Bears Trampled by Colts 19-11, Bucs Up Next

Bears Trampled by Colts 19-11, Can they Rebound Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football?

I guess we’ve all gotten spoiled by incredible Chicago Bears finishes as of late. Maybe it was just me, but this Bears game against the Indianapolis Colts was one of the most boring games I can remember. The Colts dominated the game, winning 19-11.

It only looks somewhat close on paper because the Bears scored eight points on their last drive of the game when Indy was in a prevent defense. Without that late score, Chicago lost 19-3. The Colts scored one touchdown and four field goals. They scored on five different possessions, so it goes to show this game could have gotten out of hand early if the Bears defense did not step up and hold inside the red zone. If Indianapolis punched in two more out of their four red zone trips, they could’ve possibly won 27-3. Think about that.

Soldier Field on Sunday was so quiet and lifeless without the rabid Bears fans. It’s a shame what COVID has done to this NFL season. Nonetheless, at least they played the game, even if it seemed like only one team was out there playing with energy.

Game Balls

WR #12 Allen Robinson – He pulled down seven catches for 101 yards and one TD on 10 targets. Robinson seems to be the only weapon for QB #9 Nick Foles and the Bears offense now that RB #29 Tarik Cohen is out for the season with a torn ACL. It’s a broken record we’ve been writing for years now…the Bears need to add weapons to help this offense score! The quarterback always gets the blame but they need playmakers. It doesn’t matter if it’s QB #10 Mitch Trubisky, Foles, or Caleb Hanie. Without guys to run down the field into the endzone, this Bears team will lag behind the rest of the league. Sure there are a couple fast players such as Anthony Miller and Darnell Mooney, but where are the big targets such as studs like Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Travis Kelce, D.K. Metcalf, etc.? GM Ryan Pace needs to keep adding potential weapons every offseason. So far he hasn’t gotten enough for HC Matt Nagy to utilize.

DE #96 Akiem Hicks – Hicks is a “Mountain of a Man”, as we’ve written before. The last few weeks have been great ones for Hicks. In this Colts game, he once again provided pressure and staunchiness to a Bears front that needs all it can get without the wimpy DT #91 Eddie Goldman available due to his fear of COVID. Hicks made six tackles, including two tackles for loss, and two quarterback hits on the day. Chicago needs Hicks to keep this up if they want to return to their previously dominating self as a defensive unit.

Player of the Game

ILB #58 Roquan Smith – Roquan did it all on Sunday afternoon except keep his foot inbounds on his diving interception attempt. It’s a shame because that pick could have saved four points that Indianapolis ended up scoring on a subsequent field goal by rookie K #3 Rodrigo “Hot Rod” Blankenship. Nonetheless, Smith dominated with 13 total tackles, 11 of which were solo stops, and 3.5 TFL’s. He was all over the field, and it was a good thing because it seems as if Roquan’s fellow inside linebacker #59 Danny Trevathan has lost a step. Without Smith in there on Sunday, the Bears would have been blown out by much more than what the final score indicated.

---

Predictions Recap

Last week in our Bears vs Colts Preview, we wrote:

“Maybe it’s just me but I think the Bears will struggle today against the Colts. I believe this Colts defense is for real and I think Nick Foles is better off the bench than he is as a starter. I see a low scoring game today at Soldier Field.

Indianapolis Colts 20, Chicago Bears 16“

Unfortunately, our Crystal Ball was correct. It was a low scoring game and the Bears did indeed struggle as the final score suggested. The 19-11 final was even lower scoring than we predicted.

Season Records:

• Chicago Bears: 3-1
• Dutch Lion : 4-0

---

Week 5 Preview – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) at Chicago Bears (3-1)

on Thursday Night Football

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers come riding into Chicago on a three game winning streak to take on a Chicago Bears team that looked lifeless on Sunday after winning their first three games of the young season.

The big story line for this week’s nationally televised game will be the quarterback rematch from Super Bowl LII (52) in which then-Philadelphia Eagles QB Nick Foles beat then-New England Patriots QB Tom Brady by a score of 41-33 in a fantastic Super Bowl Championship. Foles was named Super Bowl MVP while Brady wrote “The TB12 Method”, his book about training for peak performance.

Now both QB’s are with new teams as NFC conference rivals. How will Nick Foles adjust in his second start? Will Tampa Bay’s defense continue to improve as they did last year after having THE worst defense in the NFL in both 2017 and ’18? According to Football Outsiders Almanac 2020, Tampa finished 5th in overall defense last year after those two dubious years of ineptitude. Through the first three weeks of this year, Football Outsiders has Tampa Bay’s defense ranked 2nd overall, behind only… you guessed it, Indianapolis.

These statistics make it sound like the Bears will be in dire straits once again on Thursday night. However, I think Chicago will rise to the challenge on national television. Now that they’ve tasted defeat, I think the Bears will show more urgency and play with more energy against Tom Brady and Tampa Bay.

Week 5 Prediction:

The Bears are suddenly facing adversity after an undefeated September. Likewise, Tampa has had an up-and-down start. Remember their opening week performance at New Orleans? Since then Tampa has won all three games but didn’t look sharp at home against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, falling behind 24-7 before rallying to win 38-31. So who will have more motivation on Thursday night?

According to Sports Betting Dime, Tampa Bay is favored by 5.5 points with an Over/Under of 44.5 points. Therefore, the likely final score will be Buccaneers winning 25-19 or something similar. The “Dutch Lion” sees a different outcome. I would definitely take the Bears against the spread (ATS) over Tampa. In fact, I’ll take it a step further and predict Bears winning straight up (S/U) as a home underdog.

I see Chicago coming out with incredible energy after the non-emotional loss to an AFC team in the Colts. This game has much more meaning in a possible NFC Playoff fight. It’s a short week. Tampa has to travel and will be feeling more comfortable as they’ve won three games in a row. For Chicago, they stay at home but feel the urgency after a poor performance on Sunday.

PICK: Chicago Bears 23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20