LONDON -- Keenan Allen was frustrated. Coming into the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he hadn't scored a touchdown since the Chicago Bears acquired him in a March trade with the Los Angeles Chargers. In fact, the most yards he had in a game was 33 in a Week 5 rout of the hapless Carolina Panthers.
The six-time Pro Bowler was coming off one of his best seasons:1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. And being paired with No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams, with whom he worked out predraft to develop chemistry, gave Allen hope for another big season as he played out the last year of his contract.
But it wasn't working out. Allen missed two of the first three games with a heel injury, and he wasn't a factor when he did suit up.
Then Sunday happened.
Heck of a throw from @CALEBcsw
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Allen caught all five of his targets, including two for touchdowns, to help the Bears win their third straight, 35-16, over the Jaguars.
"I didn't think I was going to be targeted a lot," Allen said with a laugh. "Going through the week it was still frustrating, obviously, because things happen. Plays don't play out like they do.
"So we talked about it again on the sideline. [Offensive coordinator] Shane [Waldron] had that red zone drive where I did score the first touchdown, he kept coming to me back-to-back-to-back, three plays in a row he came to me."
Allen's first TD reflected that chemistry with Williams. It was third-and-goal from the Jaguars' 9, and Allen ran a post route over the middle. Before he turned his head over his left shoulder, the ball was in the air. Allen secured it for the TD, which was the second of four consecutive Bears drives that ended with a touchdown.
"I'm not sure a bunch of guys could make that play other than Keenan," coach Matt Eberflus said.
Keenan still got that elite release 🤫
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Williams made sure no defender would be able to make that play. The rookie identified the two-high look and realized Allen would be one-on-one with linebacker Devin Lloyd.
"When he's in a groove like that and all the balls are catchable, it's pretty easy to play receiver," Allen said.
The targets had been there for Allen -- 20 in three games prior to Sunday. But he was looking for production.
"Obviously we want to get Keenan involved more. It's a goal of ours," Waldron said last week. "It's that fine line of pressing to get him involved but also knowing that he's going to do a good job like he always does of doing things right, showing up every single day and working to get on the same page, which he's done a great job with and then leading to the results on the field."
Williams and Allen connected for a second touchdown in the fourth quarter when the quarterback threw a fade to the left corner of the end zone. On another tight-window ball, Allen had 0.7 yards of separation with the defender when the pass arrived, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, a connection that culminated in a 3-yard score.
Through six weeks, Allen has 15 catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns. His production is less than what he's used to, but the game on Sunday felt like something he can build on as Chicago's offense aims for another strong outing coming out of its Week 7 bye. The Bears travel to play the Washington Commanders, who are yielding a quarterback passer rating of 114.7, second worst behind only the Los Angeles Rams (117.2).
"It was big, big time," Allen said. "When you take a little break from football, and you come back, you've got to get into the groove of things sometimes. Just keep playing, try not to get frustrated and stay ready."