This was an ugly win for the Chicago Bears. They turned the ball over five times, had nine penalties for 74 yards and only had 72 rushing yards on Sunday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It was a bizarre game to watch. Chicago started out on fire before the offense did a 360. The Bears’ defense struggled at times, but was able to generate two takeaways. Even special teams had issues. Punter Tory Taylor had a punt blocked and Kalif Raymond muffed a punt return, although he was able to recover it. Overall, this game was a disaster for the Bears, but they still managed to win thanks to their defense.
Here is a look at the good, bad and ugly from the Bears’ 27-24 win over the Buccaneers, giving them their fourth straight win since
quarterback Caleb Williams’ return.
The Good
Jaylon Johnson’s pick-six: This was easily the play of the night for the Bears. At the time Johnson got this interception, Chicago’s offense had gone flat and all the momentum was with the Buccaneers. They were on their way to potentially take the lead when Johnson picked off Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield. It was his first interception of the season and second career pick-six. When the Bears come back from the bye, they need more of that from Johnson.
Cairo Santos’ game-winning FG: On a night where not much of anything was going right for the Bears, at least kicker Cairo Santos was reliable. He made all of his kicks - three extra points and two field goals, including the game-winner as time expired. Santos may not have the biggest leg among NFL kickers, but his accuracy and reliability should not be undervalued.
The Bad
Lack of a run game: This game was billed as a matchup between two of the league’s top rushing offenses. While the Buccaneers were able to get 126 rushing yards, the Bears only had 72 rushing yards. This is largely because of Tampa Bay’s defense, but I expected running back D’Andre Swift to have more than 2.6 yards per carry. Chicago’s run game has not been as efficient since Kyle Monangai went out, but he should be healthy after the bye week.
Run defense: Chicago struggled on both sides of the ball when it came to the run game. Tampa Bay only had 126 rushing yards, but that is the most rushing yards they have allowed all season. Also, 97 of those yards came from Bucky Irving, who averaged 4.9 yards per carry and also had two touchdowns. Especially with Jeffery Simmons now on the defensive line, I expected more from this run defense.
The Ugly
Caleb Williams’ four INTs: I never thought I would see a game where Caleb Williams had four interceptions. He was the first Chicago quarterback to do this since Andy Dalton in 2021. Jay Cutler also had multiple games with four interceptions and one game with five interceptions. Everyone is bound to have a bad game and his fourth interception was not on him. Still, this was an ugly game from a quarterback who has been incredibly accurate this season.
Penalties: Between the turnovers and the penalties, it is a shock Chicago won this game. Not only did they turn the ball over five times, but they also had nine penalties. They also had more penalty yards than rushing yards, which is really bad. The Bears now have at least nine penalties in each of their last four games. Hopefully that is something head coach Ben Johnson will address during the bye week.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Good, bad and ugly from Bears' 27-24 win over Buccaneers
