The Chicago Bears control their own playoff destiny, and they took care of business on Sunday as they thumped the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-17 for their third straight victory.
If the Bears beat the Green Bay Packers next week, or if the Arizona Cardinals lose to the Los Angeles Rams, the Bears would clinch a playoff berth for the second time under head coach Matt Nagy.
Mitchell Trubisky struggled in the first half of the game but came alive in the second, throwing for 265 yards and a touchdown in the victory. David Montgomery rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown, and Artavis Pierce picked up his first career rushing touchdown in the victory.
Allen Robinson went over 1,000 receiving yards on the season, hauling in 10 passes for 103 yards, and Jimmy Graham snared a pair of touchdown catches.
The Bears had a solid day on the turnover front, with Roquan Smith picking off former Bears quarterback Mike Glennon twice in the victory.
The Jaguars had lost 13 games in a row heading into this contest, but they didn’t look like it in the early going, as they got an early field goal from Aldrick Rosas to take the 3-0 lead.
The Bears answered right back with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped off by a Trubisky toss to Graham in the end zone to put Chicago ahead 7-3 after one quarter of play.
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After a Cairo Santos field goal, the Bears watched as Glennon marched the Jaguars down the field on a 70-yard scoring drive. Glennon found DJ Chark Jr near the sideline, and the receiver did the rest as he managed to tap his toes in bounds to knot up the game at 10-10 with 8:27 remaining in the half.
The Bears did get a field goal late in the half to take a 13-10 lead, but that was just the beginning, as the Bears would go on to eventually score 28 unanswered points. Trubisky rushed in from six yards out early in the third quarter to extend the Chicago lead, then Montgomery followed suit six minutes later as he scored to make it 27-10.
Less than a minute later the Bears scored again, with Graham hauling in a 22-yard pass from Trubisky to give Chicago a 34-10 lead after three quarters.
Early in the fourth the Bears capped off the furious rally, with Pierce scampering in from three yards out for his first career touchdown, extending the Chicago lead to 31 points.
From there, the Bears largely cruised to victory, with several reserve players, including backup quarterback Nick Foles, coming into the game.
The Bears will have it all to play for next weekend when they welcome the Green Bay Packers to Soldier Field. If the Bears win the game, they will clinch a playoff berth. They could also clinch if the Arizona Cardinals lose to the Los Angeles Rams.
