After two straight weeks against the last two champions of their conference, the schedule lightened up a little bit for the Chicago Bears. They played host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who came into Week 9 at 3-5. But the game proved to be anything but smooth, although Chicago managed to escape with a 27-24 win.
The Bears couldn’t take the Bucs lightly, despite their 3-5 record, because they have played much better in recent weeks. A healthy Baker Mayfield is above average, and they have one of the league’s best defenses. If the Bears acted all high and mighty after their last two remarkable wins, it was clear that they could get beat.
This was Chicago’s third straight game on prime time, and they came into the game without a win on Sunday Night
Football since 2018, making it 11 straight losses. This group doesn’t worry about things like that, though. A lot was at stake here, as the Bears were starting to be recognized as one of the best in the entire NFL. Going into their bye week, 7-2 would help solidify that with a gauntlet of a schedule following the break.
Once the ball was kicked, everything became about winning the next play. The Bears did just that on their opening drive. It was a well-oiled machine after special teams gave them great field position. Caleb Williams drove them down the field, with a nice mix of rushing and air attack, and hit Rome Odunze in the end zone for the touchdown.
That set the Bears off and running. They made a quick defensive stand, and eventually went up 14-0. Williams hit Luther Burden with a short pass, and he ran it over 50 yards to the end zone.
From there, what looked like an easy victory for the Bears got very difficult. Whether it was penalties, the offense hitting a wall, or mistakes made by the defense, Chicago let their lead slip away. Once the Buccaneers started to catch up, it was an up-and-down game for both sides.
Late in the game, Bucky Irving scored a touchdown to get the Bucs within two points. In what was a must-attempt two-point conversion, Baker Mayfield made a great play to run one into the end zone.
With under three minutes left in regulation, Williams had the task of driving his team down the field for a win. It wasn’t his best game of the season; in fact, it was his worst with the team, but none of that would matter if he was able to finish the job.
After getting the Bears into field goal range and running the clock down to a few seconds, Cairo Santos hit a 38-yard field goal for the win. It turned out to be a thriller, which the Bears won’t take kindly to, but a win is a win during a season like this.
The Bears are now 7-2 going into their bye week. Despite it being a tough game overall, they found a way. This is the record of a team that has Super Bowl aspirations. It’s never perfect along the way, but with the head coach that they have, and that quarterback under center, there is nobody that they can’t beat.
Even the defense is wildly improved. There were many times that they masked the one tough performance that the offense had outside of the first quarter. Now, they all have a chance to rest and recoup in time for Nov. 22 against the New Orleans Saints.
The biggest takeaway from the win is that there is no stopping this team when the going gets tough. Not every single game will result in a win, but they’ve proven they can compete under any and all circumstances.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Instant analysis from the Bears' sloppy prime-time win vs. Bucs
