Tampa Bay
Buccaneers
4-4
16
FINAL
24
Chicago
Bears
2-6
AI Recap
AI RECAPIn a hard-fought battle on the gridiron, the Chicago Bears secured a 24-16 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9 of the 2026 season. With playoff implications on the line, the Bears demonstrated resilience and strategy to pull off the win at home, marking a critical moment in their campaign.
Caleb Williams led the Bears' offense with a steady performance, throwing for a touchdown while managing the game effectively. On the other side, Baker Mayfield put up strong numbers with 237 passing yards, but it was Bucky Irving's 82 rushing yards and Emeka Egbuka's 74 receiving yards that kept the Buccaneers competitive throughout the matchup.
Defensively, the Bears were anchored by Devin Bush, who recorded nine total tackles, consistently disrupting Tampa Bay's rhythm. The turning point came when Dillon Thieneman intercepted a crucial pass, shifting momentum back to the Bears and allowing them to maintain control down the stretch. Despite Vita Vea's impressive two sacks for the Buccaneers, the Bears' defense ultimately made the plays that mattered most.
Passing
| Player | Pos | ATT | CMP | YDS | TD | INT | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker Mayfield | QB | 46 | 23 | 237 | 1 | 2 | 54.3 |
| Caleb Williams | QB | 32 | 20 | 180 | 1 | 0 | 88.0 |
Rushing
| Player | Pos | ATT | YDS | YPC | TD | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucky Irving | HB | 13 | 82 | 6.3 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| Kyle Monangai | HB | 7 | 37 | 5.3 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| Kenny Gainwell | HB | 7 | 26 | 3.7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Caleb Williams | QB | 6 | 23 | 3.8 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Baker Mayfield | QB | 4 | 17 | 4.3 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Ted Hurst III | WR | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Receiving
| Player | Pos | REC | YDS | YPR | TD | LNG | DROP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emeka Egbuka | WR | 5 | 74 | 14.8 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| Chris Godwin Jr | WR | 8 | 67 | 8.4 | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| Cade Otton | TE | 4 | 63 | 15.8 | 0 | 28 | 1 |
| Rome Odunze | WR | 4 | 31 | 7.8 | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| Luther Burden III | WR | 3 | 30 | 10.0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| Tutu Atwell | WR | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Colston Loveland | TE | 3 | 21 | 7.0 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Kyle Monangai | HB | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Ted Hurst III | WR | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Jalen McMillan | WR | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| Devin Culp | TE | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Bucky Irving | HB | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Kenny Gainwell | HB | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Defense
| Player | Pos | TKL | SACK | INT | FF | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dillon Thieneman | SS | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Devin Bush | MIKE | 9 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Vita Vea | DT | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyler Gordon | CB | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jacob Parrish | CB | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Woods | FS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dayo Odeyingbo | REDG | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antoine Winfield Jr | FS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ja'Quan McMillian | CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| D'Marco Jackson | WILL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Keionte Scott | CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zyon McCollum | CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grady Jarrett | DT | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cam Lewis | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gervon Dexter Sr | DT | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josiah Trotter | MIKE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tykee Smith | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kevin Byard III | FS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jordan van den Berg | DT | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T.J. Edwards | WILL | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| JJ Roberts | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rueben Bain Jr. | LEDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Calijah Kancey | DT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yaya Diaby | REDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | Pos | FGM | FGA | XPM | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cairo Santos | K | 1 | 1 | 3 | 54 |
| Chase McLaughlin | K | 3 | 3 | 1 | 55 |

