The Jacksonville Jaguars trailed by 13 points at halftime, but they stormed back and beat the Chicago Bears 17-16 at Soldier Field on Sunday.
The Bears’ defense had a rough time of it on their first drive of the game, as the Jaguars used a precision passing attack and a few key runs to get down into the red zone. On third-and-goal, Tracy Porter made a big play for the Bears as he intercepted a Blake Bortles pass in the end zone to keep the Jaguars from getting on the board.
After the big stop, the Bears’ offense seemed to gain some momentum, with Brian Hoyer finding Eddie Royal and Alshon Jeffery for big first down plays. Unfortunately for the Bears, the drive did stall out after a false start penalty, but Connor Barth was able to salvage points as he drilled a 36-yard field goal to give the Bears a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Following a strong defensive sequence by the Bears, their offense once again took advantage of a lackluster Jacksonville defense and they ultimately scored a touchdown. Jeffery helped the Bears get down the field with a catch, and then Cameron Meredith made a nice snag over the middle to set them up at the 1-yard line. Jordan Howard then punched in the touchdown, giving the Bears a 10-0 lead.
The Bears tacked on three more points before the end of the half, with Barth knocking through another short field goal to make it a 13-0 game after 30 minutes of action.
The Jaguars finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter, and their passing game helped set things up as Allen Robinson made a catch for a huge gain. The run game ultimately finished things off, as Chris Ivory dove across the goal line to trim Chicago’s lead to 13-7.
The teams then traded field goals to leave the score at 16-10, but the Bears’ defense faltered at an inopportune time, and the Jaguars took advantage. On a pass from Bortles, Arrelious Benn hauled in a reception in Bears’ territory and ran untouched into the end zone for a long touchdown reception and a 17-16 Jaguars lead.
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The Bears had an opportunity to come back down the field, but their drive stalled out at midfield, and Hoyer's pass to Jeffery was knocked down on fourth down to give the Jaguars the victory.
The Bears will only have a few days to prepare for their next game as they'll battle the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Thursday night.
