The Buccaneers defense and offense almost gave it away, but they are ultimately able to hold on and defeat the Chicago Bears. Neither team played perfectly as there were a lot of pre-snap penalties, especially by Luke Goedeke, but the Bears ultimately prove that they can’t draft a QB.
The defense for the Bucs showed up again. 6 sacks, like a quadrillion QB hits, and two picks, both basically ended the game towards the end. And who else but Shaquil Barrett getting the team’s first defensive TD. The man had battled through so much adversity, not just the Achilles, but losing his young daughter. He showed up and showed up big today.
Baker Mayfield also looked amazing. I know I complained about the lack of TDs in the red zone, but Mayfield still looked sharp. He had 317 yards, one TD, and again no turnovers. More importantly, he decided to lube himself up before the game. The Bears had him dead to rights several times, and he just Mahomesed them. Usually either finding an open receiver to get yards or running for a few himself.
Mike Evans decided to go beast mode as well. 165 yards, one TD, and one very long run. There is a reason the fanbase is clamoring for a blank check. He still looks like one of the most consistent WRs in the NFL at 31.
The running game also performed up to snuff. Rachaad White didn’t dance around in the backfield and actually hit the holes the line gave him. Sean Tucker also looked good and Chase Edmonds on his two carries got the longest rush. While the backfield by committee will frustrate White owners (like me), the Buccaneers managed over 100 yards of rushing on the backs of our backs and a few timely Mayfield runs.
While the Bucs definitely played way too conservatively towards the end and allowed the Bears to come back, they still put it away. Obviously losing Jamel Dean in this game will hurt as they prepare for the Eagles, but we all knew that a fully healthy secondary was never going to happen. The good news is that McCollum didn’t look too bad.
This article was used with permission from cannoncrunch.wordpress.com.and was written by Devin Sanguinett.
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