Advertisement

Bears-Buccaneers Turning Point, Week 2: When was it over?

 
Jacquizz Rodgers scores a touchdown Sunday in the Bucs' 29-7 win over the Bears in Tampa. [LOREN ELLIOTT  |  Times]
Jacquizz Rodgers scores a touchdown Sunday in the Bucs' 29-7 win over the Bears in Tampa. [LOREN ELLIOTT | Times]
Published Sept. 19, 2017

Well, that escalated quickly.

One moment, the Bears were dinking and dunking their way down the field. The next, they were giving the ball away. In a six-minute stretch over the first and second quarters, they turned the ball over three times. Interception. Fumble. Fumble.

And the rout was on.

Even though many Buccaneers hadn't taken a meaningful snap in three weeks, they made football look easy Sunday, thumping the Bears 29-7.

A blowout. How about that for a change? Since Tampa Bay joined the NFL four decades ago, it has won 34 games by at least 20 points. Only the Jaguars (an expansion team in 1995) and Texans (an expansion team in 2002) have won fewer.

The Bucs seized control early — Tampa Bay's win probability surged to 90.4 percent after Jameis Winston's touchdown pass to Mike Evans at the end of the first quarter — but how they put the game away showed promise for the weeks ahead.

The sequence began early in the second quarter, with the Bears trailing 10-0 and facing third and 8 from their 46-yard line. Bucs linebacker Kendell Beckwith blitzed through the middle, while defensive end Noah Spence rushed off the edge. Spence got to quarterback Mike Glennon first and knocked the ball loose — more evidence that Tampa Bay finally has found its game-wrecking pass rusher.

What happened next wasn't nearly as dramatic, and its significance easily could be overlooked. Five plays after the fumble recovery, the Bucs offense was on the verge of settling for a field goal. Tampa Bay needed to convert on third and 1.

No big deal, right? One yard. 36 inches. Teams do it all the time.

The Bucs of last season, however, did not. They struggled with "power runs," which Football Outsiders defines as runs on third or fourth down with 2 yards or less to go, as well as runs on first and goal or second and goal from the 2-yard line or closer. Their 47 percent power success rate was last in the league.

On Sunday, Jacquizz Rodgers had no such trouble, shooting through a gap on the left side for a gain of 8 yards. One of the players who helped clear the way: rookie tight end O.J. Howard, an adept run blocker during his four seasons at Alabama.

Four plays later, the Bucs capped off the drive with another power success when Rodgers scored from the 1. With a three-score advantage, Tampa Bay's win probability jumped to 97.8 percent. The Bucs' work was virtually done. All that was left to do was to wait for the clock to expire.

Contact Thomas Bassinger at tbassinger@tampabay.com. Follow @tometrics.