The final score ended up being 38-3, extending Brady’s record in his last 20 games in October to 19-1, with his only loss coming against these same Bears last season on that strange Thursday night.
Tom Brady threw his 600th TD to the man himself, Mike Evans, who then proceeded to give the ball to a fan in the stands (the Bucs managed to negotiate the ball from the fan in exchange for a different game ball and a signed jersey).
Brady became the first quarterback in NFL history to reach 600 TDs, extending his all-time TD record with a pair of other touchdown passes to Evans, who ended up with 3 touchdowns and 76 yards receiving. Evans didn’t let his mistake from the first quarter affect how he handled his last pair of touchdown catches, giving those balls to fans as well.
The Bears fell behind early, going into the second quarter down 21-0 following an interception and a fumble by rookie quarterback Justin Fields. The second quarter didn’t go any better for Chicago, with the Bucs coming away with 14 points, both coming on Evans touchdown receptions.
The poor, Bad News Bears. Justin Fields looked overwhelmed and out of his element. He simply isn’t ready to have to deal with the Bears’ atrocious offensive line and their lack of real weapons, and he showed it, throwing a trio of interceptions and losing a pair of fumbles.
But let’s move on. This game was a dud, the Bucs beat the crap out of an awful Bears team. So it’s time to look at the bigger picture.
Looking forward, the Bucs take on the Saints next Sunday on the road in a divisional matchup that could be incredibly interesting. Jameis Winston will be making his first start against his former team, and the Bucs will be facing the Saints for the first time since last season’s “showdown” in the Superdome that ended Drew Brees’ career in the only way that seemed appropriate: a playoff choke job.
The Bucs have been excellent to start the year, as their 6-1 record will show (the first time in team history they’ve gotten off to such a start), and the only game remaining on their schedule that they could easily lose would be their matchup with the Bills in Week 14. Other than that, the Bucs could go undefeated in their remaining games.
They’ve proven that they can dominate inferior teams, with their lone loss coming against a quality Los Angeles Rams team who have gone 6-1 themselves (the Rams’ only loss coming against the undefeated Arizona Cardinals).
Now, can the Bucs take their incredible play against these awful teams and carry that momentum into the playoffs like they did last year? If they can, they could coast to a repeat. The Cardinals, Rams, and Packers are the only real challengers in the NFC, and they all seem incredibly beatable. The AFC’s reigning champs the Kansas City Chiefs look to be in disarray, as they sit 3-4 following their embarrassing blowout against the Tennessee Titans today.
So that leaves the Bills, Ravens and those aforementioned TItans as the only competitors from the AFC. Again, all very much beatable.
All of that to say, things are looking good, Bucs fans. Even with all the injuries and health concerns with the secondary, this offense is unstoppable, and hopefully reinforcements will arrive in time for the postseason.
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This article appears in Oct 21-27, 2021.