The Bears defense delivered another strong performance, limiting the Jaguars to 278 yards while producing two takeaways and four sacks.
“Our D-line rushed really well today, got some good pressure,” Eberfluss said. “Linebackers, those guys always play hot.”
De’Andre Swift had another stellar game, rushing for 91 yards and a TD on 17 carries and catching four passes for 28 yards.
“The great thing about Swift is getting him out into space because he can be electric,” Eberfluss said. “I was really happy with how he drove the ball today. It was really good [rushing] Average. But you need some explosiveness, you need to control guys on defense, and I thought we did that on both sides of the ball.”
Kmet led the Bears in receiving with five catches for 70 yards, including TD receptions of 31 and 2 yards. He filled in at long snapper after Scott Daly exited late in the first quarter after injuring his knee covering a punt. Kmet managed six snaps on a field goal and five extra points.
“That’s elite,” Allen said. “We were talking about it on the sideline. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy score a touchdown and then take a snap. Pretty solid.”
Allen was very solid, having his best game of the season with five receptions for 41 yards and two TDs.
“We’ve all seen it,” Eberfluss said. “He’s a long work, he’s made a lot of plays, he’s always open, that guy. [Opponents] Try to double cover him in front, back and side. It won’t work. He is always open. He is an amazing player.”
The Bears answered early in the second quarter on the first possession of the game after the Jaguars (1-5) took a 3-0 lead on Cam Little’s 30-yard field goal.
Williams threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Kmet to give the Bears a 7-3 lead with 11:07 left in the first half. After faking a screen pass to the left and then to the right, Williams broke a tackle and threw over the middle to Kmet, who dragged another defender into the end zone while stretching the ball across the goal line.
“That was a great play call,” Allen said. “We were in the right spot on the field to dial it in. One of the plays we play is, ‘We’ve got a good chance to score on this play.'” [did] Passing a guy into the end zone is a hell of a job.”
On their next possession, the Bears drove from their own 5 to the Jaguars’ 41, capped by a 28-yard pass from Williams to Rom Odunze. But on third-and-1, Williams’ deep pass to Moore was intercepted by safety Andre Sisco at the 7.
The Bears extended their lead to 14-3 on Williams’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Kmet with :13 left in the first half. The second TD connection of the game capped an impressive 10-play, 85-yard drive that included Williams scrambles of 23 and 19 yards and a 10-yard pass to Allen on third-and-5.
After being held to seven yards in the first quarter, the Bears gained 216 yards in the second quarter. In the first half, Williams completed 12 of 15 passes for 128 yards with two TDs.
“He was obviously in a rhythm after the first couple drives,” Allen said. “He was dialing it in. … When he’s in a groove like that and all the balls are catchable, it’s a lot easier to play receiver.”
On the Jaguars’ first play of the second half, D.J. Edwards stripped the ball from Evan Engram after a 24-yard reception.
The Bears converted the takeaway as Williams rifled a 9-yard touchdown pass to Allen on third-and-goal, extending the lead to 21-3 with 11:22 to play in the third quarter. The TD came after Allen’s 11-yard reception on third-and-8 held up the drive, and Swift gained 19 yards on a screen pass to the 9.
The Jaguars cut the deficit to 21-10 midway through the third quarter on Trevor Lawrence’s 21-yard touchdown pass to receiver Gabe Davis.
The Bears answered when Williams threw his fourth TD pass of the game and made it 28-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 3-yarder to Allen on a perfect fade pattern.
“It’s one-on-one,” Allen said. “It’s a high, press coverage. It’s really a run play with a fat check. Once you line up, you know what time it is: ‘It’s one-on-one, it’s me and you, Caleb, throw the ball.’ When I looked up, it was a perfect ball, so I didn’t have to jump up and make a spectacular catch or anything.”
After Kyler Gordon left with a hamstring injury, Josh Blackwell, who was playing in the nickel, intercepted Lawrence on a slide over the middle and returned it 10 yards to the Jaguars’ 36.
Swift’s 1-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter extended the Bears’ lead to 35-10.
Lawrence followed with a 5-yard TD pass to Davis to make it 35-16 with 6:58 left. But by then, the Bears had already iced their third win, continuing their ascent.
“We’ve got a lot of leadership and we’re feeding off each other,” Allen said “The defense is amazing, the offense is great every week, special teams is second to none, I think we’re doing great. Just showing up every day ready to work.”
