Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears on ‘Sunday Night Football’: How to watch with Sling
Watch the Bucs visit the Bears on NBC, Sunday, Nov. 8 at 8:20PM ET, with Sling Select, Blue, Essentials & Select, or Orange & Blue.
It’s official: The Chicago Bears are the most fearsome team in the NFL. Visiting the defending champion Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football, Chicago roared to a 17-point victory, and new DT addition Jeffery Simmons made an immediate impact. In back-to-back games, Chicago knocked off the two teams who played in last year’s Super Bowl, and they have arguably the best QB and play-caller combo in the entire NFL.
Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is clawing and scratching its way back into the race for the worst division in football. Following an ugly 0-4 start, the Bucs have won three-of-four, including massive divisional wins over the Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons in consecutive weeks. It hasn’t necessarily been pretty, but in a division where all four teams are below .500 at the season’s midpoint, grimy, physical wins are a currency that spends.
The Buccaneers travel to the Windy City to take on the Bears for Sunday Night Football in a game with real consequences for both teams. Here’s a preview of the game; to watch Sunday Night Football on NBC with Sling, subscribe to Sling Select or Blue in designated markets.
How to Watch Bucs at Bears with Sling
Sunday Night Football games air exclusively on NBC, which is available with a subscription to Sling Select or Sling Blue in designated markets. Check out the full list of markets with NBC in Sling Blue and Select below, and subscribe to Sling Select today.
Buccaneers at Bears ‘Sunday Night Football’ Preview
https://youtu.be/_ztOU6p67Zo?si=IWxoC6p_s4YaUqcd
If you’ve followed the Bears at all in the 40 years since they won Super Bowl XX, you know the refrain: They need a quarterback. After decades of frustration, it sure looks like they found one. The stats say a lot: Caleb Williams is completing 70.9% of his passes with 6 TDs, 1 INT and a 104.6 rating. Since returning from a hamstring injury, he has 4 TDs, 0 INTs and 287 yards per game. But the eye test says even more. Williams is as slippery as they come, and his superpowered arm strength allows him to complete difficult passes that other QBs wouldn’t even hit in a clean pocket. Yet it’s a credit to the brilliance of head coach and offensive play-caller Ben Johnson that Williams doesn’t have to shoulder the load: the Bears are committed to the run and have outgained opponents by over 500 yards on the ground. Chicago’s offense vs. Seattle’s defense was a battle of strength-on-strength, and the Bears gashed them for 363 yards.
The Buccaneers also had a big win last weekend, and it was genuinely one of the strangest victories in NFL history. In their 16-0 shutover over the Falcons in a torrential downpour, Tampa Bay became the first team since 1974 to win without completing a pass. It helps that their offensive identity is all about the ground game. With Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell splitting carries, the Bucs have the league’s best run game (1,349 yards a counting). In fact, their success running the ball is skewing more than just Baker Mayfield’s passing numbers. The Bucs have outrushed opponents by 709 yards, by far the widest margin in the league. Since 1985, only six teams have posted a better per-game rushing differential, and those teams averaged 12.3 wins. Irving has 728 yards at 5.0 per carry, and he’s actually bringing down their YPC average (5.1 yards per carry overall).
The Bears’ newly-rennovated defense will definitely test this unit. In his first game for Chicago, Jeffrey Simmons showed why he’s the type of player worthy of two first rounders. Simmons played 55 of 63 snaps in his debut and drew 13 double teams, the most on the team. It didn’t matter: Simmons still had a sack and 2 tackles for loss. Seahawks QB Sam Darnold completed under 50% of his passes with Simmons on the field and went 5-for-5 with a TD when he was off. In the run game, Seattle’s backs gained just 52 yards on 16 carries. If the Bucs can run the ball against this front and pull off the upset, it won’t just put them in the driver’s seat for the NFC South, it could signal the arrival of a dangerous team that has a chance to play spoiler in the NFC playoffs.
X-Factors
Bears: DE Austin Booker
- Role: Rotational edge rusher; through Week 7 he had started only 2 games.
- Stat case: 4 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 6 QB hits and 2 forced fumbles.
- Why this matchup: Simmons drew 13 double teams in his debut, which leaves more one-on-one chances for the edge rushers. Mayfield has been sacked 14 times in five games and has 4 fumbles.
- What to watch for: Booker on obvious passing downs. One strip-sack could flip a low-scoring, run-heavy game.
Buccaneers: RB Kenny Gainwell
- Role: Co-lead back alongside Bucky Irving.
- Stat case: He ran for a career-high 140 yards on 25 carries against Atlanta, where he and Irving split snaps 30-30. Season line: 289 yards at 5.0 per carry with 3 runs of 20+ yards, plus 12 catches and a TD.
- Why this matchup: Chicago has to load up on Irving, and Gainwell’s quick cuts in small gaps attack a defense that was 22nd in yards per carry. He’s also Tampa Bay’s best receiving back if the Bucs need to throw short against the Bears’ third-down defense. Rookie S Dillon Thieneman, who leads Chicago in run-play tackles, will be the key opponent.
The Bears are must-see TV in primetime and the Buccaneers are well-built to counter their strengths. This could be a very competitive game, and an early NFC playoff preview. To watch the Bucs visit the Bears on Sunday Night Football on NBC, subscribe to Sling Select or Sling Blue in designated markets!