The Chicago Bears will work to get back on track Sunday afternoon in Tampa, Fla., facing the Buccaneers and looking to move past an opening 38-20 home loss to the Green Bay Packers.
The Bears haven’t won since Oct. 24 of last season and might be in a must-win predicament already with a visit to play the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on tap for Week 3.
In the lead-up to Sunday’s game, here are a dozen eye-catching facts and figures.
18
Margin of defeat for the Bears in their opening loss to the Packers. It was the team’s fifth most lopsided Week 1 loss during the Super Bowl era. The 2003 Bears lost 49-7 in San Francisco for the franchise’s worst opening defeat since 1966. Other ugly Week 1 losses in the team photo include a 41-13 road loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1967, a 35-7 home loss to the Baltimore Colts in 1975 and a 34-14 road setback to the Los Angeles Rams in 2021.
7
Bears losses by 16 points or more during the 18-game Matt Eberflus era, a league-high during that span. The Indianapolis Colts (five) and Rams (four) are the only other teams with at least four losses by 16 points or more since the start of the 2022 season.
.231
The Bears’ conversion rate on third down (3-for-13) in Sunday’s loss. Only five teams in the league were worse — the Cincinnati Bengals, Colts, Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. Much of the Bears’ issues on third down, however, stemmed from issues on first and second downs. The Bears faced third-and-9 or longer six times while having third-and-3 or less just three times.
66
Receiving yards by Mike Evans in the Buccaneers’ 20-17 road upset of the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. That included a 28-yard touchdown catch from Baker Mayfield in the first half. Evans has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of the last nine seasons, the second-longest streak in league history. Jerry Rice put together 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons for the 49ers from 1986-96. Rice holds the league record with 14. Randy Moss is second with 10.
6
Receptions by Bears rookie running back Roschon Johnson in the opener, a team high. Johnson was targeted seven times and accumulated 35 receiving yards. He also turned five rushing attempts into 20 yards and could take on a bigger role against the Bucs. “He has handled himself as a grown man,” Fields said.
105
Turnovers forced by the Buccaneers defense under Todd Bowles’ watch since the start of 2019. That ranks fifth in the NFL during that span. Bowles was the team’s defensive coordinator from 2019-2021 and has been the head coach since the start of 2022. The Buccaneers had an interception and two fumble recoveries Sunday and have averaged 1.6 takeaways per game since Bowles’ arrival.
76
(John J. Kim/baiduhai)
Turnovers forced by the Bears defense since Vic Fangio’s departure after the 2018 season. The Bears have had three defensive coordinators since — Chuck Pagano, Sean Desai and Alan Williams — but have averaged just 1.1 takeaways per game during that span. In Fangio’s last season as coordinator, the Bears led the NFL with 36 takeaways.
369
Points allowed by the Bears defense since the team last won a game. The Bears also have allowed 4,409 total yards to opponents during their 11-game losing streak, which dates to Week 8 of last season.
35-3
Halftime score of the Bears’ last game against the Buccaneers, in Week 7 of 2021 at Raymond James Stadium. Tom Brady threw four first-half touchdown passes and the Buccaneers rolled up 223 yards before halftime in a 38-3 victory. Justin Fields threw three interceptions, lost two fumbles and was sacked four times in that loss while posting a passer rating of 44.3. The Bears have dropped their last three games in Tampa by an average of 34-7. Their last road victory against the Buccaneers came in 2015, a 26-21 win.
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7
Games played by the Bears since they last scored 21 points or more. The team averaged 31 points over a 21-day span from Week 7 through Week 10 last season. But in the eight games since, they have averaged 16.1 points. The last time the Bears surpassed 20 points in a game was in Week 11 last season — a 27-24 road loss to the Falcons.
328
Passing yards allowed by the Buccaneers defense in their win against the Vikings. Only the Los Angeles Chargers (466) and Seahawks (334) allowed more. Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins completed 33 of 44 passes with two touchdowns and an interception. A season ago, the Bucs had a top-10 passing defense, allowing just 203.6 yards per game. Led by Vita Vea, they ranked seventh in the league in sacks with 45.
279
Cumulative snap count from the opener of the Bears’ eight drafted rookies on the 53-man roster. First-round pick Darnell Wright led the way, playing all 74 offensive snaps plus two on special teams. Tyrique Stevenson was next, playing all 60 defensive snaps plus 12 on special teams. Johnson played 42 combined snaps, followed by Gervon Dexter (25), Noah Sewell (25), Tyler Scott (24), Zacch Pickens (12) and Terell Smith (3).