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Tale of the tape

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Week 5: Chicago Bears At Jacksonville Jaguars

Bears

Jaguars

The Bears are coming off a sensational effort in Dallas and Jay Cutler had his best game of the year. Cutler minimized his mistakes and completed 18-of-24 passes for 275 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Cutler wants to string games together and this would be a good place to start.	Quarterback	Blaine Gabbert appears to be a solid competitor with decent athletic ability. He is going to have his ups and downs and competing against the Bears defense is likely to be one of the downs. They have too many veteran players who can make big plays and that’s going to frustrate Gabbert.
The Bears want to take the pressure off of Cutler by letting running back Matt Forte carry the ball, but he is slowed by an ankle injury. Brandon Marshall is a big-time wide out who is loaded with confidence after catching seven passes for 138 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys.	Offense	The Jaguars are not going to beat the Bears if they rely on the downfield passing game. They need running back Maurice Jones-Drew to attack the Chicago defense as a runner and in the short passing game. Justin Blackmon is a solid receiver who can complement Jones-Drew.
The Bears have gotten off to a brilliant start defensively through the first quarter of the season. This veteran unit has already registered 14 takeaways after intercepting five of Tony Romo’s passes. Lance Briggs doesn’t get as much publicity as Brian Urlacher, but he is a better player at this point in his career. Julius Peppers can still be a one-man wrecking crew.	Defense	OLB Russell Allen is a very aggressive tackler and he has the range to shut down any running game. Linebacker Paul Posluszny has great hands and he also knows how to position himself in the passing lanes. Defensive end Jeremy Mincey had two forced fumbles in the Week Four loss to the Bengals.
The Bears are going to get the better of special teams play nearly every week. In addition to the consistency of placekicker Robbie Gould, Devin Hester is perhaps the best return man in the history of the game. The Bears will use him to return punts when they need his contribution.	Special Teams	Bryan Anger has one of the strongest legs in the league. He is averaging 53.2 yards per punt this year and he has dropped five punts inside the 20.

The winner is

Bears

4 out of 4

The Bears have aspirations to win the NFC North and contend for the NFC championship. The Bears are coming off a sensation Monday night victory over the Cowboys and they might be expected to have a letdown. However, the Bears generally know how to beat the non-elite teams in the league. The Jaguars certainly qualify.

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