JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With tremendous stakes for their playoff ambitions, the Bears meandered through the first half against the Jaguars on Sunday and went into halftime ahead 13-10.
It has been far from the convincing performance they desired against the worst team in the NFL. The Jaguars are 1-13, ranking 30th in points allowed and 29th in points scored.
Rather than plow through the Jaguars, who are incentivized to lose for the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft, the Bears allowed them to roll 71 yards for a field goal on the opening possession. Mitch Trubisky answered with a touchdown drive to take a 7-3 lead, but the Bears also wasted a first-and-goal inside the 1-yard line and settled for a field goal.
The Bears were in the red zone just before halftime, and Trubisky fired an interception in the end zone for the second consecutive week.
Trubisky has completed 12 of 20 passes for 145 yards with a touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham and a 78.1 passer rating. His counterpart, former Bears QB Mike Glennon, has completed 14 of 18 for 106 with a touchdown and interception for a 86.6 rating.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos has made field goals from 20 and 40 yards, improving to 27 of 29 for the season (93.1%). The franchise’s single-season record is 89.7% by Robbie Gould in 2008 and ‘13.
With a victory, the Bears would overtake the Cardinals for seventh place in the NFC and could clinch their spot by beating the Packers next week. A win today would also mean they’d make the playoffs even with a loss to the Packers as long as the Cardinals lose to the Rams next week.
