Chicago was beaten badly by Minnesota on Sunday 38-17. Tampa Bay fell behind early and struggled to catch up in a 31-23 loss to St. Louis last Thursday.
The Bears would like to get their ground game established early with RBs Matt Forte and rookie Jeremy Langford but have had little success in recent weeks. The Buccaneers yield 94.4 ypg on the ground and while they gave up 98 yards to the Rams, it took 33 carries to get there. QB Jay Cutler was sacked 5 times last week as the o-line is showing signs of breaking down. Tampa has 33 sacks on the year and they are spread throughout the lineup. They shouldn’t have to blitz too often to get a consistent rush on Cutler. The Buccaneers pass defense has been very shaky at times this year but Chicago lacks the weapons to take advantage. WR Alshon Jeffery has missed several games due to injury and still isn’t 100%.
The Bears have lost 3-straight games and appear to be playing out the string. The Buccaneers were eliminated from playoff contention last week but have lots to play for. They have an outside shot at finishing 8-8, a far cry from their 2-14 and 4-12 seasons from the past 2 years. Martin is only 9 yards behind RB Adrian Peterson for the NFL lead and the upcoming free agent would like nothing better than to win the title. I expect the Bucs offense to perform early better than they did in the Rams contest and for their defense to keep Chicago in check.
Bucs 58% Over 57%
