Bears vs. Buccaneers: 5 Key Matchups To Watch on Sunday

The Bears and Bucs travel to jolly ol' England to play a football game Sunday night. Well, day. I mean, night in England, day in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Bucs have been somewhat of a Jekyll-and-Hyde team this season, with a pitiful performance against the 49ers followed by a solid win against New Orleans.

But this game means more to the Bears. At 3-3, their wild-card hopes will take a huge hit if they lose, while Tampa is tied atop their division with the Saints and have a game up on them in head-to-head competition.

Plus, at 4-2, even with a loss, they would be right in the thick of the wild-card chase.

It appears to be a game between two fairly evenly-matched teams, so let's take a look at five key matchups for what should be a good game in London.

Tally ho!

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Devin Hester vs. Bucs Punter Michael Koenen

Will he or won't he, that is the question. Last weekend, I couldn't believe that the Vikings were kicking to Hester, yet they did, and they paid the price.

It's often an ego thing, challenging your players to beat the best. But it's not always the smartest move.

Yet Koenen may be up to the task—as one of the top punters in the NFL, he also handles kickoffs.

Teams haven't had much success returning punts against Koenen, as the Bucs allow just 6.3 yards per punt return. 

They have been even better on kickoffs, limiting the opposition to 18.4 yards per return, second in the league.

Now, Hester is special, so previous results may not matter. He returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown Sunday vs. the Vikings.

The way Koenen may combat Hester is to use his strong leg to kick the ball out of the end zone, something he has done on more than half of his kickoffs.

He also gets good hang time on punts, which could give his coverage team time to get downfield.

Still, I'll take Hester.  

Julius Peppers vs. Donald Penn and Jeremy Trueblood

Whether Peppers lines up against Penn or Trueblood, he is the type of athlete that can dominate against anyone when he's healthy and playing well.

Unfortunately, Peppers still has a lingering injury, though he didn't show it against the Vikings. But he was limping around after the game, and the Bucs' offensive line is better than Minnesota.

Then, there is the part about his playing well. Even before the injury, Peppers was inconsistent.

If he plays up to his potential, Peppers will be able to force Josh Freeman out of the pocket on the edge rush. And while Freeman moves well, he may make a mistake when rushed.

Penn is a good athlete, and if Peppers flips with Israel Idonije, he could also face Trueblood, who is nasty but does not matchup well against the speed of Peppers.

I'll take Peppers, who should dominate if he's right.

Matt Forte vs. Bucs' Run Defense

This one is tough to predict, as the Bears have struggled at times running the ball, while Tampa has also been inconsistent defending the run.

Yet, it's critical for Forte to be able to pick up yardage in steady chunks if the Bears are going to win this game.

Last weekend, the Bucs' run defense was very good, holding the Saints to 70 yards on 20 carries. 

But the week before, they were destroyed by Frank Gore, and San Francisco gained 213 yards on the ground.

The key for the Bears is, of course, for the line to block well, and for the Bears to commit to the run early and often.

The line is gaining confidence, and if Forte continues to run off-tackle, the Bucs' left side had better tackle well.

Which Bucs run defense will show up and will Mike Martz get pass happy again, particularly against a Tampa secondary that is less than stellar (three interceptions vs. Drew Brees notwithstanding, they give up a lot of yards through the air)?

This one's too close to call.

Jay Cutler vs. the Bucs Secondary

You can read my predictions on how Cutler will fare this Sunday, but specifically, this matchup will be the key to the game in my opinion.

On the one hand, Drew Brees shredded Tampa's defense for 383 yards last week. But he also threw three interceptions.

The Bucs secondary has given up a lot of yards through the air, but if they continue to come up with takeaways (they are plus-two on the season), those yards won't result in points for Cutler and the Bears.

Teams average 276 yards passing per game against the Bucs secondary, and Tampa ranks 27th in the league against the pass.

That actually concerns me in a way. I'm concerned that Martz might see this and decide to open up the passing game more.

Instead of max protect, he will send that extra tight end out or run more wide receiver sets, and while the Bucs don't rush the passer as well as Minnesota, that could spell trouble for Cutler.

I'd rather see a more balanced offense.

I think Cutler will have a good game, but something worries me about Martz.  

The Bears' Travel Plans vs. the Bucs' Decision to Go Early

We may not be able to say with any certainty, but which team is ultimately right or wrong on their travel plans may end up deciding this game.

Tampa decided to go to London early. The last time they played there, they came later in the week and got blown out by New England.

They partly blamed fatigue, so this time they did things differently.

Meanwhile, Lovie Smith and the Bears decided not to deviate from their normal schedule, and they did not arrive in England until early Friday morning.

So who is right? I don't know and we still won't know for sure even after the outcome.  But I do know that jet lag is real, even for athletes.

Personally, I think it makes sense to go early and get acclimated to the time change. So I'll give the Bucs the edge here.