The Chicago Bears will travel to Raymond James Stadium to take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday afternoon in NFL action.
The Chicago Bears had their 2-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 3-3 on the season after being defeated by the Green Bay Packers, 24-14, this past Sunday. Chicago was able to pull within an FG after a Darnell Mooney 5-yard TD reception made it a 17-14 game in the 4th quarter, however, the Bears could not fight back after a 6-yard TD rush by Aaron Rodgers gave the Packers a double-digit lead with 4:30 left in the game. Chicago was outgained by Green Bay by a 323-277 margin and committed 1 turnover in the loss. Leading the way for the Bears was RB Khalil Herbert who had 97 rushing yards & 1 TD on 19 carries.
On the season, Chicago is averaging 16.3 ppg on 279.3 total yads per game (150.3 passing yds/g; 129.0 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Chicago has been led by QB Justin Field who has completed 53.5% of his passes for 632 yards, 2 TD, & 3 INT. Chicago’s backfield has been hurt by injuries to David Montgomery & Damien Williams, however, must be encouraged by what they have seen out of Khalil Herbert who has 179 rushing yards & 1 TD on 40 carries. The top receiving threats for the Bears have been Darnell Mooney (25 rec, 306 yards, TD), Allen Robinson II (21 rec, 234 yards, TD), Cole Kmet (14 rec, 130 yards), & Marquise Goodwin (7 rec, 75 yards).
Defensively, Chicago is holding their opponents to an average of 20.7 ppg on 357.8 total yards per game (245.7 passing yds/g; 112.2 rushing yds/g).
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won their 3rd straight game and improved to 5-1 on the season after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 28-22, on October 14th. Tampa Bay was outstanding on the defensive end against the Eagles and held on late after taking a 28-7 lead on a 1-yard TD run by Leonard Fournette with 5:47 left in the 3rd quarter. Tampa Bay outgained Philadelphia by a 399-213 margin and forced 1 turnover in the victory. Leading the way for the Buccaneers was QB Tom Brady who completed 34 of 42 passes for 297 yards, 2 TD, & 1 INT.
On the season, Tampa Bay is averaging 32.5 ppg on 436.2 total yards per game (350.8 passing yds/g; 85.3 rushing yds/g). Offensively, Tampa Bay is led by QB Tom Brady who has completed 68.5% of his passes for 2064 yards (350.2 yds/g), 17 TD, & 3 INT. The top receiving threats for the Buccaneers have been Mike Evans (31 rec, 420 yards, 4 TD), Antonio Brown (29 rec, 418 yards, 4 TD), Chris Godwin (34 rec, 409 yards, 2 TD), & Rob Gronkowski (16 rec, 184 yards, 4 TD). Gronkowski has missed the last three games due to a ribs injury and is currently questionable for this matchup. Leading the way for the Tampa Bay backfield has been Leonard Fournette who has 332 rushing yards & 3 TD on 78 carries while also hauling in 25 receptions for 213 yards.
Defensively, Tampa Bay is allowing their opponents to average 24.0 ppg on 347.5 total yards per game (292.7 passing yds/g; 54.8 rushing yds/g).
The Bears are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games following a straight up loss and just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games as an underdog. The Buccaneers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 home games, however, are just 4-14-1 ATS in their last 19 games in October.
Tampa Bay is a tough team to play on the road, however, the Chicago defense is solid while the Tampa Bay secondary has allowed opposing teams to keep their games competitive as we saw in their last game against the Eagles. Tampa Bay is still going to score some points and should win this game, however, this is just too many points to pass on with the Bears as I think Justin Fields will be able to get the Bears in the end zone a few times. Good Luck!
AUTHOR: Brett Nault
