If you’re a fan of lavish offensive football, this week’s matchup between the Bears and Jaguars is not for you.
If you’re a fan of good defense and strong punting, however, this should be where your clicker comes to rest. There hasn’t been much in the way of fireworks in Jacksonville thus far and the two teams are tied at three after 30 minutes of football.
Both quarterbacks have turned the ball over with Jay Cutler getting picked by Derek Cox on the first Bears possession and Blaine Gabbert killing a prime scoring chance just after the two-minute warning when he fumbled on a sack by Corey Wootton. Gabbert’s hit a few decent gainers, including a 34-yarder when Cecil Shorts beat NFC defensive player of the month Tim Jennings, but he hasn’t been able to lead the team to anything other than a Josh Scobee field goal.
Matt Forte’s run fairly well, but he has a drop that helps illustrate how the Bears passing offense has looked out of sync all afternoon. Cutler is 10-of-20 for 110 yards and has seen several drives fail with failed passes on third down. That’s led to three Adam Podlesh punts and three Bryan Anger punts without so much as even a hint of a big return among them.
It hasn’t been exciting, but it’s a close game that looks like it will remain that way as long as both defenses remain composed in the second half.