Jaguars at Bears final score: Blake Bortles impressive again but Chicago rallies for 20-19 win
In the only game of the night Thursday, the Chicago Bears rallied past the Jacksonville Jaguars with a last-minute touchdown to earn a 20-19 victory.
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The Jaguars got off to a quick start behind quarterback Chad Henne, who lead the Jaguars to field goals on each of their first two drives. On the Jaguars’ third drive, following a fumbled kickoff by the Bears, the Jaguars went 23 yards in seven plays capped by touchdown pass from Henne to rookie wide receiver Marqise Lee, who could be a very valuable player for the Jaguars this year. Henne finished 12-of-17 with 130 yards and a touchdown while Lee caught four passes for 27 yards.
Jay Cutler finally got the Bears on the board early in the second quarter when he found Brandon Marshall for a four yard touchdown, finishing off a 10-play, 85-yard drive, by the far the Bears’ most impressive possession of the night. Cutler finished the day completing seven of nine passes for 75 yards and a touchdown. The Bears are trying to find a backup quarterback and there’s a battle between Jimmy Clausen and Jordan Palmer for the job. Although Clausen threw an interception (the pass was picked off by safety Josh Evans in the third quarter) in the game, he actually looked pretty good throughout most the night. He completed 11-of-15 passes for 94 yards. Palmer came in and led the Bears on a 10-play, 57-yard drive capped by a one-yard run by rookie Ka’Deem Carey on his first possession. Palmer also led a seven-play, 86-yard drive in 2:02 (that was aided by a questionable roughing the passer penalty) to give the Bears a 20-19 lead with just 50 seconds to play. Senorise Perry finished the drive off with a five-yard touchdown run. On the night, Palmer went six-of-nine for 73 yards.
C.J. Wilson’s interception of Stephen Morris with 27 seconds to go clinched the game for the Bears.
The story of the night was Jaguars’ rookie quarterback Blake Bortles. The third-overall pick of the 2014 draft was very good for the second straight week. He continued to make big-time throws throughout the game, including two especially impressive throws, one on a rollout and one down the left sideline in which he looked off the safety to get his man open.
The Bears will get back to work next Friday when they travel to Seattle to take on the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks. The Jaguars will also be in action next Friday when they take on the Lions in Detroit.