5 things to watch in the Chicago Bears-Tampa Bay Buccaneers game Sunday — plus our Week 2 predictions
The Chicago Bears are in need of a bounce-back victory when they travel to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
A poor showing in a 38-20, season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers disappointed Bears players and coaches and angered the fan base. Now the Bears take on the Buccaneers and quarterback Baker Mayfield, who are 1-0 after a win against the Minnesota Vikings.
As kickoff approaches, here’s our snapshot look at the game.
Player in the spotlight
Bears wide receiver DJ Moore
Few people with and around the Bears figured Moore would emerge from the Packers game with only two targets — both catches for 11 and 14 yards. With the Carolina Panthers, Moore hadn’t had a game with two or fewer targets since 2019, and his training camp connection with quarterback Justin Fields seemed likely to carry into the season.
Getsy said the result was “definitely a disappointment.” And the Bears are set on finding answers to how Fields can connect more with Moore against the Bucs.
“There are a lot of reasons why things happen,” Getsy said. “Protection could have broken down for a particular play for him. Justin just maybe didn’t see something in a particular way. … We definitely are calling plays for DJ, and he knows that and he wasn’t frustrated by any of that. And sometimes it’s just the way the coverage dictates to where the quarterback has to go with the football too.”
Fields said Wednesday that he was a little too conservative on some plays, and so part of the solution will be not to hesitate when he has a window to Moore. The receiver said he was confident they would get the connection going.
“You just go out there and do what we’ve been doing all OTAs, camp,” Moore said. “I’m not really too big on forcing the connection to just be there. You’ve just got to be natural, like it was all through camp. When those times come, you’ve got to hit me. 50-50 is more like an 80-20 ball.”
Wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said Moore has handled this week “like a pro” and said coaches are working to make sure he gets the ball even if he’s double covered.
“DJ is an accomplished receiver, and people take note of accomplished receivers,” Tolbert said. “So we can anticipate that, and we can do a better job of moving him around to make sure he gets his targets. … We’ve got to adjust as coaches.”
Pressing question
Can the Bears deal with the Buccaneers pressure?
Multiple Bears coaches and players used the same word to describe the Buccaneers defense under blitz-happy Todd Bowles: aggressive.
In their 20-17 win against the Vikings, the Buccaneers had nine quarterback hits and two sacks of Kirk Cousins, who lost two fumbles.
“Any time you play Coach Bowles, (blitzing) is what you have to prepare for,” Getsy said. “He is as good as anybody in the league at attacking you on offense, being aggressive. They did that to Minnesota last week, 70-some percent of the snaps. That’s who they are. That’s their makeup. That’s a huge part of our plan.”
After having some issues in pass protection against a solid Packers defensive front, the Bears offensive line has to continue to solidify its communication and chemistry and buckle down for a big test in protecting Fields, who also needs to make good decisions under pressure.
Bucs outside linebacker Anthony Nelson had three quarterback hits and a sack in Week 1, safety Antoine Winfield had two QB hits, a strip-sack and a fumble recovery and outside linebacker Shaq Barrett had two QB hits.
“The way they move is a little bit different (than the Packers), a lot more free safety pressure and whole line movement pressures than anything,” left tackle Braxton Jones said. “With Shaq Barrett and (Joe Tryon-Shoyinka) on the other end, different style of players. Finesse guy with Shaq Barrett, and Tryon is more of an edge setter, can bull rush you. … Really it’s just keying their pressures. They have a lot. They pressured Minnesota all game.”
Amid that backdrop, the Bears also will look to get better traction in the run game, which produced 63 yards outside of Fields’ 59 on Sunday.
Keep an eye on …
Bears coach Matt Eberflus
Defensive coordinator Alan Williams will miss Sunday’s game for personal reasons, so Eberflus will take over calling defensive plays.
Eberflus was the defensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts for four seasons, but he will be juggling coordinator and head-coaching duties for the first time.
He said he will lean on his assistants, particularly experienced ones such as cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke and safeties coach Andre Curtis and those who have been with him a long time such as linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi and assistant defensive backs coach David Overstreet.
“All those guys have been with me, so they know how I like to operate,” Eberflus said. “They know how it is when I am calling the play and running that side. So it’ll be good.”
The change comes as the Bears defense is trying to recover from giving up 31 points to the Packers. Now the Bears take on an offense featuring quarterback Baker Mayfield and wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The duo caught 11 passes for 117 yards against the Vikings.
Eberflus said his players handled the change in play callers well this week.
“People of their age, they’re really resilient,” Eberflus said. “The practices have been good, spirited practices, high energy.”
The Claypool question
Eberflus left open the possibility that wide receiver Chase Claypool would be inactive against the Bucs after a poor performance in Week 1, which included no catches and some missed blocks. But Tolbert said Thursday that he assumed Claypool would be active.
“That’s Ryan Poles and Eberflus’ decision,” Tolbert said. “He’s been practicing and taking all the normal reps.”
Tolbert said he met extra with Claypool during the week and feels like he found the right button to push with the receiver. He said Claypool came in early and was the first receiver in the meeting room.
“His attitude has been really good this week,” Tolbert said. “He hustled more than any receiver on the field today. So that was improvement. And I tell guys every time, ‘You play like you practice.’ So he’s practicing that way, so I’m hoping he’ll play that way.”
Injury report
The Bears will be without nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, who had surgery on his hand and will be on injured reserve until at least Week 6.
Josh Blackwell, Gordon’s potential replacement, was listed as doubtful with a hamstring injury. Eberflus said Greg Stroman Jr. is another option to play nickel. The Bears will leave rookie starter Tyrique Stevenson on the outside, Eberflus said.
For the Bucs, cornerback Carlton Davis (toe), linebacker SirVocea Dennis (hamstring) and defensive lineman Calijah Kancey (calf) are out. Safety Christian Izien (concussion) is questionable.
Eberflus said the Bears have talked about proper hydration as game-time temperatures could top 90 degrees with high humidity.
“We were ahead of it,” Eberflus said. “We talked to them about it in training camp, then we talked to them about it right after the game on Monday. About doing the steps that they need to do, to step up their hydration. The performance staff did an outstanding job with that. If the guys did it right we should be all set, ready to go.”
Predictions
Brad Biggs (0-1)
Maybe you’ve talked yourself into this being a bounce-back spot for the Bears. It’s something I considered, but this team didn’t have that ability last season. Yes, it’s a new season and it’s only Week 2, but it almost seems as if the Bears need to prove it before you believe it. The Buccaneers can create a host of issues up front for Justin Fields and the offensive line. I would think the Bears will try to lean much more on running the ball and playing with a physical edge than they did in the opener. Maybe that is a path to victory. The forecast is for hot and humid conditions, creating a potential edge for the Bucs. The Bears shouldn’t be as bad as they were in Week 1 but have a bunch of issues to fix.
Buccaneers 23, Bears 17
Colleen Kane (0-1)
This should be a winnable game for the Bears, but they didn’t show enough in the opener against the Packers to instill belief that they can capitalize on the opportunity. The Bears have talked all week about the challenges Justin Fields and the offensive line will face against the Bucs pressure after they didn’t fare very well against the Packers defensive front. A Bears defense that surrendered 31 points to a Packers team without wide receiver Christian Watson has to deal with the Bucs receiver tandem of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. And they have to do it without starting nickel Kyler Gordon. Maybe the loss to the Packers lit a fire under the Bears, but after watching 11 straight Bears losses dating to last fall, I’ll believe it when I see it.
Buccaneers 23, Bears 20
Dan Wiederer (0-1)
I wanted to pick the Bears. I did. I was leaning that way until my selection deadline. I just can’t fathom that they’re nearly as bad as they performed against the Packers. I don’t fully buy the Bucs after their season-opening road upset of the Vikings. And this league is filled every year — heck, every week! — with reversal-of-fortune games. But then you look deeper at the matchups. Without a consistent pass rush and with Kyler Gordon out, the Bears are going to have great difficulty slowing Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Defensively, the Bucs also have both the personnel and the scheme to make life very, very uncomfortable for Justin Fields and his protection unit. On the bright side, the Bears will be far more competitive than they were a week ago. But they will also head into Week 3 winless and staring down the barrel of a trip to play the Kansas City Chiefs.
Buccaneers 20, Bears 16
