The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1, 1-1 away) and Chicago Bears (3-1, 1-1 home) kickoff Week 5 of NFL play with a showdown on Thursday Night Football. Tampa Bay will aim to win their fourth-consecutive game while the hosts will try and bounce back after suffering their first loss of the season last week.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8:20 p.m. EST at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill. The Buccaneers are a 3.5-point road favorite, according to oddsmakers.
What to Know – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers made noise in the offseason with the signing of future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. The signing has been successful so far for the Bucs, who enter with a 3-1 record and sit in first place in the NFC East. Tampa has split their pair of road games this year.
Brady played poorly in their season-opening loss to the New Orleans Saints but has bounced back and looked sharp in the three starts since. On the season, the 43-year old has completed 101-for-155 passes for 1,122 yards with 11 touchdown passes and four interceptions. Two of those interceptions came against the Saints in Week 1.
Ronald Jones II (57 carries, 250 yards, one touchdown) and Leonard Fournette (24 carries, 123 yards, two touchdowns) handle duties in the backfield for the Bucs. Mike Evans (17 receptions, 230 yards, five touchdowns) is tied for the NFL lead with five touchdown receptions through four weeks as one of Brady’s favorite targets.
Defensively the Bucs are allowing 23.0 points and just 312.0 total yards of offense per game. Tampa’s defense has forced eight takeaways this season, with only the Browns defense forcing more.
What to Know – Chicago Bears
Chicago went into last week with a 3-0 record and a new quarterback and appeared to ignite the Bears’ offense that looked lackluster through two-in-a-half games this season. The excitement in the quarterback change was short-lived after an offensive dud in Week 3 against the Indianapolis Colts. The Bears are second in the NFC North, behind the undefeated Green Bay Packers.
Nick Foles made his first start in a Bears uniform last Sunday, completing 26-of-42 passes for 249 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Foles entered the game midway through Week 3 with the Bears on the ropes and tossed three touchdowns in a come-from-behind road victory against the Atlanta Falcons.
David Montgomery (53 carries, 218 yards) is the Bears led ballcarrier of the backfield the season-ending injury to gadget player Tarik Cohen. Chicago has yet to record a rushing score this season. Allen Robinson II (25 catches, 331 yards, two touchdowns) is the primary target for Bears quarterbacks at wide receiver.
The Bears’ defensive unit is surrendering 20.3 points and 345.3 yards per game through the first quarter of the 2020 season. Chicago is allowing the lowest completion percentage (56.4%) to quarterbacks in the league.
The Pick is In
The Bears had early success against inferior opponents over the first few weeks of play. The Buccaneers have been successful offensively and defensively this season and will be a tough test for the host.
Chicago’s record is better than their talent-level and with no fans, take the Buccaneers laying the points on a short week.
