The Chicago Bears ran out 35-16 victors against the Jacksonville Jaguars, advancing to 4-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the second London game of 2024.
Fans from both sides of the pond once again descended upon N17 on Sunday afternoon to watch the latest instalment of the NFL’s International Series.
“The Bears are a team on the up”, Gary, a Bears fan from Barnsley spoke confidently outside of the stadium ahead of the game.
Gary continued, “Caleb Williams coming in has been a huge positive because the quarterback position is so key in the sport.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWilliams threw four touchdowns and one interception as he pieced together his most complete performance of the season so far, completing 23 of his 29 passes for 226 yards, adding four rushes for 56 yards with his legs.
The 2024 number-one pick showed up in front of a crowd of 61,182 against a Jaguars side led by 2021 number-one pick Trevor Lawrence at quarterback.
Another fan that Parklife spoke to outside of the stadium had travelled 4,204 miles from Atlanta, Georgia to watch their Bears side play in London.
“Caleb Williams keeps getting better, don’t be surprised if you see us in the Super Bowl”, he said with a chuckle.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhether in jest or not, the Bears moving to 4-2 in a weak NFC gives them a realistic prospect of making the postseason if Williams can continue to build and repay the faith his fans have put in him.
On the contrary, the UK’s main assigned marketing team, the Jacksonville Jaguars are heading in the wrong direction.
After drafting Lawrence in 2021 optimism was high in Florida and the Jaguars had been on a run of three wins in their last four London game appearances, including a double last year when they became the first team to play two games in London in the same season.
Lawrence had shown flashes of his ability through his first three seasons in the NFL and the Jaguars handed him a $275 million contract extension this summer, making their slow start even more disappointing.
Dropping to 1-5 after this loss though, sees the Jaguars in a mire and head coach Doug Peterson on the hot seat as they travel across North London to Wembley to host the New England Patriots next Sunday.
