TAMPA, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) defense did its job Sunday night in Chicago. The offense didn't do nearly enough.
Despite forcing five turnovers, the Buccaneers couldn't capitalize on the opportunities and fell to the Bears, 27-24.
Tampa Bay scored points off just two of those takeaways, while its own mistakes proved costly.
"Good question," head coach Todd Bowles said when asked how his team could lose a game after forcing five turnovers. "You've got to capitalize on them. We can't give them the ball back. We've got to be better on third down."
Two plays after Alex Anzalone intercepted Caleb Williams in the third quarter, Baker Mayfield threw an interception right back. This one was returned for a Chicago touchdown.
"It comes back to the turnovers for us. Interceptions. Don't want to have them ever, especially when it turns into immediate points on the pick-six," Mayfield said. "That was the difference in the game. Defense, after they settled in, played amazing."
The loss snapped Tampa Bay's 22-game winning streak when forcing five turnovers. Anzalone recognized just how unusual the result was.
"I mean, statistically, that's probably — I don't know the history of NFL games — but I'm pretty sure that would be a high-percentage win when you're plus-four in the turnover margin," Anzalone said.
Bucky Irving did his part, rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns. But the passing game never found its rhythm. Mayfield was sacked four times, and dropped passes only added to the frustration.
"We did a couple of things well. We just got to capitalize when our defense gets turnovers like that," Irving said.
Mayfield has thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes this season, and the inconsistency on offense has become difficult to ignore. From play-calling to execution, Tampa Bay has plenty to address before returning to the field.
"The team fought, stayed in it. If that's the top team in the league, we're right there," Mayfield said. "If we play clean football, we can be proud of that. Need to get it fixed."
That work starts during the bye week.
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