Week 9 Forecast: Bears Favored to Top Buccaneers, Saints to Rebound
WHO:
buccaneers.com - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears are the teams discussed in the Week Nine matchup.
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield returned after dislocating his right thumb; he had thrown 14 passes across his two games since returning.
buccaneers.com - Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams returned after a hamstring injury and completed 24 of 34 passes for 247 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions against Seattle. Running back D’Andre Swift scored three rushing touchdowns in that game and had 10 for the season.
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay cornerback Zyon McCollum intercepted passes in each of the team’s previous two games; linebacker Alex Anzalone recorded his second and third interceptions of the season against Atlanta.
buccaneers.com - Chicago’s leading tackler was safety Dillon Thieneman, with 47 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception and five passes defended.
CBS Sports - CBS analyst Pete Prisco said Caleb Williams “will make late plays to win it.” CBS Sports picked Chicago; its article also cited Jeffery Simmons as holding down the middle of the Bears’ defense.
CBS Sports - CBS Sports picked the New Orleans Saints to beat Cleveland, 23-17, and cover the 3-point spread.
Newsweek - Nick Wright predicted Tampa Bay would “hand the streaking Chicago Bears a reality check” in the Sunday Night Football matchup.
WHAT:
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay was described as a 6.5-point road underdog; most experts picked Chicago, though not all expected the Bears to cover. Pete Prisco and Mike Florio predicted a close Bears win; Florio’s forecast was by three points. Five of five NFL.com analysts, Nate Davis and five USA Today colleagues, and all eight Sports Illustrated MMQB analysts picked Chicago. One of ESPN.com’s 11 analysts picked Tampa Bay.
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay went 3-1 in the second quarter of its season and shut out Atlanta 16-0. Its three wins each included at least 241 rushing yards; it ran for a team-record 324 yards against Atlanta.
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay ranked first in rushing at 168.6 yards per game, second in yards per carry at 5.07, and last in passing yards per game (131.4) and passing yards per play. Its defense recorded 12 takeaways in four weeks.
buccaneers.com - Chicago won three straight, including consecutive wins over the previous season’s Super Bowl teams, New England and Seattle. It beat Seattle 34-17.
buccaneers.com - Chicago averaged 150.8 rushing yards per game, second to Tampa Bay. Its defense allowed a 23.8% third-down success rate; Chicago’s offense converted 44.4% of third downs.
CBS Sports - The article’s pick was Bears -6, with a projected 30-20 Chicago win. It said Mayfield had thrown for 64 combined yards over his previous two games and had a 1-12 prime-time record since 2021.
CBS Sports - The article picked Saints -3, projecting a 23-17 win over Cleveland. It said the Saints were 2-5, coming off a bye, and could get offensive linemen Kelvin Banks Jr. and Cesar Ruiz back; rookie receiver Jordyn Tyson could make his NFL debut.
WHERE:
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay was scheduled to visit Chicago at Soldier Field for a nationally televised Sunday Night Football game.
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay’s 16-0 win over Atlanta took place at home; Chicago beat Seattle in Seattle.
WHEN:
buccaneers.com - The Tampa Bay–Chicago matchup was listed for Sunday night at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
CBS Sports - Cleveland–New Orleans was listed for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
WHY:
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay’s stated game-plan factor was ball control: it averaged 32:05 in possession, while Chicago led the league at 35:27.
CBS Sports - CBS Sports favored Chicago because of Williams’ recent performance, Swift’s league-leading 10 rushing touchdowns and concern that Tampa Bay would need more passing production.
HOW:
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay averaged 5.81 yards on second-down runs and had 83 such attempts, second most in the league. Chicago allowed 5.29 yards per second-down run.
buccaneers.com - Tampa Bay’s offense converted 38.4% of third downs; its defense allowed a 32.0% success rate, including zero conversions in 12 attempts by Atlanta.
Chicago enters on a three-game winning streak, including a decisive victory over Seattle. Caleb Williams returned strong, while D’Andre Swift scored three rushing touchdowns. Tampa Bay counters with a powerful run game, despite Baker Mayfield’s limited passing.