Bears hoping to set body clocks for early wake-up call in London

Maintaining a normal routine when playing a game in London is always a challenge for NFL teams. Bears coach Matt Eberflus is taking a different tack than the Bears did under Lovie Smith in 2011 or under Matt Nagy in 2019.

The Bears were scheduled to arrive in London on Tuesday morning and conduct their regular practice schedule overseas in preparation for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The players will have Tuesday off to get acclimated after an eight-hour flight, then conduct practice as they usually do on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Under Smith and Nagy, the Bears did not arrive in London until Friday.

“Just to get over there and get our [body] clocks right. That’s the science part of it,” Eberflus said. “I went to Italy this summer and it takes a couple of days to get there. I’m all-in for that.”

Eberflus said he planned to talk to players before leaving for London to emphasize the importance of maintaining the normal game-week routine as closely as possible on a trip that is like no other game week.

“It’s about staying with your routine,” Eberflus said. “Whatever time you go to bed, go to bed at the same time — don’t change it. You’ve got to make sure you’re doing that, and we have to do that as a group.”

The Jaguars are scheduled to arrive Friday, but they have the routine down pat. The Jaguars have played in London every year since 2013 (except 2020, when the NFL’s international games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Jaguars’ familiarity likely is a benefit — 19 of their starters and 30 players overall have played in London. But that was no concern for Eberflus.

“We’re going to focus on us — how we prepare, how we go about our business to prepare . . . just like we do here,” Eberflus said. “It’s going to be no different.”

Brisker diagnosed with concussion

Safety Jaquan Brisker did not travel with the team to London on Monday because of a concussion he suffered following a jarring hit on Panthers tight end Tommy Tremble that led to a fumble the Bears recovered in the Bears’ 36-10 victory Sunday.

Brisker appeared shaken on the play but gathered himself on the sideline and did not miss a down. He said after the game, “I felt that one for sure.” But he did not report concussion symptoms until late Monday
afternoon and was diagnosed with a concussion early Monday evening.

He still could rejoin the team in time for the game if he clears concussion protocol, a Bears spokesman said.

Defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin) and reserve cornerback Terell Smith (hip) also did not make the trip to London.

Jenkins in limbo

Eberflus said left guard Teven Jenkins, who left Sunday’s game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, will make the trip to London. But his injury status won’t be clarified until Wednesday.

Jenkins already was playing through bruised ribs when he injured his ankle without contact while running downfield on a five-yard pass from Caleb Williams to tight end Gerald Everett. He fell to the ground and almost immediately signaled to the bench for a substitute.

Dexter’s big step

Second-year defensive tackle Gervon Dexter had four quarterback pressures, one sack and a fumble recovery against the Panthers. Dexter, who had 2.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hits in 17 games last season, already has four sacks and 10 quarterback hits in five games this season.

He said he was motivated to get Tremble’s fumble that Brisker forced after missing out on one last week against the Rams.

“Coach Flus joked around on one of the [fumbles] last week — I think Kyler [Gordon] beat me to it when Tez [Montez Sweat] stripped the ball,” Dexter said. “So I had to [get it] this week.”