Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears: Breaking Down Tampa Bay's Game Plan

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off their second win of the season but must quickly turn their attention to a second-straight road trip, this time further north to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears.

The Bucs dominated Washington on the road last week, riding a suffocating defense and a monstrous day from rookie receiver Mike Evans all the way to a 27-7 victory.  Evans racked up 209 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches, while Tampa Bay's defense sacked Robert Griffin III six times and forced three turnovers.

The Bears put a stop to their collective bleeding with a 21-13 win over the division-rival Minnesota Vikings last week.  Over the previous two games, the Bears had given up a total of 106 points to the Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots, leading to plenty of grumbling among fans.

Will the Bucs roll last week's momentum into their first winning streak of the season, or will the Bears give their home fans something to cheer about for the second week in a row?

If Tampa Bay wants the former, here's what it needs to look for against the Bears this week.

When Tampa Bay Has the Ball

Last week proved the Bucs should have one prime objective on offense for the rest of the season: get the ball to Mike Evans.

This year's seventh-overall pick, Evans had showed steady progression throughout the season, but he has exploded into a new stratosphere over the past few weeks.  In his past three games combined, Evans has caught 21 passes for 458 yards and five touchdowns, showing skeptics he was well worth a top-10 pick.

Evans faces a Bears pass defense that ranks 25th in the NFL, averaging 256 yards allowed per game, while surrendering the second-most touchdowns in the league through the air—25. It shouldn't take a rocket surgeon for the Bucs to figure out they need to keep feeding their biggest playmaker the ball again this week.

Though their overall pass defense has been weak this season, the Bears have a rookie gem of their own on that side of the ball in cornerback Kyle Fuller.  The Bucs would be wise to know where No. 23 is at all times, as the 14th-overall pick has made plenty of splash plays in his first NFL season, snagging three interceptions and forcing three fumbles.

Tampa Bay's offensive line continues to have an up-and-down season, particularly in pass protection.  Over the last few weeks, fans have seen the Bucs protect fairly well on the road against the Browns and Redskins, yet they allowed four sacks at home to a Falcons team that only had seven on the season heading into that game.

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The Bears have 22 sacks on the season, and eight of them have come from defensive end Willie Young. Tampa Bay left tackle Anthony Collins has underperformed all season, while right tackle Demar Dotson continues to struggle with penalties.  Both will have to improve their play if they want to keep Young out of the backfield and away from quarterback Josh McCown, who won't be able to get Mike Evans and company the ball if he's laying on his back.

When Chicago Has the Ball

Tampa Bay's plan on defense begins and ends with getting after Jay Cutler, hitting him early and often, and forcing him into making bad decisions.

The Bucs proved this past week they can get after the quarterback and capitalize on poor decision-making, and they'll do their best to repeat last week's six-sack, three-takeaway performance against Washington.

Prior to last week's win over the Vikings, the Bears had only won when Cutler had not thrown a single interception, and only seven of the 24 sacks given up by Chicago this year came in those their four victories.  The message this sends to the Bucs? Get pressure on Cutler, force takeaways, and you're probably going home a winner.

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VIDEO: Jay Cutler throws his 11th INT of the season, Bears fans are not pleased http://t.co/oeIXdxSJpV #MINvsCHI pic.twitter.com/sHTwn5M2Yn

— NFL Now (@NFLNow) November 16, 2014"

Cutler has plenty of weapons at his disposal, with four receivers each logging over 500 yards receiving and at least three touchdown catches. But just like the Bucs have found out at times this season, having big playmakers at receiver—whether it's Evans and Vincent Jackson or Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery—only matters if the quarterback has time to take advantage of the matchup problems they present.

The Bears have plenty to like in the passing game, but every quarterback's best friend is a reliable rushing attack, and Cutler has the luxury of one of the game's best backs in Matt Forte.  Forte leads the team in receptions with 67, but he's been no slouch on the ground either, rushing for 733 yards and averaging over four yards per carry.

The biggest struggle the Bucs had on defense last week was making open-field tackles against Washington running backs Alfred Morris and Roy Helu Jr., whether on running plays or when they were used as check-down options in the passing game.  Tampa Bay's defenders gave up far too many yards after contact, sometimes due to poor angles and spatial awareness, and a talent like Forte will be far less forgiving than the likes of Washington's backfield.

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The final key to a successful performance from the Bucs defense this week will be clamping down on Cutler's big targets in the red zone. 

The Tampa 2 defense is built to give up yardage in short chunks, but locking up inside the 20-yard-line and forcing field goals rather than touchdowns.  With Marshall, Jeffery and tight end Martellus Bennett, the Bears have three massive pass-catchers who are at their best using their size to shield smaller defenders and win jump-balls in the end zone.

*All stats courtesy of NFL.com

Luke Easterling is a Featured Columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL Draft for Bleacher Report.  He is also the Editor/Senior Writer for The Draft Report.  Follow him on Twitter @LukeEasterling.