Once again, the Chicago Bears are playing in prime time. This time, they are on Sunday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are coming off a 16-0 win against the Atlanta Falcons.
The NFC North race remains incredibly tight since every team has a winning record. The Detroit Lions have a relatively easy game against the 1-6 Miami Dolphins. However, the Green Bay Packers have a difficult matchup against the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. Therefore, this is a good week for the Bears to create some separation in the division and potentially take over the NFC North with a win over the Buccaneers and a Vikings loss.
Chicago’s defense will once again play an important role
in this game. But if they are going to get to 7-2 and have a chance at taking over the division this week, they will need to address these concerns.
Bucs' run game
This is clearly the biggest concern for the Bears going against the Buccaneers. You cannot possibly win a football game without completing a pass unless you have a good run game. Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield did not complete a single pass, but they ran the ball for over 300 yards. They have overtaken the Bears for the most rushing yards in the NFL and are second in yards per attempt. Chicago was able to contain running back Bijan Robinson with the Falcons earlier in the season, so they should be able to do the same with Tampa Bay’s offense. But this will be the key to stopping them.
Tampa Bay's run and pass defense
The Buccaneers have a good run defense and pass defense; that is how they were able to pitch a shutout last week against the Falcons. In fact, Tampa Bay has held their opponents to under 20 points in each of the past five games after allowing at least 23 points in each of the first three games. Chicago has a tendency to put up a lot of points, so this will be an interesting matchup throughout the entire game.
Turnovers
Another aspect of this Bucs defense is that they generate turnovers. In each of the past two games, they have taken the ball away four times. Granted those games were both against division opponents, the Falcons and Carolina Panthers. But Chicago has had turnover issues in the past, including tight end Colston Loveland’s fumble against the Seattle Seahawks. The Bears will need to hold onto the ball to win this game.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 3 causes for concern as the Bears face the Bucs in Week 9
