Dec. 26, 2020
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
JAGUARS VS. BEARS – SUNDAY, DEC. 27
In Week 16, the Jacksonville Jaguars host the Chicago Bears at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville’s final home game of the 2020 season. Sunday’s matchup marks the eighth meeting in the series, including the fourth contest at TIAA Bank Field. In their most recent matchup on Oct. 16, 2016, the Jaguars outscored the Bears, 17-3, in the fourth quarter en route to a 17-16 victory at Soldier Field.
JACK’D UP: LB Myles Jack registered his third consecutive game with 10-plus tackles at Baltimore last week and became the sixth player in franchise history to record at least 100 tackles in two different seasons when he crossed the 100-tackle threshold in Week 15. Jack has also recorded one forced fumble, one INT and one fumble recovery this season. The fifth-year linebacker is the only player in the AFC this season with at least 100 tackles, one INT, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.
Jack’s 105 tackles rank second on the team to LB Joe Schobert’s 125 tackles. The duo’s 230 combined tackles are the third-most of any pair of defensive teammates in the NFL.
QUOTABLE: “Myles is playing at a very, very high level—he has been. I think he’s really found a home. He’s playing well and there’s something to look forward to in the future for a Jaguar fan.” – Defensive Coordinator Todd Wash
SMOOT’S SUCCESS: DE Dawuane Smoot recorded his fourth sack since Week 12 and forced a fumble for the second consecutive game in Week 15 at Baltimore. Smoot joins edge rushers Haason Reddick and Demarcus Lawrence as the only players in the NFL this season to force a fumble in both Week 14 and Week 15 and is one of two players in the NFL with 4.0-plus sacks and at least two forced fumbles since Week 12.
The fourth-year defensive lineman attended the University of Illinois and posted 30 tackles and 5.0 sacks as a senior in Champagne, finishing his career with 24 consecutive starts. With 1.0 sack this weekend, Smoot will surpass his career-high of 6.0 sacks set in 2019.
QUOTABLE: “I’ve just been sticking to my game plan, just working as hard as I have been since the offseason. It’s just kind of coming together for me now, kind of all coming to fruition. So, I’ve just been working as hard as I can, just kind of trying to stick to it.” – DE Dawuane Smoot
VERSATILE VISKA: WR Laviska Shenault Jr. has proven to be an effective threat on the ground and through the air in his rookie season, registering 47 catches for 484 yards and 17 rushes for 93 yards. With 7 rushing yards on Sunday, Shenault would join WR Mike Thomas (2010) as the only wide receivers in franchise history to rush for 100-plus yards in a single season.
Shenault is also approaching 500 receiving yards on the season. With 16 receiving yards on Sunday, Shenault would join WRs Justin Blackmon (2012), Keelan Cole Sr. (2017), Allen Hurns (2014) and Allen Robinson (2014) as the only receivers in team history to post 500-plus receiving yards in their first NFL season.
In the spirit of the holidays, Shenault teamed up with fellow rookie WR Collin Johnson this week to surprise a local Pop Warner team with $200 Christmas gift cards.
QUOTABLE: “He’s really physically gifted and he uses that to his advantage. He gets open and catches the ball very well … He makes all his plays look easy, so that’s one thing I do envy of him. I take some hits, but [for] some reason it seems like he doesn’t really get hit as hard.” – WR DJ Chark Jr. on WR Laviska Shenault Jr.
FAN APPRECIATION GAME: The Jaguars will celebrate the spirit of DUUUVAL this weekend in their annual fan appreciation game. Season ticket members will appear on the video boards to introduce the starting lineups, and there will also be a video board in the south end zone where select fans and family members can interact with Jaguars players pregame.
Sunday marks the last home game of the 2020 season as the Jaguars look to win their home finale for the second consecutive season and the third time since Doug Marrone took over as head coach in 2017.
QUOTABLE: “My job is to make sure I’m supporting the players and the coaches and doing the best job I can for them. We’re going to do everything we can to win these games because, like I said, as bad as everything’s been and it’s tough, the greatest gift that we can give each other is to win this game. That’s what I told the team yesterday afterwards, to win a game, to make sure that we have two left and do everything we can to do that.” – Head Coach Doug Marrone
LAST TIME IN THE WINDY CITY: In the Jaguars’ most recent matchup against the Bears, Jacksonville defeated Chicago, 17-16, on Oct. 16, 2016. After falling behind 13-0, the Jaguars stormed back to score 17 points in the fourth quarter. WR Arrelious Benn scored the game-winning TD for the Jaguars on a 51-yard reception when he sprinted into the end zone with 2:49 remaining. LB Paul Posluszny led the way on defense with 11 tackles while WR Allen Hurns caught five passes for a team-high 74 receiving yards.
QUOTABLE: “I knew I wasn’t down. It was just being aware – get back up and keep going … I wanted to get [in the end zone], so keep fighting no matter what.” – WR Arrelious Benn
