Chicago Bears: 3 Buccaneers the Bears must shut down
By Ryan Heckman
On Sunday, the Chicago Bears take on a surprise team of 2018 in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This is what everyone predicted, right? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, are the NFL’s leading offense in terms of yards per game. The Chicago Bears are going to have their hands full with an offense currently averaging 473.3 yards per game over their first three weeks.
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This will be an interesting game for the Bucs. Starting quarterback Jameis Winston is finished with his 3-game suspension to begin the year, but Fitzpatrick has been playing much better than anyone could have anticipated. What happens to Winston? Does it even matter how the Bucs play on Sunday, since Fitzpatrick has been this good?
For the Bears, they come into this game boasting one of the NFL’s top defenses. I think most fans assumed this unit would be borderline-elite, but I’m not sure anyone thought the Bears would lead the league in sacks (14.0) after Week 3.
Adding Khalil Mack has taken this unit to a new level in 2018, and they’re going to need to stay at that level — maybe even take it up a notch — if they want to come away with a victory in Week 4.
Which players should the Bears be most concerned about? For the Bucs, these are the guys which Bears fans should have their eyes on. They have to be shut down in order for the Bears to get the win.