The Chicago Bears’ 27-24 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was bizarre. It started out great for the Bears in the first quarter. Their offense looked unstoppable and they were up 14-0 just nine minutes into the game.
But things took a terrible turn for Chicago in the middle of the game. Three out of four of their possessions in the second quarter ended in an interception from quarterback Caleb Williams, and they failed to score in the third quarter with three punts and a pick.
Head coach Ben Johnson addressed the Bears’ mid-game offensive struggles against the Buccaneers, saying there was more than one factor that contributed to their poor performance.
“I don’t know necessarily if it was one thing," Johnson said. "I think there were a lot of
factors that went into play there. We had a lot of penalties that contributed to that. We got out of rhythm as an offense. As a play caller, I’ve got to do a better job trying to get us back on track. And once again, I give a lot of credit to that defense. It is a good unit, and they make it very challenging. In some ways, we started the game off right, and we finished it strong, but that middle second and third quarter, that wasn’t quite our style of play. So. we’ll pick up from there.”
Despite all the turnovers and failing to score an offensive touchdown after the first quarter, Williams was able to engineer an eight-play, 49-yard game-winning drive that ended in a 38-yard field goal from kicker Cairo Santos.
Chicago still has numerous issues to address following this win, particularly their tendency to give up points just before halftime as they gave up a field goal just before halftime against the Buccaneers, as well as touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Ben Johnson on Bears offense's mid-game struggles vs. Buccaneers
