Chicago Bears Score and Recap (Week 9): Bears 27, Buccaneers 24 – Chicago Prevails in Sloppy Sunday Night Affair
The Bears offense got off to a great start at Soldier Field Sunday night against the Buccaneers. Then the wheels came off, with five turnovers that allowed the road squad to come all the way back and tie the score before a last second Cairo Santos field goal gave the home side a stressful victory.
Caleb Williams came out of the gate on fire, leading his team right down the field on the opening drive and hitting Rome Odunze for a 9-yard touchdown pass. Chicago quickly got the ball back and had a lightning fast TD march that was paid off when WR Luther Burden III broke free after a short reception and dashed down the sideline for a 56-yard score which made it 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
After a Tampa field goal, Williams completely lost it, throwing three interceptions in the second quarter. Amazingly, the mistakes only turned into three points for the opposition and after a Santos field goal, the margin was 17-6 at halftime.
The Bucs hit a 59-yard pass to Tez Johnson in their first possession of the third quarter to set up a 1-yard Bucky Irving touchdown run that pulled them within 17-13. Williams threw his fourth interception later in the third but that was when Baker Mayfield made his one critical mistake of the evening. He threw a pass that was picked off by Jaylon Johnson, who ran it all the way back 67 yards for a score that made it 24-13.
Tampa kicked a field goal early in the fourth quarter and then Burden fumbled after taking a vicious hit that knocked him out of the game. The road team took full advantage with a Irving touchdown followed by a two-point conversion by Mayfield to even the score with less than three minutes remaining.
Then with the game on the line, Williams and the Bears shook off all of the mistakes and turnovers and put together a game-winning drive. The big play was a 38-yard pass to Colston Loveland which set up a short field goal as time expired to seal the win. (Box score)
Why the Bears Won
The defense did a good job of limiting the Buccaneers to field goals after all the turnovers. The offense also came through at the end of the game to salvage the win.
Key Moment
The pick-six by Johnson was the Bears only touchdown after the first quarter and kept them in it long enough to pull it out the victory at the end.
Stats That Matter
- Williams only had one interception the entire season before Sunday. He was lights out early with two touchdowns and finished with 279 yards passing but he made too many risky throws off the back foot and it cost him.
- Burden was having another excellent game with 97 yards and 7 catches before his injury. Because it came after a vicious hit a concussion is a distinct possibility, hopefully, it’s not a long-term thing.
- Odunze had a couple of nice receptions and had 64 yards and a touchdown.
Bottom Line
This was a very sloppy game all the way around and neither team will be very happy watching the game film. Williams has been excellent in 2026 but he has to avoid getting into dangerous habits. He has the ability to make stuff happen on broken plays that almost no one else would be able to save. The problem is sometimes he tries to force it when the better part of valor is throwing it out of bounds and living for another down and that’s when turnovers happen. They got away with it against Tampa Bay but that might be a different story in a playoff game.
Next Up
The Bears have their bye in Week 10 before hosting the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, November 22.
