It's been half a decade since the Chicago Bears brushed off their passports and took a trip across the pond to play in London. That 2019 Bears team was 3-1 and looking to improve on a surprising 12-4 campaign the year prior.
Unfortunately, London marked a turning point for the wrong reason for the Matt Nagy-led Bears. The Bears infamously come up short overseas, a result that was met with media scrutiny after Nagy elected to wait until the middle of the week to embark on the transatlantic trip. After looking sluggish and lethargic, the Bears erased a 17-point deficit against the then-Oakland Raiders only to lose 24-21 in the game's final minutes.
Kyle Long lost his job. Khalil Mack seemed to never be the same dominant player after returning. Akiem Hicks dislocated his elbow. And, worst of all, the trip started a four-game losing streak that would come to be all too common under Nagy.
Fast forward five years and another Matt is at the helm for the Bears. Sitting at 3-2, the Matt Eberflus-led Bears are coming off a thorough shellacking of the Carolina Panthers, and they "host" the 1-4 Jacksonville Jaguars looking to improve to 4-2.
Could this trip to London exorcise the demons manifested five years ago? Under Eberflus, the Bears are a woeful 13-26, but hope is plentiful thanks in large part to a potential franchise quarterback in Caleb Williams and a defense just as prickly as that 2018 unit. Williams electrified fans this past Sunday as he cruised to an easy 300-yard, two-touchdown game against the Panthers. Could his emergence continue to percolate in front of an international crowd?
The Bears have actually played in London three times before their fourth bout this Sunday. They lost the aforementioned 2019 game to the Raiders, beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-18 in 2011, and played against the Dallas Cowboys in the 1986 preseason in what was dubbed the American Bowl. Chicago won that match 17-6 behind two defensive touchdowns (figures).
It's now 2024, and this iteration of the Bears looks to make Sunday's international match a turning point in the Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles era. The Bears made the trek to London on Monday, and Poles and staff met with the media shortly after to discuss topics ranging from the development of a new stadium to the evolution of Caleb Williams.
In 2019, London marked the end of Nagy's honeymoon phase with Bears fans. The aura of the 2018 season had all but evaporated, and the remaining two years were mired with mediocrity and an inability to improve as a franchise and organization. Mitchell Trubisky failed to improve into the franchise quarterback Chicagoans have thirsted for, and the defense that had been so dominant in 2018 failed to regain its supremacy.
In 2024, the Bears (and especially the offense) look to make this London game the coming out party for their team. The offense has been slowly building toward something, which was previewed in Week 5 against the Panthers. Caleb Williams continues to develop, and a masterful performance against the Jaguars could begin to shift the narrative as he continues to play second fiddle to Washington Commanders' quarterback Jayden Daniels.
The time is now for Matt Eberflus and the Bears. Chicago will be without Tyrique Stevenson and Jaquan Brisker in the secondary, so an answer to adversity in a victorious fashion would only add to the confidence the fan base is mustering.
In their last two campaigns featuring London games, the Bears missed the playoffs. Perhaps the third time's a charm?
