Chicago Bears to play Jaguars in London
CHICAGO - The Chicago Bears will be going across the pond to play the Jacksonville Jaguars this season, the NFL announced Wednesday.
The Bears will be the designated home team for the game, which will be held on Oct. 13 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Kickoff will be at 8:30 a.m. CT and the game will be televised on the NFL Network.
The Bears game will be sandwiched between two other games in London this fall. The New York Jets vs. the Minnesota Vikings will play on Oct. 6 at the same stadium. The Jaguars will stay another week in London after facing the Bears to play the New England Patriots in Wembley Stadium on Oct. 20.
This will be the Bears' first return to London in five years when they played against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey expressed enthusiasm for the Bears' return to England when the trip was announced in January.
"Every game the Chicago Bears play is rich in tradition, culture and passion. And every year, game after game, we look forward to welcoming fans to experience that richness," McCaskey said in a statement. "This year, we will take our storied franchise and tradition back to London and share internationally what our fans locally experience at every game."
Although the Bears' regular season opponents have already been announced, the full NFL schedule will be released tonight at 7 p.m CT. Tune in to FOX 32 for a special recap show tonight at 9:30 p.m.
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Based on last year's records, the Bears have the third-easiest strength of schedule among all NFL teams as their 2024 opponents have an average 2023 win percentage of .467. This is partially thanks to the Bears' last-place finish in the NFC North in 2023. That puts the last-place Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders and New England Patriots on the Bears' schedule. Those three teams combined to win 10 games last season.
This will be the first season since the 2005 season the Bears will start a rookie quarterback on Week 1. The last time they did so was when the Bears started Kyle Orton. Caleb Williams will be the next, after the Bears named him the starting quarterback ahead of rookie mini camp last week.