Lawrence hooked up with Brian Thomas for a touchdown as he is quickly establishing himself as the alpha in this offense. Thomas finished the day with five receptions for 122 yards.
What was also good to see was the Jags getting things moving on the ground. However, it was not Travis Etienne who got going; second-year running back Tank Bigsby. Bigsby carried the rock 13 times and rushed for 101 yards while adding two touchdowns on the ground. Etienne saw just six carries, gaining 17 yards.
Etienne did produce in the receiving game, catching six of his seven targets for 43 yards. If this backfield continues to play like this, the Jags offense is tough to slow down because it opens so much up for the passing game.
The Bears put together their best all-around performance in Week 5 at home against the Carolina Panthers. It was the Bears’ eighth straight win at Soldier Field, and they did it big, winning 36-10.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams had his best performance of the year. He played “clean football”, as head coach Matt Ebrflus always discusses. Williams went 20-29 for 304 yards and two touchdowns. The rookie looked calm and poised in the pocket and dissected the Panthers’ defense all day. Even when he got sped up by the Panthers pass rush, he navigated around the pocket until ultimately having to escape and make a big play.
Wide receiver DJ Moore was on the receiving end of Caleb Williams’ big day. Moore caught both touchdowns while also adding 105 yards on five receptions. Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze chipped in too, catching five of his six targets for 40 yards. The chemistry between the two rookies continues to grow.
The best thing outside of the development of the quarterback over the last two games has been the emergence of running back D’Andre Swift. In Week 4, Swift broke out with a 93-yard one-touchdown performance against the Rams. He followed that up with a big game here, rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown. Swift also got involved in the passing game, catching a 42-yard screen pass. For Bears fans’ sake, I hope their offense keeps humming like this.
Both offenses are coming off games in which they were firing on all cylinders. Granted, the Bears were taking on a banged-up Carolina Panthers defense while the Jags beat up on a struggling Colts defense as well.
One thing to note about this matchup is the Bears defense is terrific. They have allowed more than 19 points just one time this season. The Bears also allow the seventh-fewest yards per game and sixth-fewest fifth-fewest passing yards between those who have played five games. One thing where the Bears can be beaten is on the ground, as they have allowed 120 yards on average. The Jaguars will want to continue to establish the run in this game.
On the other side, the Jaguars defense has been struggling this season. They have allowed the most passing yards on the season at 287 yards per game. Opposing wide receivers have been feasting on this secondary. In Week 1, Tyreek Hill had 130 yards, Khalil Shakir had 73 yards and a touchdown in Week 3, Nico Collins had 150 yards in Week 4, and in Week 5, they allowed Alec Pierce to go for 134 yards.
For those reasons alone, we love DJ Moore in this matchup. Our Jaguars-Bears NFL picks are on DJ Moore to have more than 65 receiving yards and more than five receptions in this London matchup.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.