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Before we recap the game, we want to give a special thanks to the San Francisco 49ers for beating the Arizona Cardinals. With the Cardinals’ loss, all the Bears have to do is win out as they control their destiny. They got one of their wins in a 41-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
It was a tale of two halves for the Bears and Jaguars. The Jaguars were able to get on the board first with a 26-yard field goal, but the Bears were able to answer with a Mitchell Trubisky passing touchdown to tight end Jimmy Graham.
Then it seemed like the Bears were going to get off to that comfortable lead as they took a touchdown lead with a Cairo Santos 20-yard field goal, but the Jaguars would end up tying the game. Former Bears quarterback Mike Glennon was able to find DJ Chark Jr. for a 20-yard touchdown to make it 10-10.
The Bears were able to drive down the field, but Trubisky returned to old habits. After extending the play by running around in the backfield, Trubisky threw an interception in end zone where his target was covered by four Jaguars. Instead of taking the game into halftime, the Jaguars got aggressive and it costed them as Roquan Smith picked off Glennon and the Bears were able to get a quick field goal to take a 13-10 lead.
In the second half, it was all Chicago. On the first possession, the Bears drove down the field and capped it off with a rushing touchdown from Trubisky. Then the Bears scored with a rushing touchdown from David Montgomery. After the touchdown, Smith was able to get another interception and set the Bears up another touchdown from Trubisky to Graham.
At this point, it was a 34-10 game and the Bears were very well on their way to a win. However, they weren’t done yet. Undrafted rookie free agent running back Artavis Pierce scored the first rushing touchdown of his career from three yards out to extend the Bears 41-10 lead.
The Jaguars were able to get on the board in the second half as Glennon found rookie Laviska Shenault Jr. for a 34-yard touchdown. The Bears were able to run the clock out and the defense was able to keep the Jaguars from putting up more points.
The Bears have scored 30-plus points in four straight games for the first time since 1965, which has helped them gain the seventh seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Chicago hasn’t clinched a playoff spot yet. The Bears will have to beat the Green Bay Packers or hope for the Cardinals to lose to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 17. Not many will like this, but the ideal situation is to root for the Packers to beat the Tennessee Titans.
A Packers win will secure them with the No. 1 seed and will most likely have their starters sit out in the contest with the Bears. If the Packers were to lose to the Titans, Green Bay will have something to play for and will be at full strength.