While the rest of Week 5 action may be uncertain due to the return of COVID-19, tonight’s Thursday Night Football (TNF) for the NFL will move forward as planned. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears will meet on the gridiron, pitting two 3-1 teams against each other in a battle between the North and South. The Bucs may be the favorite heading into the game, but the Bears certainly can’t be ignored.
In Tampa Bay’s last game, against the LA Chargers, quarterback Tom Brady and the rest of the team found themselves in a hole that appeared to signal the end of the game. However, the 20-year veteran showed why he’s the NFL GOAT and rallied the team from as far down as 17 points to take the win, 38-31. Brady is unquestionably MVP material, throwing five touchdown passes, each to a different receiver. That flexibility makes it difficult for a defense to maintain adequate coverage on key plays.
That doesn’t mean the Bears are looking at a superior team, though. Although it was prior to the entrance of Brady, Chicago has beaten Tampa Bay six out of their last nine meetings. These two teams haven’t played each other since 2018, but the Bears defense is proving itself time and again this season. Despite ultimately losing last week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, the defense forced the Colts to kick field goals on four drives in the red zone. The Bears are allowing offenses to score a touchdown on 37.5% of red zone drives, the strongest performance for the NFL this season.
The Bears also saw a spectacular performance out of wide receiver Allen Robinson last week and the week before. He logged over 100 receiving yards in each of the two games, a feat not seen on the team since 2015. As long as he and quarterback Nick Foles continue to connect like that, Chicago has a good shot of making this a battle to the bitter end.
The Bucs are going to down a couple of players tonight, with wide receivers Scotty Miller, Justin Watson and Chris Godwin out due to injury. Wide receiver Mike Evans and running back Leonard Fournette are listed as questionable and doubtful, respectively, which puts the Bucs at a disadvantage offensively. On the other hand, the Bears are without safety Deon Bush as the team’s only listed injury.
If the Bears expect to win, the defense is going to have to step up and play error-free from the first Bucs offensive snap. While Chicago has a solid offense, it is not as strong as that of the Bucs, but the Bears defense can definitely control the rhythm of the game. For now, oddsmakers still think the Bucs will take it and are giving them -189 on the moneyline, compared to +160 for the Bears. The Over/Under sits at 44.5 (-110), and taking the Under might be the better option. The Bears are 2-0 on the Under at home this season, and the defense could make tonight the third time.
