Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears: Complete Week 12 Preview for Tampa Bay
Coming of their second win of the season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look for yet another road victory this week as they head north to face the Chicago Bears.
Sunday's game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. from Soldier Field and will be aired on Fox.
The Bucs used big plays on both sides of the ball to soundly defeat Washington 27-7 last week, riding six sacks and three takeaways on defense and a record-setting day from rookie receiver Mike Evans on offense. Despite sitting at just 2-8, the Bucs are still technically in the running for a division title, should they turn things around down the stretch.
Chicago has ridden a roller coaster to a 4-6 record, hitting its lowest point prior to last week with back-to-back blowout losses on the road to the Patriots and Packers. Jay Cutler's erratic play and the defense's inability to stop opposing offenses have Bears fans wondering if the team made the right decision by hiring Marc Trestman as their newest head coach.
When asked about his feelings returning to face his former team, Bucs head coach Lovie Smith said he has plenty of fond memories of his time in Chicago, according to ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas: "I have a lot of fond memories. We won a lot of games. That’s what I remember. And the fans there were awesome when we were winning all of those games. That’s my recollection."
Will Smith make some more good memories this week as the visiting head coach, or will his old team get the best of him in this week's reunion?
Here's everything you need to know about this Sunday's game.
Bucs Week 11 Recap
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The Bucs put together their most impressive performance of the season last week, holding onto a fourth quarter lead for the first time in six tries to beat Washington 27-7 and improve to 2-8 on the year.
On offense, Tampa Bay got an incredible performance from rookie top-10 pick Mike Evans, who caught seven passes for 209 yards and a pair of long scoring strikes. He was uncoverable all afternoon, becoming the first receiver in Bucs history to be named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
On the other side of the ball, the Bucs got a season-high six sacks from the front four, along with three takeaways that helped set the tone for the entire game. Danny Lansanah snagged a tipped ball for an interception on the game's first play from scrimmage, while Mason Foster deflected a pass right into the arms of Johnthan Banks, who took it all the way back for a score.
Banks' pick-six gave the Bucs an early 10-0 lead, but Washington closed the gap just before halftime with a 30-yard touchdown on a screen pass to Roy Helu Jr., who sped into the end zone with just 11 seconds remaining in the half.
But that was as close as the home team would get, as Evans' two scores helped the Bucs pull away in the second half.
Josh McCown played the kind of mistake-free game fans had been expecting to see from him since the beginning of the season, throwing for 288 yards and two scores with no turnovers. Tampa Bay's ground game was non-existent, totaling just 46 yards rushing for the game, but Evans' big plays bailed out an offense that couldn't seem to find a sustainable rhythm.
Despite facing one of the worst pass defenses in the league—one without starting cornerback Alterraun Verner—Robert Griffin III threw for just 207 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
News and Notes
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All About the Reunion
The biggest story heading into this game is the return of Bucs head coach Lovie Smith to Chicago, where he led the Bears to multiple division titles and even a Super Bowl run.
Ask Bears linebacker Lance Briggs, and he'll tell you Smith deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the legendary head coaches in Chicago's storied history, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago:
"Lovie should be remembered as one of the great coaches of Chicago. You have George Halas, you have Mike Ditka, and then Lovie Smith comes next.
We continued [the Bears] tradition of great defense throughout Lovie’s years. Now looking back, defense and special teams, it was a special time.
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Dickerson goes on to point out the numbers that support Briggs' claim, as Smith ranks just behind Halas and Ditka with 84 wins over his nine seasons as head coach in Chicago. It's clear that even though he'll be across the field and wearing opposing colors, at least one of Smith's former players still holds him in high regard.
Sims = Forte?
When the Bucs spent their third-round pick in this year's draft on West Virginia running back Charles Sims, the comparisons to Chicago's Matt Forte were almost immediate.
Smith acknowledged that while Forte is an impressive player, he believes Sims can eventually have the same type of impact, per Ira Kaufman of The Tampa Tribune: "Matt Forte is a great player who can do it all. He’s an all-down back who can block, protect, catch the ball out of the backfield. Charles Sims, in time, we think will be able to do most of those things, too. We’re early in the game with him.
Sims' skills as a receiver out of the backfield are particularly reminiscent of Forte, who leads the Bears in receptions this season, despite the presence of star wideouts Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. Sims caught more than 200 passes during his college career, and the Bucs hope he can eventually become the same type of playmaker Forte has been for the Bears.
Takeaways Are King
Smith's defenses were known for their ability to create tons of turnovers, which helped drive the success of a team that won three division titles and propelled it to an NFC title run despite not having a particularly strong offensive attack.
The Bucs got three in last week's win, and Smith wants to keep the trend going. During this week's meetings, he showed the defense footage of different NFL teams creating turnovers in different situations, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com:
"Yeah, I showed takeaways last week is what I did, from different people. This week, we’ll kind of concentrate more – since we had some – on our takeaways a little bit. Again, we look at the league throughout and what’s good that’s happening that kind of relates to what we’re doing each week. That’s a base part of what we do.
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The Bears have plenty of firepower on offense, but quarterback Jay Cutler is prone to mistakes. If the Bucs can rattle him early and win the turnover battle again this week, it will go a long way toward securing the team's third win of the year.
Injury Report
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| Player | Position | Injury Status |
| Lavonte David | LB | Did Not Participate |
| Alterraun Verner | CB | Limited Participant |
| Doug Martin | RB | Limited Participant |
| Charles Sims | RB | Limited Participant |
*All injury statuses are courtesy of Buccaneers.com, based on participation in Thursday's practice.
The Bucs are fortunate to have a short injury report this week, but there's a big name on it that will keep fans concerned.
David (hamstring) was limited in Wednesday's practice but was unable to take part at all on Thursday. The regression in status could be precautionary, but his status for Sunday is definitely something for Bucs fans to keep an eye on.
Tampa Bay's backfield continues to be banged up, as both Sims and Martin are nursing ankle injuries. Martin hasn't seen action in the last three games, while Sims made his NFL debut two weeks ago after recovering from preseason ankle surgery. Expect Bobby Rainey to get a heavier workload this week.
Verner (hamstring) has missed the past two games, but with limited participation in Thursday's practice, he could end up returning to the starting lineup this week. If not, Crezdon Butler will likely start in his place yet again.
If the Bucs want to go on a run and try to take advantage of a weak NFC South over the last six weeks of the season, having a slight injury report like this one could definitely be a huge help.
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X-Factor and Matchups to Watch
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Willie Young vs. Bucs offensive tackles
The Bears have tallied 22 sacks so far this season, and eight of them have come from Young. Tampa Bay's entire offensive line has struggled for much of the season, despite replacing four of five starters from last year's unit.
Left tackle Anthony Collins has failed to live up to the high expectations that came along with his big-money free-agent contract this offseason, while right tackle Demar Dotson—the group's only returning starter from 2013—has been plagued by penalties all season.
If the Bucs want Josh McCown to have enough time in the pocket, it starts with the edge-blockers keeping Young in check.
Bucs pass rush vs. Jay Cutler
Last week was the first time this year the Bears have won a game in which Cutler has thrown an interception, and he's thrown plenty. He's prone for mistake-filled performances, and the Bucs have to take advantage.
Last week, Tampa Bay's front four got after Robert Griffin III early and often, sacking him six times. This helped the back seven create three turnovers, and the Bucs could enjoy a similar result on the scoreboard if they're able to collapse the pocket on Cutler this week.
Mike Evans vs. Bears secondary
The Bears currently rank 25th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game while giving up the second-most passing touchdowns in the league. Evans has caught five of his seven touchdowns over the past three weeks, proving to be the big-play threat the Bucs drafted him to be with the seventh overall pick in this year's draft.
Chicago's pass rush will be key, but if Evans is given time to stretch the field, it could be a long afternoon for the Bears defensive backfield.
Bucs' X-Factor of the Week: WR Vincent Jackson
Evans continues to prove he's snatched the torch away from Jackson as the team's No. 1 receiver, but with it, he'll start to command the attention from opponents to match.
Jackson may not be the flashy playmaker he once was, but he still gives the Bucs a big 6'5" target who can move the chains and use his size to outmuscle smaller corners for the ball. With Evans drawing much of the focus after last week's breakout performance, look for Jackson to take advantage of being somewhat of a forgotten man across from the rookie this week.
Prediction
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The Bucs built some momentum with a dominant win on the road against Washington last week, getting the pass rush and takeaways they needed on defense and getting big plays and a mistake-free performance from the offense.
Following two straight blowout losses on the road, the Bears came away with a division win over the Vikings at Soldier Field last week, despite another multi-interception outing from Jay Cutler.
Both teams are coming off "stop-the-bleeding" victories, but it just feels like the Bucs' arrow is pointing up more so than the Bears'. If the Bucs can be successful in the ground game and force Cutler into some mistakes, they might just start a winning streak.
Prediction: Bucs 20, Bears 17
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