Keenan Allen ends drought with Bears

LONDON — Keenan Allen was frustrated. He hadn’t scored a touchdown since Chicago Bear acquired it in a trade in March with the Los Angeles Chargers. In fact, the most yards he had in a game was 33 in a wretched rout in Week 5. Carolina Panthers.

The six-time Pro Bowler was coming off one of his best seasons: 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. And be associated with the No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williamswho he worked with before the draft to develop chemistry, gave Allen hope of another big season as he played out the final year of his contract.

But it didn’t work. Allen missed two of the first three games with a heel injury, and he wasn’t a factor when he put on the uniform.

Then Sunday came.

Allen caught all five of his targets, including two for touchdowns, to help the Bears earn their third straight victory. 35-16above the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“I didn’t think I was going to be targeted much,” Allen said with a laugh. “It was always frustrating going through the week, obviously, because things happen. Games don’t go the way they do.

“So we talked about it again on the sidelines. [Offensive coordinator] Shane [Waldron] “I had this drive in the red zone where I scored the first touchdown, he kept coming at me back to back, three plays in a row, he came at me.”

Allen’s first TD reflected that chemistry with Williams. It was third-and-goal from the Jaguars’ 9, and Allen ran a post up the middle. Before he turned his head over his left shoulder, the ball was in the air. Allen got it for the TD, which was the second of four straight Bears drives that ended in a touchdown.

“I’m not sure any group of guys other than Keenan could make that play,” coach Matt Eberflus said.

Williams made sure no defender would be able to make this play. The rookie identified the two-high look and realized Allen would be one-on-one with the linebacker.Devin Lloyd.

“When he’s in a situation like that and all the balls can be caught, it’s pretty easy to play catcher,” Allen said.

The goals were there for Allen – 20 in three games before Sunday. But he was looking for production.

“Obviously we want to get Keenan more involved. That’s a goal of ours,” Waldron said last week. “It’s a fine line of pressure to get him involved, but also knowing that he’s going to do a good job like he always does by doing things right, showing up every day and working to be on the same page. wavelength, which he did excellent to work with and then drive to results on the ground.

Williams and Allen connected for a second touchdown in the fourth quarter when the quarterback threw a fade into the left corner of the end zone. On another ball in a tight window, Allen had 0.7 yards of separation between himself and the defender when the pass arrived, according to Next Gen Stats, a connection that resulted in a 3-yard score.

In six weeks, Allen had 15 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns. His production is slower than what he’s used to, but Sunday’s game appears to be something he can build on as Chicago’s offense aims for another solid outing following its bye week 7. They travel to face the Washington Commanders, who have a 114.7 quarterback passer rating, better than theLos Angeles Rams(117.2).

“It was a really big moment,” Allen said. “When you take a little break from football and come back, sometimes you have to get into a rhythm. Just keep playing, try not to get frustrated and stay ready.”