The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a short week as they take on the Chicago Bears on Thursday night. Both teams are (3-1) on the season. However, the Bears are coming off a loss to the Colts on Sunday, while the Bucs pulled out a win against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Quarterback Tom Brady had his best game in a Bucs uniform Sunday against the Chargers. He completed 30-of-46 passes for 365 yards and five touchdowns. Brady has 11 touchdown passes so far this season which have him tied for fourth in the league. Since the loss in Week 1 to New Orleans, the Bucs have outscored opponents 97-58.
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The greatest quarterback of all time is 5-0 against the Bears in his career. In these games, he has completed 70.3 percent of his pass attempts for 1,595 yards, 14 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. His passer rating is 109.2 against the Bears which is incredible. The most recent win came at Soldier Field in 2018 in Week 7 as the Patriots came away with a 38-31 victory. However, the Bears lead the all-time series with the Bucs 39-20. The Bucs have won two of the last three games against them though.
Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano is 0-6 against Brady either as a defensive coordinator or a head coach. Pagano led teams, whether he was the head coach or coordinator, give up 41 points a game to Brady-led teams. A scary proposition for the likes of Khalil Mack and the Bears defense.
Mack knows how much of a challenge it is facing Brady.
“Whether it’s Thursday night, or Saturday night or Monday night, I know he wants to go out and give his team the best chance to win the ballgame but for us it’s a chance for us to step up big and help this team win,” said Mack. “Defensively we’re trying to do everything we can and we’ve got to give him the kind of game where our rush and coverage are working real well together and this will be another chance to do that.”
The Bucs will be without Chris Godwin and LeSean McCoy Thursday Night. However, it gives guys like Scotty Miller and Rob Gronkowski an opportunity to make more of an impact. It helps that Mike Evans will be back on the field and his chemistry with Brady has improved each week since the opener.
Overall the Buccaneers offense seems to be getting better each week. Playing on a Thursday after a Sunday game is tough. One thing about Brady we’ve seen early on is he likes perfection. He knows this offense hasn’t gotten to its full potential yet. The unique offseason and lack of a preseason didn’t help much. So far it’s, been pretty good. However, it can be MUCH better.
