Chicago led 14-0 after 1 quarter and 17-6 at the half, and for a while it looked like the blowout the board expected. Luther Burden did most of the damage early and finished with 5 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown. The Bears couldn't run, though. D'Andre Swift scored 3 times at Seattle but managed 24 yards on 8 carries here. With Kyle Monangai inactive and Zavier Scott on injured reserve, Chicago had no real second option and ended up on Williams' arm. Throwing that much is how 4 interceptions happened.
Tampa Bay's 324-yard rushing day against Atlanta did not come with it to Chicago. Bucky Irving ran 18 times for 80 yards and a touchdown, which is solid but nowhere near the 170 he put on the Falcons. The Bucs' longest gains came through the air instead, and Tez Johnson had just 2 catches but turned them into 76 yards. Emeka Egbuka was active in his return from the foot injury, but he did not show up in the game's leading lines. Most of the explosive plays came from elsewhere.
Tampa Bay lost this game in the red zone. Chicago turned the ball over 4 times, and Todd Bowles kept taking 3 points instead of 7. The Bucs settled for 3 short field goals, and add the Mayfield pick-6 to that and you have the night: a team that got 4 extra possessions and still needed 11 points in the 4th quarter just to tie at 24. Those 11 points were real resilience. The 2 quarters of field goals before them are why it was only a tie.
The final drive was all Williams. After throwing his 4th interception earlier in the night, he hit Colston Loveland for the big gain that put Santos in range, and Santos made the 38-yarder as time expired. Both secondaries finished banged up. Antoine Winfield Jr. was ruled out of the game with an ankle injury, and Tyrique Stevenson Sr. left with a hand injury, so next week's reports for both teams are worth watching.
Chicago is now 6-2 with a short week behind it and a 5-game winning streak. Still, a home team that throws 4 interceptions and wins by a field goal hasn't proved much. Tampa Bay falls to 3-5 heading into its Week 10 bye. The Bucs' 2-game run looks less like a turnaround after this one, but it wasn't a weather fluke either. They had a dry field, plenty of chances and a quarterback who could throw, and they still couldn't turn takeaways into touchdowns.
