NFL
Entertaining Highlights, Facts, & Takeaways From Bucs vs. Bears on TNF
See the Buccaneers vs. Bears' most entertaining Week 5 highlights, facts, and takeaways including Jimmy Graham's TD, Santos' GW-FG, & more!
AP Photo
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers appear to be coming into their own after struggling in Week 1 against the New Orleans Saints. Ever since double zeros loomed over Tom Brady due to a poor first performance with his new team in Tampa, he’s starting to look more comfortable in Bruce Arians’ new offensive system every week and is showing the ability to succeed outside of New England’s system. However, Thursday Night didn’t include a signature TB12 game-winning drive.
Chicago has surprised a lot of people this season by getting off to a 3-1 start despite switching starting QBs within the first few weeks. Nick Foles has once again won the starting QB job with a new team, and after falling to the Colts in Week 4, he was able to pick up his first win with the Bears 20-19, thanks to a game-winning FG from Cairo Santos. It was Foles’ first meeting against TB12 since SB LII, which he also won.
Enjoy the best NFL highlights, facts, and takeaways from Buccaneers vs. Bears on Thursday Night Football:
Cairo Santos drills the 38-yard FG to put the @ChicagoBears ahead, 20-19.
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2020
1:13 remaining.
📺: #TBvsCHI on NFLN/FOX/PRIME
📱: https://t.co/W5bCPYgMfo pic.twitter.com/DuuqhYzolf
.@TheJimmyGraham WITH ONE HAND. 😱
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2020
📺: #TBvsCHI on NFLN/FOX/PRIME
📱: https://t.co/W5bCPYgMfo pic.twitter.com/8jIJQ1uhD9
Foles Floater. 🎯
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2020
📺: #TBvsCHI on NFLN/FOX/PRIME
📱: https://t.co/W5bCPYgMfo pic.twitter.com/kjEXof7vu7
.@Rojo got 'em with the juke. #GoBucs
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2020
📺: #TBvsCHI on NFLN/FOX/PRIME
📱: https://t.co/W5bCPYgMfo pic.twitter.com/7ULwq3TRPM
Carlton Davis has his third interception of the season! #GoBucs
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2020
📺: #TBvsCHI on NFLN/FOX/PRIME
📱: https://t.co/W5bCPYgMfo pic.twitter.com/09Qv5YMuNe
Khalil Mack makes his presence felt. 💪 @FiftyDeuce
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2020
📺: #TBvsCHI on NFLN/FOX/PRIME
📱: https://t.co/W5bCPYgMfo pic.twitter.com/52IN9hCVxP
Top Takeaways from Bucs vs. Bears on TNF:
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) October 9, 2020
1. Bucs Gronk is not the same Gronk
2. Ronald Jones > Leonard Fournette
3. Chicago's biggest weakness may be behind them pic.twitter.com/1EraQ5u02r
1. Gronk in Tampa isn’t Gronk in New England
Rob Gronkowski could retire right now (like he did two years ago) as the BEST Tight End of all-time. Nobody played football at a higher level at that position than Gronk during his prime in New England. Those days seem to be stuck in Foxborough though, as this version of the future HOF TE is a shell of himself. He can still block among the best in the game, but his catching and route running haven’t looked good, including a crucial drop on the potential game-winning drive. It’s important to remember the 6’6″, 270-lb pass catcher took the last year off of football and hasn’t gone through a full preseason of football in years. He might just need time to acclimate himself to the game again, especially now that O.J. Howard is out for the year and an enhanced role looming.
2. Ronald Jones > Leonard Fournette
Coming out of the draft in 2017, Leonard Fournette looked to be on the track of a future HOF with his rare size-speed combo and extremely high draft selection for a RB. However, his NFL career has been disappointing compared to those expectations, and no major injuries can be used as an excuse (unlike for Saquon who had similar pre-NFL hype). After getting released by Jacksonville and signing with an actual Florida contender, people didn’t know how he and Ronald Jones would mesh. Through five weeks, it’s become clear that RoJo is RB1 and Fournette is the backup. The 2018 2nd Rd Pick Jones has taken his game to another level this season similar to what Aaron Jones did in Green Bay last year. Jones is coming off of consecutive 100-yd rushing games and looks to be the featured back going forward.
3. Bears major weakness could be behind them
The last time the Chicago Bears actually had a contending team, their season ended due to a Kicker missing a simple FG for the win (double-doink). Since then, they’ve seen missed FGs over and over again with very few clutch FGs in between. The Kicker situation likely won’t give Bears fans confidence anytime soon, but Cairo Santos came through for Chicago when they needed him to on Thursday and if they can put those kicker problems behind them, a Nick Foles-led team with an elite defense could be dangerous come January as fans have seen before.
Tom Brady tried to add another game-winning drive to his remarkable resume but failed after seemingly being unaware of what down it was on the Bucs’ final drive. Tampa will look to bounce back next week against the Packers, a team coming off an early-season bye week with the hottest offense in the NFL. That could prove exactly where this Bucs team is compared to the actual NFC contenders out there as they’ve lost to New Orleans and Chicago already this season with their only wins coming against Carolina, Denver, and LAC (teams all projected to finish with a top-10 pick).
Now that Nick Foles has a win under his belt as Chicago’s starting QB, he’ll look to navigate this team through next week against the Panthers and beyond. The Bears weren’t expected to be a contender this season with Mitch Trubisky under center, but with Nick Foles, it seems anything is possible, especially with seven teams now making the postseason in each conference. It might not be pretty during the regular season, but if the Bears somehow obtain one of those wild card spots (currently 4-1), nobody knows what this team is capable of come January (or February).
Full game highlights from today’s TNF game are posted below.
Learn something interesting from the Buccaneers vs. Bears in Week 5? Share with friends!
