The Chicago Bears defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-24, on Sunday Night Football, winning their fourth straight game and improving to 7-2 heading into their bye week.
After a flawless first quarter where they were sitting with a 14-0 lead, the Bears had a nightmarish showing for the final three quarters on offense. Caleb Williams had the worst game of his football career — high school, college and pro — with four interceptions that came on the heels of two touchdown passes to kickstart the game. Chicago turned the ball over five times and still managed to win, and that had to do with a dominant defensive showing that included four sacks and two interceptions, including Jaylon Johnson’s pick-six that set the tone late.
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There’s plenty to discuss from this game, including the worst offensive showing of the Ben Johnson era, the defense rising to the occasion and important lessons learned from this kind of ugly win. Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their thoughts on Chicago’s Week 9 win victory vs. Tampa Bay.
Talk about emotional whiplash. For the first quarter of this game, it looked like the Bears were headed to another 50-point showing reminiscent of their Week 1 beatdown of the Carolina Panthers. Instead, a dropped Rome Odunze touchdown and a stupid penalty by rookie Zavion Thomas completely altered the game, and fans were left hanging on for dear life for the final three quarters. While the Bears won, it almost feels like they didn’t. But a win is a win, and I’d rather have an ugly win than an ugly loss.
After the offense’s worst showing of the season, the defense managed to step up to the occasion with an impressive showing that included four sacks and two interceptions, including Jaylon Johnson’s pick-six that was a pivotal moment of the game. Chicago managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat thanks to Jeffery Simmons and company in what proved to be the worst game of Caleb Williams’ NFL — or even entire football — career.
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Is it possible that the Bears’ sloppy win over the Bucs told us more about them as a team than Chicago’s dominant win over the Seahawks? After digesting the events of Sunday night, where the Bears were able to overcome the worst offensive showing of the Ben Johnson against what might be the best defense in the NFL, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to. Don’t get me wrong, beating back-to-back Super Bowl participants in prime time established Chicago as a contender. But the Bears managing to play as ugly of a game as they did — minus the defense — and coming out on the winning side shows the hallmark of a true winner. And that’s what this Chicago team proved in their third straight prime-time win.
With that said, the Bears have plenty to clean up heading into the bye week, which is coming at the absolute perfect time. Whether it’s the continued penalties — which have been masked by the fact that Chicago continues to win games — or the run game struggles — which could be fixed with the return of Kyle Monangai — the fact that the Bears haven’t played their best football and sit at 7-2 through the first half of the season is quite encouraging heading into the back half, which will feature four key divisional games that should have plenty of postseason implications.
Last week, I wrote that there comes a point in every special season where it appears a team is destined to achieve more than anyone ever thought. And in those special seasons, there usually comes a game where that same team has absolutely no business winning when everything goes wrong, yet they still come out victorious. That game happened on Sunday night.
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I think we knew deep down Caleb Williams would have an absolute clunker at some point, but throwing four interceptions and the offense turning the ball over five times was not what I expected, even against a good Buccaneers defense. This was the first time in many games that it seemed Williams was genuinely rattled, and it came after an explosive first quarter, too. For as bad as he was, he gave the Bears a critical two-touchdown lead early on, which made all the difference.
This was the time for the defense to shine, though. All season long, the offense had picked them up, and they returned the favor despite facing short fields all game long. Jeffery Simmons continues to prove he’s a difference maker, and Devin Bush looks like a brand-new linebacker playing behind him with easily his best game of the season. But the biggest storyline has to be the improvement of Jaylon Johnson. Not only did he have the pick six that saved the game for Chicago, but he was a lockdown corner in coverage—something we hadn’t seen all year long. Johnson heard the chatter and responded with a vintage performance.
This win was as stressful as they come, and you could tell no one was thrilled with how they looked. But they got the job done anyway and go into the bye week at the perfect time. These players and coaches are tired; it’s been a trying season already. Hopefully the rest does everyone some good and they come back refreshed and ready for the stretch run. Because as ugly as this game was, it only reinforced the fact that the Bears are a Super Bowl team.
Caleb Williams is human, and somehow this Bears team just feels different. Even with the 5 turnovers, this team never trailed and when they absolutely had to have it, Williams orchestrated yet another game-winning drive.
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The bye week couldn’t come at a better time, and hopefully health is at the forefront for this team, as well as a reset. If Chicago can get healthy and have the mental reset they deserve, this team should come out firing in the second half.
Chicago’s defense is now making their case as one of the top units in the league, and I still don’t believe they’ve had their signature performance yet. They got the job done on Sunday night, and sometimes it’s best to just get in and get out with a win, no matter what.
In some ways, the Chicago Bears‘ win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was more impressive than their blowout wins over the last two conference champions. This was a sloppy game where things didn’t go according to plan for the Bears, and they still found a way to walk out of Soldier Field 7-2 heading into the bye.
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Things are not always going to be smooth sailing. In fact, most of the time, they are not. That is especially true in the playoffs. Good teams find ways to win their C-games, and that’s what the Bears did on Sunday Night Football.
It was a lousy game (by their standards) for the coach, quarterback, and everyone in between. Those things are going to happen. You have to ask yourself, did they find a way to win in spite of that? And will they learn from it? With this group, the answer is yes all around.
The NFC North is a gauntlet and every win matters more than most seasons. Losing this game would have set the Bears back in a way they might not be able to recover from. It’s crazy to think about when they are where they are, but the division is what it is. Now, they have a week off to rest, recoup, and get ready for the New Orleans Saints.
I don’t think I have ever been so disgusted and disillusioned after a win. Everything started so well in the first quarter for the Bears and then rapidly went downhill like I have never seen, especially from a Ben Johnson offense. I know the Bears had five turnovers in a game before, but it is different when your franchise quarterback throws a career-high four interceptions.
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But it also says a lot about this Bears team that they were able to overcome their five turnovers to win this game. They also had a penalty call back a 94-yard kick return and a blocked punt. There are not many teams in the NFL that could have that much go wrong and still manage to escape with a victory. Chicago’s defense is the reason they got this win, from the pressure up front on Baker Mayfield to the two takeaways to virtually shutting Tampa Bay down on third down.
Especially after how Chicago won this game, it seems like the perfect time for the bye week so the Bears can reset and get back to their typical offensive production. It will also give them a chance to get healthy between Luther Burden III sustaining a concussion on his fumble and Kyle Monangai finally being able to return from his turf toe injury.
Poor quarterback play, stagnant offense otherwise, a penalty wiping out a momentum-shifting special teams play, and exceptional work on the defensive side? That all felt wildly familiar but, of course, not at all in a positive sense and certainly not in a way that we’ve come to expect from the Bears in the Ben Johnson era.
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The difference is that the Bears still managed to win this game. The offense gave them enough early and the defense came through drive after drive to stave off what would have been the biggest possible disappointment heading into the bye week. That’s not a particularly good offensive team, but they contained the run game to a more successful extent than Tampa Bay’s previous opponents and saw the benefit of forcing the offense into Baker Mayfield’s hands. While nothing after the first quarter was even remotely enjoyable to watch, there’s something to be said for the fact that this team is 7-2 at the break and remains in the thick of things in the NFC.
The bye now feels crucial. Key players need to get healthy. Caleb Williams needs to reset. Ryan Poles needs to add a defender or two ahead of tomorrow’s trade deadline. It’s a much more uncomfortable feeling going into a week off than we expected to have following the first quarter, but, again, this team is in excellent standing.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: The Morning After…the Bears’ ugly Week 9 win vs. Buccaneers
