A pair of 3-1 teams will meet on Thursday Night Football when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers travel to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears. The Buccaneers are coming off a 38-31 home win as a 7.5-point favorite against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. The Bears are coming off a 19-11 loss to the Indianapolis Colts as a 3.5-point underdog.
The franchises last met on September 30, 201,8, when the Bears won 48-10 as a three-point favorite. Jameis Winston was the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay, and Mitchell Trubisky was the Bears starter in that game.
Brady's 5 TDs leads the Bucs in comeback
Tampa Bay finished last season with a 7-9 record, but made significant upgrades to their roster during the offseason, and entered the season with their over/under win total set at 9.5
After trailing 24-7 late in the second quarter on Sunday, the Buccaneers added a touchdown right before the break and then dominated the second half. Tampa Bay’s most notable free-agent addition from the offseason, future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady completed 30 of 46 passes for 369 yards, with five touchdowns, one interception, and not sacked once in the win. Mike Evans was targeted 8 times, making seven catches for a team-best 122 yeads and a touchdown. Ronald Jones III led the ground attack with 111 yards on 20 carries and a score. The Bucs outgained the Chargers 484 to 324 in total yards, and 28 to 15 in the first down department for the game.
The Bucs did lose tightened O.J Howard to an Achilles injury in the fourth quarter of the win on Sunday. Howard had three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown in the game, and 11 catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns this season. Howard is likely to miss the rest of the season, which should lead to a large role for Rob Gronkowski in the Buccaneers offense in the future.
On the season, the Bucs are 9th in the NFL, averaging 30 points per game and rank 19th with 378.3 yards of total offense. The passing game has been the strength with Tom Brady completing 65.2% of his passes this season for 1,122 yards and an 11:4 touchdown to interception ratio, which includes eight touchdown passes against just one pick over the last two games. The Bucs are 11th best passing team in the league, but just 27th with 97.8 rushing yards per game. Tampa Bay has been the second stingiest rush defense, holding opponents to 64.3 yards per game. Against the pass, Tampa Bay has allowed 247.8 yards, which is 19th. Overall, Tampa ranks fourth in the NFL in total defensive yardage allowed and ninth, giving up 23 points per game.
Injury Report:
OUT: TE Antony Auclair, S Justin Evans, WR John Franklin, WR John Hurst, RB T.J. Logan, G John Molchon, T Brad Seaton, TE O.J Howard
Doubtful: WR Chris Godwin
Questionable: RB Kenjon Barner, RB Leonard Fournette, RB LeSean McCoy
Bears looking to beat first winning team this season
The Chicago Bears came into the season with a win total set at 8.5 on the over/under. The Bears failed to improve to 4-0 on the season with a 19-11 loss to the Colts (3-1) in their first game against a team with a winning record. Chicago began the season with wins over the Lions, Giants, and Falcons, three teams with a combined record of 1-10.
On Sunday, quarterback Nick Foles was rewarded with his first start of the season, after replacing Mitch Tribuskily mid-game the previous week against Atlanta. In relief Foles against the Falcons, Foles threw for 188 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, rallying the Bears from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 30-26.
On Sunday, the Bears struggled to get much going the entire game against the Colts defense, with the only Chicago touchdown of the game coming on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Nick Foles to Allen Robinson, followed by a two-point conversion with only 1:35 left. Foles went 26 of 42 with 249 yards, one touchdown, and one pick. Allen Robinson led all receivers with seven catches on 10 targets for 101 yards and a touchdown. Against the Colts, the Bears were outgained 18 to 16 in first downs, and 289 to 269 in total yardage. Foles received no help from the running game, as Chicago rushed for just 28 yards on 16 attempts.
On the season, Chicago ranks 25th with 21.3 points scored per game. The Bears are 21st in passing offense, with 249.3 yards and 20th in rushing with 110.5 yards, totaling up as the 23rd best offensive teams with 359.8 total yards per game.
Defensively the Bears are ninth against the pass, and 15th against the rush, allowing 345.3 total yards per game, which is the eighth-best in the NFL, and seventh in scoring defense, holding the opposition 20.3 points per contest
OUT: CB Artie Burns, TE Darion Clark, RB Tarik Cohen, NT Eddie Goldman, NT John Jenkins, DB Michael Joseph, DB Jordan Lucas, K Eddy Piniero, DB Tre Roberson
Doubtful: S Sherrick McManis
Questionable: S Deon Bush, S Sherrick McManis
Notable Trends
- Bears are 0-6 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.
- Bears are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.
- Buccaneerss are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a road favorite.
