By Townhall Chicago News Staff
The Chicago Bears will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday night at Soldier Field, looking to extend their winning streak to four games and claim a sixth victory in their last seven contests.
The Bears enter the Week 9 matchup at 6-2, riding a stretch of dominance that included victories over both of last season’s Super Bowl participants. Chicago defeated the New England Patriots 30-24 in a Thursday night contest Oct. 22 and the Seattle Seahawks 34-17 on the road in a Monday night game.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson praised the Buccaneers, who have won two straight and three of their last four after an 0-4 start, according to a team game preview published Friday.
“This is a good football team,” Johnson said. “They’re hot right now. They’re running the ball really well. The defense is playing out of their minds. We’ve got a huge challenge here this week.”
The game features a matchup between two of the NFL’s top rushing offenses and top run defenses. Tampa Bay ranks first in the league in rushing at 168.6 yards per game. Chicago sits second at 150.8 yards. On the other side, the Buccaneers rank second in run defense and the Bears rank fourth.
Quarterback Caleb Williams has been sharp since returning from a hamstring injury, completing 73.8 percent of his passes for 860 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions over the last three games. He ranks second in the NFL in completion percentage at 70.9 percent and fifth in passer rating at 104.6 for the season.
Running back D’Andre Swift leads the league with 10 rushing touchdowns and is 12th in rushing yards with 545. He scored three touchdowns in the first half against Seattle, becoming the first Bears player to accomplish that feat since Hall of Famer Walter Payton in 1977 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Wide receiver Luther Burden III has been a key target, catching 19 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns over the last three games. Tight end Colston Loveland has posted at least 65 receiving yards in three consecutive outings, the longest such streak by a Bears tight end since William Dewveall in 1960.
Offensive coordinator Press Taylor acknowledged the challenge Tampa Bay’s defense presents, according to the team preview.
“You don’t see a lot of great runs against them,” Taylor said. “The personnel they have — they’re very big inside; they do a great job. But then the structure of the way they play, the way they shed blocks, the fundamentals, it’s a good tackling unit in the core.”
On defense, the Bears received a boost from newly acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who recorded six tackles, one sack, two tackles-for-loss and one pass breakup in his debut against Seattle. Defensive end Montez Sweat, returning from a two-game suspension, added one sack in that contest.
Chicago’s defense ranks first in the NFL in third-down efficiency, holding opponents to a 23.8 percent conversion rate. The 19 third-down conversions allowed through eight games are the second fewest by any team through that span since at least 1991.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said the Buccaneers’ ground game will be the primary concern.
“They’re running the ball better than anybody else in the league right now,” Allen said. “Their offensive line is physical. This team just plays really hard and they play a physical brand of football, so it’s going to take a lot of physicality.”
Tampa Bay ran for a franchise-record 925 yards over its last four games. Running back Bucky Irving ranks fourth in the league with 728 rushing yards and topped 100 in three of his last four outings. Last Sunday against Atlanta, Irving rushed for 170 yards and teammate Kenny Gainwell added 140 as the Buccaneers won 16-0.
Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday night at Soldier Field.
