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The Chicago Bears rolled to a 35-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London to increase their winning streak to three games.
Quarterback Caleb Williams was an efficient 23-of-29 for 226 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. He also ran for 56 yards on four carries, his longest attempt going for 23 yards.
Two of Williams’ touchdowns went to tight end Cole Kmet in the second quarter.
Chicago’s improvement on the field is directly correlated to the performance of its franchise QB. Williams now has three straight starts with a passer rating above 100. Things are clicking for the rookie quarterback.
Though two weeks, a vocal minority of voices were questioning whether the Bears would’ve been better off taking Jayden Daniels first overall or even sticking with Justin Fields over picking Williams. Those skeptics are probably pretty quiet right now.
A very different and much larger group of skeptics, on the other hand, is only going feel emboldened as the Jaguars’ slide continues.
Team owner Shad Khan told Demetrius Harvey of the Florida Times-Union on Saturday that “I still believe” in head coach Doug Pederson and general manager Trent Baalke. Now that Jacksonville is sitting at 1-5, a coaching change—and perhaps something more drastic—feels increasingly inevitable.
Firing Pederson wouldn’t be a panacea, but it’s hard to see how things improve from this point with him on the sideline. Star quarterback Trevor Lawrence was a lackluster 23-of-35 for 234 yards, two touchdowns and an interception against Chicago.
One factor that could extend Pederson’s tenure another week is that the Jaguars stay in London to play the New England Patriots in Week 7. Firing your head coach is a little trickier when he’s in an entirely different country.
The Bears, on the other hand, get to take a week off once they return stateside. They head into their bye with a ton of positive momentum.
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