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NFL Nation, ESPN
Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season featured another London game, and another strong performance by the Chicago Bears‘ offense, which rolled against the Jacksonville Jaguars. On Thursday night, the banged-up San Francisco 49ers pulled out an important NFC West victory on the road over the Seattle Seahawks.
Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and detailing everything else you need to know for every team. Let’s get to it.
Bears
Has the Bears offense finally established its identity? Caleb Williams threw four touchdowns by doing what coaches have emphasized for weeks: playing point guard. One week after the Williams and DJ Moore connection came alive, the rookie threw two TDs each to Keenan Allen and Cole Kmet. Chicago displayed the balance its been searching for with another 91 rushing yards and a touchdown from D’Andre Swift and heads into the bye week feeling confident about the state of its offense.
Describe the game in two words: Williams’ command. The two touchdown passes Williams threw to Allen are an example of the quarterback’s precision — placing the ball in tight windows where only his receiver could get it — and control. On multiple occasions, Williams maneuvered the pocket and created out of structure (notably a cross-body throw made to Kmet that set up Chicago’s fifth TD). Williams’ four touchdown passes brought his total to nine through six games, the second most ever by a Bears rookie QB.
Most surprising performance: Elijah Hicks, who played in place of safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion), helped lessen the sting that came with the Bears secondary being down three starters (cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was ruled out pregame with a calf injury and nickel Kyler Gordon left the third quarter with a hamstring injury). Hicks came away with five tackles, recovered a fumble and broke up a pass in the end zone. — Courtney Cronin
Next game: at Commanders (Oct. 27, 1 p.m. ET)
Jaguars
What does the loss do to the job security of coach Doug Pederson and GM Trent Baalke? It doesn’t help. One day after owner Shad Khan said he still believes in Pederson and Baalke, the Jaguars played a sloppy game to drop to 1-5. That makes reaching the playoffs — which Khan said before the season was his expectation — highly unlikely. Of 201 teams that started 1-5 since 1966, only four have made the playoffs. The Jaguars are now 2-10 in their last 12 games, and the only victories have been against Carolina and Indianapolis, which is a good indication of the direction of the franchise.
Biggest hole in the game plan: The Jaguars didn’t pressure rookie QB Caleb Williams. By the time the Bears went ahead 35-10, Jacksonville had blitzed him only six times and pressured him on 10 of his 32 dropbacks. That includes just one blitz and five pressures on 18 dropbacks in the first half, when Williams burned them for 128 yards and two TDs.
Eye-popping stat: The Jaguars had four potential touchdown passes dropped, including two by Gabe Davis. Christian Kirk also dropped a potential TD — the ball went through his hands and hit him in the facemask — and rookie Brian Thomas Jr. had a potential deep TD pass in his hands that he was unable to pull in. — Mike DiRocco
Next game: vs. Patriots in London (Sunday, 9:30 p.m. ET)
49ers
What does winning in Seattle do for the 49ers as they start an important stretch? It’s an exaggeration to say it saved the 49ers’ season, but that’s not far off. Instead of 2-4 and 0-3 in the NFC West, the 3-3 Niners are tied with Seattle for first place (with a leg up in a tiebreaker). They’ll get a few extra days rest, which is no small thing given their injury issues, and they face the Chiefs and Cowboys coming off each of their bye weeks. If the 49ers get to their Week 9 bye with a record of at least 4-4, they can regroup, get healthy and make a run in November and December when they have traditionally been at their best under coach Kyle Shanahan.
Most surprising performance: The 49ers rookie class filled in admirably. Safety Malik Mustapha made his first career interception to stymie Seattle’s first drive in the red zone before leaving with an ankle sprain. Cornerback Renardo Green got his first career pick in the fourth quarter, and running back Isaac Guerendo sealed the win with a 76-yard run to set up the final touchdown.
Eye-popping stat: QB Brock Purdy was excellent on throws with 10-plus air yards. He went 6-of-8 for 165 yards and two touchdowns. Seahawks QB Geno Smith was 5-of-14 for 89 yards and two interceptions on such throws. — Nick Wagoner
Next game: vs. Chiefs (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)
Seahawks
Are the Seahawks any closer to beating the 49ers? The 49ers won the previous five meetings by an average of 15.2 points, either dominating throughout or pulling away in the second half. This game was competitive with the Seahawks pulling to within five points in the fourth quarter and needing one defensive stop for a chance at a winning drive. Then again, Seattle benefited from a missed call that cost San Francisco at least three points. The 49ers were also without Christian McCaffrey and were down to their third-string running back by the end of the game. The Seahawks had their own injury issues, but if they couldn’t beat the 49ers at home while San Francisco was missing its best offensive player, then when will they?
Eye-popping stat: Seattle pressured Brock Purdy on 15 of his 31 dropbacks (48.4%). For context, the Dolphins led the NFL heading into Sunday with a 40% pressure rate this season. But while the Seahawks got near the 49ers’ quarterback often, they couldn’t get to him, finishing with no sacks and only four QB hits. They’ll be happy to face a quarterback next week in Kirk Cousins who’s much less elusive than Purdy.
Early prediction for next week: Byron Murphy II will return from his hamstring injury and make an impact. The absence of Seattle’s first-round pick over the last three games has forced them to play Leonard Williams, Jarran Reed and Johnathan Hankins more than they’d prefer. With Murphy back, their D-line rotation will be deeper, and life will be easier on their second-level defenders as well, with Murphy there to control gaps and command double teams. — Brady Henderson
Next game: at Falcons (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)