The Chicago Bears will look to rebound from an embarrassing season-opening loss at home to the Green Bay Packers, which featured a blowout score of 38-20. Chicago will look to end an 11-game losing streak dating back to last year when they travel to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers in their home opener. With everything appearing to go wrong for the Bears with questions about coaching, doubts about players' potential, and injuries, heading to Tampa Bay now could be a perfect storm given the team's poor history against the Buccaneers.
Early Season Games In Tampa Have Been Historically Bad For Chicago
A trip to Florida to play the Buccaneers was a yearly occurrence for Chicago, as the Buccaneers and Bears played in the same division from 1976 to 2001. Following the divisional realignment when the Texans joined the league in 2002, Chicago and Tampa Bay have only played one another 13 times over the past 21 years. In 1998, the Buccaneers moved to their current home, Raymond James Stadium, of which the Bears have served as the home opening or season-opening opponent for the Buccaneers three times.
In 1998, the Bears played the Buccaneers in the first game ever at Raymond James Stadium in a Week 3 matchup. Chicago had a chance to embarrass Tampa Bay and have an easy win by the end of the first half, as the Bears led 15-0, but had four offensive drives end within the Buccaneers' ten-yard-line, two resulting in no scores. Due to being down by 15 points instead of potentially 29, Tampa Bay scored four second-half touchdowns and won the game 27-15. Chicago's lone touchdown came on a 93-yard punt return by Glynn Milburn.
Two years later, in 2000, The Bears would be the Buccaneers' home-opening opponent in a highly anticipated Week 2 contest. A year prior, in 1999, Chicago featured one of the league's best scoring offenses, while Tampa Bay was the best defense in the NFL with defensive tackle Warren Sapp and linebacker Derrick Brooks. The game wasn't even close as the Buccaneers beat the Bears by a score of 41-0 as quarterback Cade McNown was intercepted twice and sacked five times.
In 2017, Chicago would serve as Tampa Bay's season-opening opponent in Week 2 as a hurricane had postponed the Buccaneers' Week 1 game against the Miami Dolphins. Many Bears fans and analysts believed Chicago would have an advantage in the contest due to a strong performance against the reigning NFC Conference champions, Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneers dominated the 2017 matchup from start to finish as the final score was 29-7 as Bears quarterback Mike Glennon threw two interceptions, one resulting in a return for a touchdown.
Several Other Factors Do Not Bode Well For Chicago Heading To Tampa Bay
In addition to previous game results not being on their side, there are other factors that the Bears must overcome to have a victory on Sunday over the Buccaneers. The weather in Tampa Bay could be a significant issue due to the high temperatures and, even worse, high humidity. Road teams playing early-season games at Raymond James Stadium usually deal with heat-related injuries, including cramps and dehydration.
Often, because of the imposing heat, opposing team players are sent to the locker room to receive an IV to assist with heat-related issues. One Bears player that potentially may be affected by hot conditions could be quarterback Justin Fields, who has had conditioning issues before. Last season, Fields was open about soreness in his legs due to the increased amount of scrambling he was doing. These issues arose during November in cold temperatures, and if on Sunday in Tampa, the Bears' quarterback has to run extensively, there is a good chance issues with cramping or dehydration could knock him out of the game.
Another issue Chicago must contend with is a history of poor offensive performance and turnovers, as it has been an embarrassing trend for the Bears when playing in Tampa Bay. In the three home opening games in Tampa listed earlier, Chicago turned the ball over four times in each game. During the last meeting between the two teams in 2021, Fields had three interceptions and lost a fumble in a 38-3 loss.
The uniforms the teams wear on Sunday could be an issue for Chicago as if they are required to wear their traditional blue home jerseys, it could be an issue. In the nine games the Bears have played at Raymond James Stadium since 1998, they have worn their home uniforms in seven of those games. In those seven games, Chicago has lost all of them and scored only three total offensive touchdowns.
Although it is only Week 2 of the 2023 season, Sunday's game already feels like a must-win season-deciding outcome for the Bears. They must win in an environment that has historically been unfriendly to them in weather conditions that will likely be in the high 80s or low 90s at kickoff. Chicago not only can change their season trajectory with a win over Tampa Bay but can reverse an embarrassing history that is building when they play at Raymond James Stadium.
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