Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy nails it when he says the team should be happy to be 3-1, but not excited about it.
A 3-1 record is far better than an alternative where the numbers in the won-loss column are flipped. But the one loss left an awful taste in my mouth. And while Sunday’s loss was a step in the wrong direction, a quick turnaround to Thursday provides an opportunity to get right.
After all, we didn’t need a few extra days of gnashing our teeth while the Week 4 loss gnawed at us.
Get hyped:
Game Info
Chicago Bears (3-1) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1), 7:20 p.m. CT on FOX-TV and NFL Network (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Kristina Pink), Amazon Prime (Hannah Storm, Andrea Kremer), WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote), Westwood One (Kevin Harlan, Tony Boselli)
Odds: Bears (+3.5, -117), Over/Under 44.5, via the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Week 5 Game Thread (Preview)
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun. Let’s get the Bears back in the win column.
Coaches
Matt Nagy (23-13) vs. Bruce Arians (59-40-1 overall, 10-10 with Buccaneers)
Starting Quarterbacks
Bears: Nick Foles
Last week vs. Colts: 26/42 (61.9%), 249 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 76.4 rating
versus
Buccaneers: Tom Brady
Last week vs. Chargers: 30/46 (65.2%), 369 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT, 117.0 rating
Bears Expected Starters
Offense
• QB Nick Foles
• RB David Montgomery
• WR Allen Robinson II
• TEs Jimmy Graham, Demetrius Harris, Cole Kmet
• LT Charles Leno Jr., LG James Daniels, C Cody Whitehair, RG Germain Ifedi, RT Bobby Massie
Defense
• DT Akiem Hicks, NT Bilal Nichols, DE Roy Robertson-Harris
• OLBs Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn
• ILBs Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan
• CBs Kyle Fuller, Jaylon Johnson
• FS Eddie Jackson
• SS Tashaun Gipson Sr.
Specialists
• Cairo Santos (kicker), Pat O’Donnell (punter, holder), Patrick Sales (long snapper), Cordarrelle Patterson (kick returns), Ted Ginn Jr. (punt returns)
Buccaneers Expected Starters:
Offense
• QB Tom Brady
• RB Ronald Jones II
• WRs Mike Evans, Scotty Miller
• TEs Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate
• LT Donovan Smith, LG Ali Marpet, C Ryan Jensen, RG Alex Cappa, RT Tristan Wirfs
Defense
• DE Ndamukong Suh, NT Vita Vea, DE William Gholston Justin Houston
• OLBs Shaquil Barrett, Jason Pierre-Paul
• ILBs Devin White, Lavonte David
• CBs Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting
• Ss Antoine Winfield Jr., Jordan Whitehead
Specialists
• Ryan Succop (kicker), Bradley Pinion (punter, holder), Zach Triner (long snapper), Jaydon Mickens (kick and punt returns)
Bears Inactives:
Inactives for #TBvsCHI: pic.twitter.com/Jsmk31M1GM
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 8, 2020
Buccaneers Inactives:
Tonight's inactive report for #TBvsCHI. pic.twitter.com/QxujrGcrUH
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 8, 2020