Following their victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Soldier Field, the Chicago Bears will now travel to London to play the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In past years, the Bears, as an organization, have opted to remain in Chicago until closer to the weekend before traveling to London when the team was playing in one of the international games. While speaking with reporters after the win on Sunday, Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus revealed that the team was traveling to London on Monday night.
"It's a big science part of it. I went to Italy this summer and I'll tell you, it takes you a couple days to get there, so I'm all in for that," Eberflus explained. "We'll go there Monday, get there Tuesday morning and the players have their day off. Then they'll bring them back in on Wednesday and we'll have a walk through practice to get their bodies ready to go. And then from there, will be normal business operation there. Thursday will be our normal first, second, third. Friday will be our red zone day. Saturday will be the walkthrough, and then Sunday, we'll play the game."
This is a notable change from previous seasons. Under the Matt Nagy regime, the Bears often looked sluggish during their London games. While the change of pace with the travel plans under Eberflus doesn't guarantee that the Bears won't look flat against the Jaguars, it definitely puts the team in a better position.
The Chicago Bears have learned from past mistakes.
The last time the Bears played one of London's games was in 2019 when they played the Las Vegas Raiders. The Bears lost the game 24-21, as the team looked out of their depths, given their decision to travel to London late in the week.
By traveling to London on Monday, the Bears can now go about their normal procedure as they would if this game was being played at Soldier Field. The Bears will have an off day on Tuesday before having practices on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday would be a normal walkthrough for the team. By the time the Bears take the field on Sunday, they should be well-adjusted.