Bucs Take NFL's Top Rushing Attack to Chicago for Sunday Night Test vs. Bears

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers take the NFL's No. 1 rushing attack to Soldier Field on Sunday night to face the Chicago Bears, who own the league's No. 2 ground game. Kickoff is 8:20 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock. Tampa Bay (3-5) has won two straight, including last week's 16-0 shutout of Atlanta in which the Bucs did not complete a pass, while Chicago (6-2) has won three in a row and is favored by about six points.

The game is the Bucs' last before their bye, and it arrives with Tampa Bay a half game behind Carolina (3-4) in the NFC South. A win in Chicago would send the Bucs into the off week with a three-game winning streak and a real claim on the division lead.

The ground game that took over

Tampa Bay's win over the Falcons was one of the strangest in franchise history. The Bucs ran for a team-record 324 yards in wet conditions, with Bucky Irving gaining 170 yards on 27 carries and Kenny Gainwell adding a career-high 140 on 25. According to the Buccaneers' official site, it was the first NFL shutout in 52 years in which the winning team did not complete a pass.

The Bucs now lead the league at 168.6 rushing yards per game and have averaged 231.3 over their past four games, winning three of them, according to The Associated Press. Coach Todd Bowles told the AP the staff has tweaked how the team runs the ball to fit what individual linemen and backs do well, and that players have settled into the scheme. Tight ends Cade Otton and Payne Durham have been central to the heavier personnel groupings.

Bears coach Ben Johnson, known for building strong run games, was effusive about the Bucs' line and backs. "It's a potent, potent rushing attack," Johnson said, according to the AP.

Irving, who leads the Bucs with 728 rushing yards and five touchdowns, has a homecoming of sorts. He played at Hillcrest High School, about 25 miles south of Soldier Field.

Baker Mayfield's limited workload

Quarterback Baker Mayfield has thrown very little since returning from a dislocated right thumb. He was hurt late in the Sept. 27 loss to Minnesota, ending his streak of 57 consecutive starts, and missed three games while rookie Jalon Daniels went 1-2 as the starter. Since coming back, Mayfield has completed 7 of 14 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown across two games, according to ESPN box scores, including 0 of 3 against Atlanta.

Mayfield carries no injury designation for Sunday and practiced fully this week, according to reports on the team's final injury report. On the season he has completed 68 of 110 passes for 679 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Sunday also marks his first meeting with Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, a matchup of No. 1 overall picks from the 2018 and 2024 drafts. Mayfield is 13-11 when facing a quarterback who went first overall, the AP noted.

The passing game could get a boost. Leading receiver Emeka Egbuka, who missed the last two games with a foot injury, is listed as questionable after full practices Thursday and Friday. Linebacker Yaya Diaby (knee) has been ruled out, and wide receiver Jalen McMillan is on injured reserve with a knee injury, according to ESPN. Left tackle Tristan Wirfs returned to practice Friday after sitting out Thursday with a toe issue, according to reports.

How Tampa Bay got here

The Bucs opened 1-5 and lost their first four home games before beating the Falcons at Raymond James Stadium. Their results, from ESPN's schedule:

Chicago's offense and Caleb Williams

The Bears have the league's No. 3 total offense at 387.3 yards per game, lead the NFL with 3,098 total yards and control the clock better than anyone, averaging 35:27 of possession with an NFL-high 22 drives of five minutes or more, according to the AP. Williams returned from a hamstring strain that cost him three games and has completed 112 of 158 passes for 1,267 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. He has also been sacked 13 times in 171 dropbacks, a rate the Bucs' official preview flagged as an opportunity for Tampa Bay's pass rush.

D'Andre Swift has a career-high 10 rushing touchdowns, seven of them in the past four games, including three in Monday night's 34-17 win at Seattle. But Chicago's run game has cooled: the Bears averaged 4.9 yards per carry in their first four games and 3.5 in the last four, according to the AP. Running back Kyle Monangai, who has missed four games, is questionable with a toe injury, as are cornerbacks Tyrique Stevenson and Malik Muhammad. Receiver Luther Burden III leads Chicago with 547 receiving yards.

Matchups to watch

• Bucs nose tackle Vita Vea against Bears center Garrett Bradbury, who arrived in an offseason trade with New England and has started all 113 games of his career, according to the AP.
• Tampa Bay's ball-hawking secondary against Williams. The Bucs lead the NFL in interception rate, per the team's site, and cornerback Zyon McCollum is seeking an interception in a third straight game.
• Bucs guard Graham Barton against Bears defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, a recent acquisition with five sacks this season.

Tampa Bay's defense also ranks second against the run, according to the Bucs' site, and it held Atlanta to 99 rushing yards and 224 total yards last week.

Series history

Chicago leads the all-time series 40-22. The teams last met on Sept. 17, 2023, when the Buccaneers won 27-17 in Tampa, according to the AP.

What's next

After Sunday, the Bucs head into their bye week, then return Nov. 22 at Detroit, followed by a Monday night home game against Carolina on Nov. 30 that could shape the NFC South race. For Tampa Bay fans, Sunday night offers a national-television test of whether a run-first identity built over the past month can hold up against a winning team on the road, and whether Mayfield and a healthier Egbuka can add enough through the air to keep Chicago's defense honest.