Buccaneers vs Bears Predictions / Picks / Odds / Preview

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally fell back down to Earth after taking their first loss of the season last Monday. Still, they are 2-1 and are clearly in contention for the NFC South title. The Chicago Bears are also 2-1 with odds of +300 in the NFL Futures to top the NFC North at the end of the regular season.

Will the Buccaneer get back to their winning ways? Or will the Bears win their third-straight win at the expense of Tampa Bay?

Betting Preview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Chicago Bears NFL Season Week 4 Game on September 30, 2018

Where: Soldier Field, Chicago

When: Sunday, September 16, 2018, 4:25 PM ET

Line: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (odds) vs Chicago Bears (odds) – view all 2018 NFL lines

TV Broadcast: NFL Game Pass

Betting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1)

Fitzmagic seemed dead in the first half of Tampa Bay’s 30-27 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers but it got resurrected in the second half in which Ryan Fitzpatrick nearly guided the Bucs into a come-from-behind victory. Nevertheless, Fitzpatrick became the first player in NFL history to throw for at least 400 yards in each of the first three games of a season by passing for 411 yards and three touchdowns on 30-of-50 completions. He had three interceptions, but he threw them all in the first two quarters of the game. The big question now for the Bucs is whether they’ll keep starting Fitzpatrick or will they be going to start Jameis Winston against the Bears. Winston is finally eligible to play after serving a three-game suspension. Whoever the Bucs selects to run the show under center this coming Sunday, that quarterback will have the convenience of having wide receiver Mike Evans downfield. Evans blew up for 137 receiving yards and caught a touchdown against Pittsburgh.

Tampa Bay is 2-0 ATS in its last two road games.

Betting on the Chicago Bears (2-1)

After choking in a season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Bears have now built a sizable momentum thanks to back-to-back wins over the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals, respectively. Against the Cards last Sunday, Chicago’s vaunted defense toyed with Arizona’s lightly-regarded offense, holding Sam Bradford and company to only 221 total yards. The Bears made life hard for Arizona’s quarterbacks, as they intercepted Bradford and rookie Josh Rosen three times and took them down for a total of four sacks. On the season, Chicago is allowing just 18.3 points and 289.0 total yards per game. Their fantastic pass rush led by Khalil Mack will come in handy in trying to slow down Tampa Bay’s offense that generates a league-best 473.3 passing yards per game. It’s important for Chicago to take away the Bucs’ rhythm in the air, as Tampa Bay doesn’t have a reliable running game to fall back on in case Fitzpatrick/Winston struggles.

Chicago is 2-0-1 ATS in its last three home games.