Maurice Jones-Drew Expects ‘More Relaxed’ Jaguars in London Against Bears

The Jacksonville Jaguars picked up their first win of the season ahead of their annual trip to London, and a franchise legend thinks the Jags can keep the momentum going across the pond against the Chicago Bears.

Maurice Jones-Drew, who played running back for Jacksonville from 2006-13, said “the hardest win to get is the first one.” Now that the Jaguars are in the win column, he expects to see a more relaxed team take the field Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

Jones-Drew is in England this week at RAF Lakenheath Air Force base for USAA’s Salute to Service NFL Boot Camp, leading “Team Jacksonville” against “Team Chicago,” led by former Bears cornerback Charles Tillman, in a combine-like event for military members. Jones-Drew played two games overseas in his nine-year career. He said preparation for an international game doesn’t change much, but he preached the importance of hydration with such a long flight.

The Jaguars (1–4) are going for their third straight win in London while Chicago (3–2) is in search of its third straight victory overall. Jacksonville will play back-to-back games overseas for the second season in a row — they “host” the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium next week — while the Bears have their bye to look forward to in Week 7 after the long trip.

“I feel like the Jags, every year when they come to London, they find a way to get right,” Jones-Drew said.

Wins against the Atlanta Falcons and Buffalo Bills last season in London helped kickstart a five-game winning streak. In 2022, a loss to the Denver Broncos at Wembley preceded a 7–2 finish that helped Jacksonville end a four-year playoff drought.

Perhaps Sunday’s game can have a similar effect on the 2024 team in a battle of No. 1 picks.

Trevor Lawrence, the top selection in 2021, is coming off a season-best performance in the Jaguars’ 37-34 win over the Indianapolis Colts. He threw for 374 yards and two touchdowns to end his nine-game losing streak as a starter. Caleb Williams, who was drafted first overall last spring, has been a bright spot in Chicago’s otherwise depressing quarterback history. He threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns last week in a 36-10 win over the Carolina Panthers.

“I think over the last two weeks, he's gotten much better sitting in the pocket,” Jones-Drew said of Williams. “They've done an awesome job of really developing him the last couple weeks, leaning on that running game, giving him some nice, easy throws early in the season.”

Williams could be in for another big game against a Jacksonville secondary that’s allowed the most passing yards per game in the NFL and will likely be without top cornerback Tyson Campbell (hamstring) again this week.

While the Bears have held up well against the pass, they’ll be without safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) this week. Their run defense, meanwhile, has been gashed lately. That could open up opportunities for the Jags’ two-headed backfield of Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby.

Etienne finished with a season-low 17 rushing yards against Indianapolis, but he had 43 receiving yards. Meanwhile, Bigsby had the first 100-yard outing of his career and found the end zone twice.

“You just have to find a healthy balance to keep both those guys fresh throughout the course of the game, throughout the course of the season, and ride them,” Jones-Drew said. “Because if you can run the football like they did last week, then they'll have a great chance of winning a lot of games.”

Aside from a blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Jaguars have been in every game this season. Jones-Drew laid out how close Jacksonville came in one-score losses to the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans.

“I think what they were doing, they started to press a little bit because they wanted to win so bad,” Jones-Drew said. “And then they found a way to win.”

Keeping that up this week will be tough against a Bears team that enters as a slight favorite even though they are winless away from Soldier Field this season. While Chicago is technically the home team, the Jaguars are accustomed to playing in London and have had success there recently.

Jacksonville's flight on Thursday was delayed due to Hurricane Milton but no changes are expected for Sunday's schedule .

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