Alex Anzalone gave Tampa Bay another chance. Two plays later, Jaylon Johnson took it back and ran 67 yards for a Chicago touchdown. The Bears went from a four-point lead to 24-13 because the Buccaneers had followed one interception with another, and only Chicago got points out of the exchange.
That was the shape of Tampa Bay’s 27-24 loss at Soldier Field. The defense kept creating openings. The offense got a field goal from four interceptions and gave Chicago a touchdown on the possession after the last one. A team that later tied the game had already turned too many of its best opportunities into work for its defense.
Tykee Smith intercepted Williams near the Tampa Bay goal line. The Buccaneers gained nine yards and gave up the ball on downs. Zyon McCollum made the next interception, and Tampa Bay punted. McCollum’s second pick set up a more promising drive, but the offense got to the Chicago 3 and sent out Chase McLaughlin for the short kick.
Three interceptions, three points. Chicago didn’t need a spotless game from Caleb Williams because he also threw for 279 yards and helped the Bears to a 14-0 lead. Even after he began giving possessions away, Tampa Bay hadn’t made Chicago pay enough for the scoreboard to change hands.
The third-down gap explains much of the frustration. Tampa Bay converted 2 of 12 attempts, while Chicago converted 7 of 13. Those numbers describe more than a difference in possession time.
They show why Tampa Bay’s drives kept ending before its 352 total yards could become sustained pressure. The Buccaneers ran for 126 yards, and Bucky Irving supplied the most reliable part of that attack, but too many series stopped at the point where a drive needed one more successful play.
Bucky Irving took 20 carries for 97 yards and both Tampa Bay touchdowns. The first cut Chicago’s lead to 17-13. The second came after the Buccaneers recovered a late fumble; Irving scored from six yards, and Mayfield ran in the conversion. It was 24-24 with less than three minutes left.
That comeback was real. So were the red-zone stalls that had made it necessary. Tampa Bay got five chances inside the Chicago 20 and finished two with touchdowns. The Bears went one for four themselves, but could add points from farther out, whether on a long pass, an interception return or a kick.
Caleb Williams found Colston Loveland for 38 yards on the last drive, getting the Bears to Tampa Bay’s 16 with 38 seconds left. The drive covered 49 yards. Cairo Santos finished it from 38, his kick going through on the final play.
Tampa Bay showed what a takeaway could do when it cashed in the late fumble. The first four gave it a different kind of lesson. Even a defense that turns the ball over to its offense all night has to come back out if the drive ends after a few snaps.
